17!!!!!!!!

Yes, four members of the Bowes household officially turned 17 on Nov. 5!

It is true that each of us quadruplets celebrate this birthday on different days, sometimes a month or more before the actually day, but November fifth will always be a special day to us. So, now that we four wombmates can drive, we planned to hit the "big town" (Centralia, Chehalis) for an afternoon and evening of fun to celebrate! Unfortunately, Poli, one of Caroline and Victoria's beloved goats, lost a battle with several illnesses on our birthday, throwing a monkey wrench in our plans. I spent several hours digging a grave in the rain, and we were all to emotionally sapped to celebrate much. We decided to postpone our celebration till the next day, so yesterday, November 6th, we commandeered our parent's car and headed out for adventure!

 

Sigh.  "Adventure" was partly translated into sitting in the car for a couple of hours while my sisters blew all their birthday money at clothing blocks, but hey, girls will be girls . . . and the scarfs and stuff they bought were pretty, I must admit. 

 

Of course, the girls' purses were not the only things to get much lighter during the course of the day; my wallet was also relieved of some cash (two words: Home Depot). After our spending spree, our next stop was Applebee's for dinner!

It was so hilarious going to a higher-end restaurant by ourselves; it was definitely a first for all of us. Also, thanks to a kind gift from our big sis and Richie, and a gift card from our parents, we could order anything we wanted!

You must understand that when a family of our size goes to any restaurant, we find creative ways to feed all of us without taking out a loan. We do not have any other drinks than a glass of water; two of us often split one dish; we even try to get away with ordering kid's meals for us young adults. You get the idea. Actually being able to order what we wanted from the menu, combined with our complete foreignness to restaurants like Applebee's, was the perfect recipe for a comical dining experience!

For instance, when our waiter came by to ask us what we wanted to drink, the customary words "I'll just have water" were almost out of my mouth before the light bulb came on. I looked at the wide eyes of my sisters as we all realized the same thing at once: we could buy any drink we wanted (well, except for alcohol)!!! No water tonight! After sending our long-suffering waiter away while we brooded over this important decision, we all ordered sodas with unlimited amounts of refills.

Speaking of our long-suffering waiter, he was very kind and understanding, even when we ordered food like this: "Well, I am going to maybe have the nine ounce sirloin steak, maybe (those were almost exactly Caroline's words)."  I am sure he was laughing inwardly the whole time he was serving us, but he was paid well for his service. With money to spare, we gave him a twenty dollar tip and a gospel tract. Afterwards, we spied on him from our car to see his reaction. He seemed genuinely surprised that the kids who looked like they were barely old enough to drive left him such a large tip, and he appeared to stop and read the tract right then and there (fist pump)!

 

I attacked a full rack of ribs and a mountain of fries . . .

. . . and I am not sure who won

 

Our next stop was the Fairway Bowling Alley! As at Applebee's, we had very little clue what we were doing, but hey, we had fun! The owner of the bowling alley must have sensed how novice we were in all things related to bowling, because he stuck us in a back room away from the general public. We were grateful. Why? Have a look at our lovely scoreboard . . .

 

Yeah, see all those white dashes? Those are tallied when you do not hit a single pin.

 

 

Also, half the time it sounded like we were taking a sledge hammer to the alley. I guess the trick is to roll the ball, not throw it! I could only imagine the looks we would receive from the other pro bowlers if we had bowled right alongside them.

 

I did, however, score a strike on my first round. Beginner's luck is awesome . . .

 

Gutter ball! (one of a hundred)

 

Our last stop was McDonald's for desert! Please don't have a heart attack, my "seasoned" family members; I was not driving during this picture. I do not like posing for pictures in the middle of a Mcflurry, however. :0)

 

 

Birthdays are so much fun . . . I wish they could happen more than once a year! Oh wait, but they do kinda for us quads. We celebrated ours like six different times! If you ever wonder what it is like being a quadruplet, just multiply everything that is awesome in your life by four and you will be pretty close. ;0)