18

So this is eighteen!  Maddie's eighteenth birthday turned out to be something better than we could have ever planned, a long day, but an unforgettable one for our daughter!  Here's one of her birthday gifts, a pretty large one!

That's the trophy for the team, the one that's going back to the studio so that everyone can see it.  Maddie got to see it first tonight, as the team was practicing for their big performance.  But that's later in the day.  The early part was easy - we were getting ready to check-out.

Forgot to mention that Maddie got some birthday gifts early on, and some nice things she was asking for too!

We grabbed a bite to eat from the continental breakfast, and then we were on our way to Cumberland Mall, which was surprisingly busy for a mall.  We were wondering which malls had fallen by the wayside over the years - there are a few destinations that are no longer in their prime, that's for certain.  But this one wasn't doing too badly.  We met here, and pretty much spent the rest of the day hanging out at the mall.  Maddie and the team were wandering around, shopping and just looking at things.  Her friends had bought her some items for her birthday, including a stuffed axolotl that was made at the Build-A-Bear workshop.  His name is Ajax, and he's a part of our family now!

Oh, and no birthday would be complete without boba tea.  We stopped there and Maddie tried something new that was pretty good!

Ah, a mandatory photograph if you're in front of a place called "Edge."  

The students spent a good amount of time exploring the mall, shopping and hanging out.  Mom and I were over at one interesting store for a good bit, and other than that we were at the food court for a time.  I went to a restaurant downstairs to get some shawarma, which was pretty decent.  It was a long time at the mall, but Maddie was having a great birthday!

Here's one of Maddie's gifts from today, given to her by her instructor.  It's a stuffed bunny... holding a knife!  Yikes!

Ah!  The Build-A-Bear Workshop, where Maddie put together her very own axolotl!  You are now witnessing the birth of Ajax the Axolotl...

We'll have more in a bit... because after this, it was time to head to the hotel!  We drove over there again, and of course we were thinking of Loki quite a bit, because it was filmed at one of these hotels.  

Ah!  There's the medal that Maddie earned, her first place medal that was given to her, along with the other students as well of course.  It's a pretty great medal, something hanging by all her belts on the wall as soon as she got home.  It was fun watching everyone get their medals.

You go, girl!  She earned this one!  

And that's when the party got started.  Everyone was gathered there early to get their medals, but the other reason was bigger:  to celebrate Maddie's birthday.  The parents got her a big cookie cake, and there were several gifts - really nice ones!  She got a Totoro throw blanket, plus a new Totoro cap as well.  There was a fantastic customized "Battle of Atlanta" shirt she now owns, and some other things like the new Totoro noodle bowl we got for her.  It was really sweet.

Maddie got two birthday cards, as there were so many signatures.  It was great to see her reading them all from everyone.  The team showed such an outpouring of love for her, and it was a very blessed moment!

Then it was time for some group shots.  I wanted to get some shots of the entire team with their new hardware, so we lined up in the courtyard area there, posing for a few group shots.  

Ah!  The parents were lined up too!  We're in line here, waiting to get in.  I had no idea the seats were in such demand, but we were in the front of that really long line, all of us getting these center seats for the big event.  We had favor without even knowing it until later at the event, but the seats were really good.

Maddie was in a separate area with the team for a time, but she had a seat with us to enjoy the events of the evening.

Here she is with us, ready to watch the event, which was nearly three hours long.  Funny thing:  the wristband that I'm wearing is the same color, roughly, as the wristband we were given in the emergency room of the hospital. 

Anyway, to begin with, we were under the assumption that we'd be watching our team perform and then we'd be on our way.  But in fact, Team Edge performed much, much later.  So we had a lot of things to watch, and again, we had excellent seats.  I was initially wondering about the length of time we'd be there, but I quickly realized that Maddie was enjoying the events, and in fact I was too.  It was a great night!  Here are just a few pictures we took from our seats at "The Battle of Atlanta."

So a few hours went by, and it was late, but finally Team Edge was ready to go out there and impress everyone.  They did spectacular!  Also, consider this was their first competition, live-streamed and in front of an audience late this night.  Maddie was cheering them on - I was snapping quite a few pictures, but here is a small selection of Team Edge at the Battle of Atlanta.

In the end, it was a great, great birthday.  Maddie and the team have notched their first "first place" award, along with this great big trophy to show off back at the studio.  Maddie rushed back to congratulate everyone afterwards.  They were eating the last bits of that huge cookie cake, and there were many stories shared.  It was late though, and tomorrow morning is KidPak.  We were over towards West Atlanta, and had to get going.  So we took some more group shots with the trophy, and said goodbye to one another, filled with happy memories of the wonderful weekend.  It was a better birthday than we could have ever planned!

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