party like it's summer

Ellie's birthday party has been in the planning stages for 2 months now. I am not known for throwing parties, although I love to plan the perfect soiree. I think nothing of spending 3 hours on the computer looking for ideas of how I can recreate something or put my own spin on an idea. I will shop persistently until I find something that looks/acts/sounds/smells like it does in the picture in my head. Having people over in my family's space, however ........... is utterly terrifying. I panic. I have mini-anxiety attacks when I think of being responsible for what will happen during the time my guests are in my space. I am miserable to be around because I am crabby, snippy, jumpy and nervous. I persist, however, because the rewards are soooooo worth the risk.

My children are given the option to receive presents from Dave and I, or to have a party when it's their birthday. I'd say the answer is usually 50/50. I love the ease of just buying presents and having a birthday meal with a homemade cake, but I equally adore seeing the kids laughing, playing and interacting with their friends at a party. Ellie's party last night was no exception. I can say with all confidence I would do it again in a heartbeat just to see Ellie smile and to hear her unique giggle.

Presenting the Photos:

Um, yeah. The Bean Bag Toss


Madison was in charge of the face painting. The sign shows what designs she could execute with the cheap paint set I bought.


I took this photo before the party began, knowing I would be too busy once the kids started rolling in. Imagine a big container of AIRHEADS candy with sheets of paper to guess how many were in the jar. I also placed little bags for the kids to carry around during the carnival to hold their tickets and prizes. The whiteboard and markers were for the scooter races.


Um, yeah. The Water Balloon Toss


Scooter Races!!!!!
Time trials, actually. The kids really wanted to have scooter races and I really did not want them to have scooter races because all I could imagine were collisions, scrapes, blood and tears. I am all about safety and compromise. We did have a brief flirt with disaster when one little girl went to turn around and slowly rolled into the street ........ into the direct path of an oncoming car. All was well and we picked Dave up off of the sidewalk he fainted on.


The photo booth was perfect for ensuring I snapped a photo of all the guests with Ellie.


The Rubber Band Shoot.
Just load up the shooter with a fat rubber band, take aim, and FIRE at the empty Diet Coke cans. Of course, you do have to turn around before you do it. Kind of like sneaking up on your prey.


Unarguably the 'hot spot' of the night ...... the Prize Table. Wait, what's my son doing picking out some loot? "Get away from there! Those crappy trinkets are for the guests!"


:: We must interrupt the party for a brief moment. ::
These boys must go torment some girls and make them squeal.


The Pinata!!!!!
Unfortunately, we didn't place the kids in line according to ability and the 3rd person up to bat hit a home run. Just to allow Ben a chance, we let him go up next to finish it off. I wish I had an audio file of the sounds of the screams and thunderous feet as the candy went flying through the air. Oh, and we succeed at our goal of no 'hits to the groin.'


And, finally the Water Balloon Toss. Several photos are necessary to show just how much fun they had.



The gang

Expressions of Ellie and she opened her gifts.