tizimatt.info

Looking back at some of the photos we take during the year, or thinking back to the past few months it feels like our most common weekend activity is going to birthday parties. It can be exhausting, but Keegan loves them, of course, and we perpetuate the madness by throwing our own…so we are stuck into an infinite loop.

Some parties are pretty easy, like the Pump It Up Parties, which is just what we do: I am definitely a low-achiever when it comes to parties.

New classmate Shrinesh’s party

Others are more original. Van’s party was a morning showing of the new Lego movie, completed with popcorn and drink for all the kids, and reserved seating. Even better, it was our first drop-off party, so Matt and I left him at the movie theater and went to have a delicious breakfast and walk at the beach. The party continued at Van’s house, with more fun and an amazing, hand-made Lego cake.

Julia’s party was held at the botanical garden. The kids could paint small vases and rocks and pot their own succulent. There was a scavenger’ hunt and delicious food for all.

The three good friends from the daycare days were reunited. Kenzie painted a beautiful stone for Keegan, and we got to take home a nice succulent.

Markus’ party was one of my favorites, so far. It was held at a public park, and they hired a “Reptile Guy”. I have to admit I had thought about doing something similar for Keegan, but he never showed much interest in it. I was very excited: I love reptiles, and the guy brought lots of them, big and small. He had snakes, geckos, turtles, lizard and even a tarantula (well, not really a reptile, but still pretty cool). The kids had the chance to interact with all of them.

A huge tortoise named Wally would enjoy its time in the grass, and the kids had fun making a never-ending bridge for it to crawl under.

Snakes of all sizes were the big attraction.

I jumped at the chance. I love snakes, and honestly if they would not need that much care, (including needing live animals as food), I would like to own one.

The tarantula was a big hit as well. This one looked just like the one we saw when we went camping at Cuyamaca: in fact it is a local species. The kids took turns letting it crawl over their hands and heads.

The grand finale was a huge albino python. It was HUGE, but very mellow, since it has been raised in captivity and has been a party guest for years. Now full grown, it is usually left for the end of the show.

How many kids does it take to hold an adult python???

Markus’s brother, Lukas, also had a spring birthday, and we got invited to that party as well. It was at the local Skate Park, and this time Keegan had his own scooter to bring along, so he had a lot more fun. The birthday happened during a week-long heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 90s and up, and even if it was only 9am, it was already sweltering.

The kids had fun, but they took longer than usual breaks to rest in the shade and drink water.

 

When it was time for cake, all the kids were soaking wet, and gulping Gatorade.

My all time favorite party, though, was Brady’s, Keegan’s friend from preschool. The two get along quite well, so, even if he did not want to have a big party, Brady insisted on having Keegan over. So, his parents offered to take him bowling on the Navy base (Brady’s dad is a Navy Helicopter pilot) and then, to keep him at their house for a sleepover! We could hardly believe it: a drop-off party AND a sleepover in one! Yeah! Of course we accepted. We dropped Keegan off by 3pm and picked him up the next morning around 10am.

He had a blast playing bowling, and I guess he did OK, hitting a strike as well. Then, the kids went on base to see the helicopters, and try them out. And these are REAL helicopters. Brady’s mom, Lori, sent us the pictures as they posed and goofed off.

It was Keegan’s first sleepover and he is still wearing pull ups at night, so we were a little worried about teasing, but Brady was awesome, and nobody gave him a hard time. In fact, both boys got up around 3am to use the bathroom. Too bad that did not stick with Keegan.

And what did we do for all those blessed childless hours? We enjoyed the peace, of course. Actually we spent the night at a nearby hotel, watched the sunset at Glider Point, and had a delicious dinner at a Steakhouse in walking distance of the hotel. It was great.

The next morning, when we picked Keegan up, there were smiles all around! Keegan had a great time, and so did we…now, I am not sure about Brady’s parents, but for us, it has been a win-win situation. And yes, next time it is at our house.

So, finally, birthday season is coming to an end (at least we hope so)…we will enjoy it till the merry-go-round starts again, in August.

Comments are off for this post