Big Party!

So, we did Michael's party! (Actually two. I messed up on invitations and some came on Friday and some on Sat.)

It was a treasure hunt, ala National Treasure. They found clues (which lead to more clues and more clues...) which lead to a pinata. Then there were cupcakes with a "treasure chest" on top, and ice cream.

The kids REALLY got into the hunting. They were rushing from one end of the yard to the next, thinking about each clue and really looking. It was lots of fun to watch and it looked like fun to particpate. They all had their compasses and Indiana Jones hats (hey, ya gotta work with what's avaliable...there were no Ben Gates hats!) and they took each clue so seriously. It was great.

Afterwards, everyone stayed around and played on the trampoline and played a little baseball. It was great.

The hard thing about birthday parties and lots of siblings, is there ends up being a really big range of ages participating in the parties. That can be a real challenge to meet everyone's levels of participation and needs. But, I was impressed with all of the kids. Some of the boys were a little exuberant--as befits a birthday party--but in general they were well-behaved and aware of all of the little kids (our kids and the siblings of other party attendees) and were very careful. It made it a fun day for all. It felt great that even after the main festivities were over they chose to stick around for about an hour.

Birthday parties are so fun, but I feel stressed beforehand (especially as the kids are getting older and you can feel older kids expectations for a "cool" party), and afterwards there is the letdown from all the planning and preparing. But gosh, it is so worth it to have the kids say, months later, "Remember when we did that for my birthday?" I hope Michael remembers this as a good day. I really think he will. He has some really good friends. I felt so happy to see so many kids interacting so positively with him. He's an awesome boy and I am glad to see other kids see that too.

Hmmm, please pardon the formatting. I DID have paragraphs going on here. I've tried to fix it twice, but I find if I write AFTER pictures, then I no longer have the luxury of writing paragraphs. Must remember this tidbit.