Mary had been looking forward to her 5th birthday party for approximately 364 days. I had been hoping for a nice, family outing instead. But my kids love their friends. And insist on celebrating with them! (I think if we made them choose between a bash with friends and any presents, they would choose the party.) So a party Mary would have!
Back in September, when I was feeling fine (memories ...), I started planning a party we could have here at our house, like last year. But something deep inside told me "Bad idea! Bad idea!" Soon thereafter I discovered we could have Mary's party at the gym where she took gymnastics--super easy, super fun, and very reasonably priced. Woo hoo! And very lucky--by the time Mary's birthday rolled around, there's no way I could have hosted anything at our house.
Mary was an awesome helper in getting ready. She helped write out names on the invitations. (A side note: Mary insisted on inviting just a small handful of friends. I encouraged her to invite a few others, girls I know she enjoys. But she was adamant about keeping the party small because she didn't want it to get "too big and crazy." I have to appreciate her ability to understand herself--she knew she would be uncomfortable in a boisterous, chaotic, gaggle of girls. But she did allow David to invite a friend.) She assembled the gift bags (which had an Olympics theme) and decorated the cupcakes. Mary is a wonderful helper!
The party was awesome! The staff did a fabulous job with lots of super fun, structured activities. And then there was time for free play, which was a blast, too, of course. The kids seriously had huge smiles stretched across their faces the whole time.
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| Popcorn! |
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| Mary the Egg gets cracked. |
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| Brooke bounces high! |
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| Abby and Mary race down the air track. |
After the hour in the gym, we headed upstairs for cupcakes and gifts. Mary has such sweet, thoughtful friends.
We're so happy they were able to come celebrate with Mary!
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| Sariah, Abby, Mary, Lea, Brooke, Iris |
