Hones @ Home: Pool Party

Birthday parties have been a bit different out here in Florida than we were used to in Utah. Generally, everyone in the class got invited, it was usually on a Sunday, and it was NEVER at someone's home. As a family, we've decided that other than family gatherings, attending a birthday party on a Sunday isn't keeping the Sabbath Day holy. So, our kids have missed out on the majority of the parties while we've lived here. And we've been reluctant to have kid parties for our children out here. We weren't sure how people felt about home birthday parties, and these other places are quite expensive. So, we've done excursions as a family. A trip to Busch Gardens with breakfast with Elmo, or Disney World or Epcot with trips of course to Lego Land (not the real Lego Land, just the store, but our kids think it is the real deal). But this year, Coleman begged to have a true Birthday Party.

It was quite sweet actually. He started with wanting a pool party and then changed to a basketball party. When I pointed out that we didn't have a basketball hoop, he just shrugged and said we didn't need one. He just used the tree out front. Apparently, it has a nice gap that is a perfect fit for a basketball. When I told Marc, he had similar tales to share of when he was a little boy. You know what they say: apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. We ended up going with the pool party. We got some new pool toys which was the most thrilling part for Campbell and Addison and we hurried with invitations.

Coleman had invited all of the boys from his class, which resulted in 8 invitations being sent out and 3 boys coming to the party. It didn't help that I had neglected to put on the invitation our address. I blame the 2 hours that I stood wrestling Cooper and negotiating with Addison while making birthday invites and Baptism announcements. But it ended up being the perfect size. The boys all had a blast and the parents all bonded. The food was delicious and it was one of the most relaxing birthday parties we've ever had.

I had asked Coleman, other than the boys from his class at school, if he wanted to invite anyone else. I was thinking of church or neighborhood boys. He wanted his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Williamson. When I told her, thinking she would find it cute, she readily accepted. She came and the boys were all thrilled. What a fantastic and supportive teacher!

Coleman was very excited to decorate his own cake this year. He made a "pool" with blue frosting and then added a bunch of his action figures to "play in the pool". He even put frosting over some of the figures to show that the "water" was splashing up on them. I was quite proud of my little Cake Boss.

We attempted to light the candles which was completely unsuccessful. We also had a #8 sparkler which did light so Coleman held it while we sang and then he made a wish as it sparkled. It ended up being pretty cool. Glad to know that he can make the best of a imperfect situation.