The Party's Over....

Actually, there were two of them. The first was for mostly long time family friends. We would include family, but neither of us has any family close by. So, people that I have known for years, in one case since I was 6, and others that I hope to, show up and eat and drink while the kids play. And play they did. The boys were mesmerized by the Star Wars Wii, complete with light sabers, that we bought Ariana (she is in a Star Wars phase). Jack, the oldest at 11, was an expert and Ariana looked on with admiration. I explained, like I do almost everything these days, that he is good because he practices (hint, hint, hint). The other big draw was the Bay Blades, a gift from her friend Ryder. They started playing the night before, as part of the birthday celebration was having a sleep over. Little tops that spin furiously, she got the hang of it right away.

The girls mostly occupied themselves outside with paddle balls and other hand held games.

They tried Whiffle Ball and had some success (we may have a softball player on our hands) and then ended up downstairs in the playroom. At the end, everyone enjoyed the cake, made by a former coworker who decided on a career change - a great move if you ask me.

On Wednesday, we had a school party for all the kids in her class down at the beach. Luckily, the weather cooperated, so while the kids were running around and making their little backpacks, the parents got to sit and chat. Since it is the beginning of school, it was nice to be able to meet the parents of the kids Ariana would be in class with.

So now we are home playing with all the gifts - other than the Potty Training Barbie complete with 3 little puppies that wee on a pad (I mean really, is this a life skill one has to learn from a doll), they are all fairly useful. Her love of crafts and games has made her forget about the "boy boys" for a little bit, as she sits creating a masterpiece with her new watercolor pens.

She has questioned why no one got her the StarWars Legos. I told her to ask Santa.