Bruce and Em and ALL of Them: William's Birthday Splash

Saturday, August 24, 2013

William's Birthday Splash

I am so far behind on my blog....as usual. William had a special birthday this year because it was his first "party". In the past, we have had very small family gatherings to celebrate our birthdays. Although those kind of celebrations are quaint, low key, and intimate, William desperately wanted a party. I'm not a Chuck E Cheese kind of parent, although it does have it's merits. No clean up, no planning, and kids are entertained. However, places like that the kids spread out, the parents don't have the opportunity to visit with other parents, they are dark, noisy, and germ infested. Being a summer month birthday, Will misses out on classroom celebrations at school. He was so excited that we were finally going to have a "real" birthday party. The planning of his party began in April (well, Will began planning then). I, on the other hand, put this together in late July.....already weeks after his actual birthday. I know, pitiful on my part. But somehow, my summer got away from me. We had 3 trips out of town and Ollie had surgery and so on and so on.....and all of the sudden the first day of school was nearing and poor Will had been 6 years old for 6 weeks before we had his party.

So, a Star Wars party, of course, was finally scheduled and on the calendar. I even had nice invitations printed up and we ordered a store bought cake for the occasion. Such simple pleasures, but for William they were firsts for him and were very special. Since it was a summer party, we ordered an inflatable water slide for the kids. They had a blast and this was one of the best parties we had ever hosted.

We had a great system. Beau help post at the bottom of the slide to catch the kids as they landed into the pool located at the end. Zander stood at the top of the slide to make sure only one child went down at a time. I was in charge of chatting with the other parents, which I love. Only a few classmates were able to attend the party as many of them were still traveling with their families for summer vacations, but Will had a wonderful time. I think he will remember this party for years to come.