Finally pierced!!

I was in my mid-20s before I got my ears pierced...it was just one of those things I was in no hurry to do, and I probably would not have had it done then, had I not been desperate to cheer up my friend T, who was going through a really difficult time, and who had been insisting for years that I *really* needed to get my ears pierced so that she could buy me earrings. ;-)

So...I was not prepared for my oldest daughter to start asking "When can I get my ears pierced?" before grade school. Billy and I decided ten sounded like a good age for that milestone, so that became the answer..."when you are ten."

Then her friend Kaitlyn got her ears pierced when she turned 9 in December, and suddenly 10 seemed like an eternity...particularly because Bay's August birthday would put her waiting *over* a year and a half.

So...Billy and I discussed it and decided ten was pretty arbitrary anyway, so we would let her have hers done for her 9th birthday. She was in raptures...well, when she wasn't thinking about how far away her birthday was!

A month or so ago, Bay came to me with an appeal. People were already talking about getting her earrings for her birthday, and if she didn't get her ears pierced *until* her birthday, she wouldn't be able to *wear* all those new earrings until 6 weeks *after* her birthday.

Hmm. I had to admit it made sense. So we made plans to take Kaitlyn with us and go the first week in July. We would go have her ears pierced and go get ice cream.

One day as Kathy and I were planning, we decided that Kathy could go along, too...and the four of us would have dinner before, rather than ice cream after.

Then Billy started talking about putt-putt. The same night as we were planning the Great Ear Piercing Adventure. The four of us girls discussed it and decided "the more the merrier".

So...all ten of us--moms, dads, big girls, little girls, and the boys--ended up meeting for dinner, heading to the mall for the Main Event, and then playing putt-putt afterward. It was quite an evening. Philly even joined us for putt-putt (and beat everyone, if I remember correctly!)

The girls posing before the ear piercing...

Bay anxiously waiting in the chair...
All done! (And she did really well. Both times, she let out a barely audible, "ouch". :))Bayley and Kaitlyn.
The guys. Serious business here...;-)
Peter relaxing. It was HOT.
And a good time was had by all (well, most of us, anyway. The dads were good sports and put up with it all, as usual! :))