Sunday, October 4, 2009

Birthday party #15

Between my three kids, I have now hosted fifteen birthday parties. You'd think I'd be a pro at this by now, but alas, I am still me.

For the most part it went great. The cake was yummy, the kids had fun, no one got hurt. I was extremely pleased that in the middle of at least a week of COLD, wet days, we managed to get a sunny 62-degree-er for Josh's party yesterday. I was thrilled to be shedding layers during the boys' soccer game yesterday morning. "Yes, it's going to be a beautiful day after all," I thought.

The games ended at 12, and the party was at three.

I had to run a few quick errands on my way home and had a lot of cleaning and party prep left to do, so I decided just to pull through McDonald's to get the kids some lunch. I ordered, pulled up to the first window and paid, and then drove away. I got a couple of blocks when I thought, "Mmm, that smells good; I think I'll swipe a couple of fries." There were no fries to be swiped. I had driven off without getting my food. Drove right past the second window. You know, I've only been pulling through drive-through windows for 18 years now, so it's understandable. And, don't even ask me what I smelled that made me want a french fry . . . I am at a total loss.

Got the food and headed home. Decided to be oh-so-efficient and get the outside tables ready well ahead of time. Put the cute western-themed tablecloths on both tables and even taped quarters on the inside of each corner to keep them from blowing away. Came inside, and five minutes later it began pouring rain. Josh rescued the stick horses, but there was no hope for the paper tablecloths.

It rained for approximately six minutes and was a beautiful, sunny day again for the remainder of the day. I picked the worst possible eleven minute span of the day to set up the tables.

And, no, of course I did not remember to get the quarters off the tablecloths before I asked someone to throw them away.

Everything else went pretty smoothly, and Josh thought it was a success, which in the end is all that matters. (I accidentally clicked on the wrong layout for my picture/text format. I am NOT going back and reloading them to make it easier for you. Sorry.)

My Old West fort cake:





You know how he loves to be the center of attention:



The soldiers were prepared for battle. Guess which piece Josh wanted?

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Apparently, he liked it.



There was pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey:





Stick horse races (which began at the O.K. Corral):







The kids had to shoot out candles with water guns. This game was a much better idea in theory than in execution. It was nearly impossible to get two candles to stay lit at the same time because of the wind, and then they were wet from the water guns and very difficult to re-light. I went through at least fifty matches.






Nevertheless, the kids had fun.










And Josh loved his presents:



2 comments:

This Heavenly Life said...

What a fun party! We have December and March bdays here, so I'm jealous of your outdoor party.

Your drive-thru/rainy tables misfortunes made me laugh :) A supportive, non-judgemental laugh, I mean.

Lenae said...

Um, that cake looks awesome!

And don't feel too bad about your drive-thru mishap. If it makes you feel any better, I once drove away from a gas station without removing the pump from my gas tank. I couldn't figure out why I could see people running after my truck in the rear view mirror until I stopped, got out, and saw the pump and hose dragging on the ground. ;)