Birthday Olympics

Anna & Grandma
Today Anna celebrated her 6th birthday in Olympic fashion - with an Olympic themed birthday party.

Since Anna enjoyed watching the summer Olympics so much and Anna's birthday was on Labor Day this year, Mom thought it might be fun to have an Olympic-theme party.  It could be at the house and Olympic games could be held in the yard.  Mom had a vision (something she is not short on).  Execution of the vision is another story.

The first problem was the dilemma of who to invite.  The original plan was a small group of Anna's friends.  The problem was the first week of school, which was August 27.  Because Anna's school is small, it is customary to invite everyone in the class.  Who to invite?  Last year's class?  Her new class?  Mom decided to invite both and bet on the fact that several people will be out of town Labor Day weekend.  Then there were other friends to invite......pretty soon the list was long.  The end result:  23 kids + some parents & friends = well over 40 people (we were never able to get a full count).

The second problem was the weather, which was forecast to be beautiful all the way until Friday.  That is when the forecast changed and the remnants of Hurricane Issac were slated to hit the Northern Virginia area.  At this point, Dad intervened and suggested moving the party to the community clubhouse.  This was a brilliant idea, especially as the crowd grew larger (as Aunt Gayle pointed out - our house would have been trashed).  This meant last minute e-mails & texts to folks since the venue was changed the night before.  It also required hanging signs on our house and having neighbors redirect people to the new location.

Anna, Aunt Gayle & her new books
The party began with coloring of flags from different countries.  After the flags were completed, the athletes marched in to the Olympic Fanfare music carrying their flags.  Anna carried the Olympic torch.  The games began outside (in 97% humidity - no joke) with a relay race.  This was followed by an obstacle course in which athletes were required to hula hoop five times and race to put on a vary stylish Hawaiian shirt, and run back.  The athletes returned to the air conditioning to finish some other competitions (hot potato, a hula hoop race, and a mummy wrap).  There was also some pin-the-tail on the donkey in between lunch and cake.  Mom quickly found that a whistle was her best friend during the event.  A large group of 6-year olds in the hands of an amateur ......well let's just say a lot can go wrong.  At one point, Mom found herself yelling at the boys "no headlocks." 

Lunch was its own challenge.  We attempted to boil some hotdogs, but the heat was a bit high.  We served exploding hot dogs to the kids (strategically placed on the bun with ketchup).  There were non-exploding sandwiches for the adults.  Grandma & Mom made an Olympic ring cake.  They attempted to make Olympic torch cupcakes they saw on the web using ice cream cones.  The end result was cupcakes that looked like melted ice cream cones, thus they were not served.

Anna, Anna & Charley & her new globe
The event concluded with a closing ceremony, complete with presentation of medals and a goodie bag.  Anna had a great time and many parents seemed amazed that we had an old fashioned birthday party (points for creativity and craziness).   Anna 's friend Ella came over to play afterwards and enjoy opening presents along with her friend Aidan.

 A big thanks goes out to Grandma who worked all week on getting things ready and baked the cakes.  She also went through about 6 pounds of powered sugar to ice everything.  A big thanks also goes out to our friends who helped set up (Aunt Gayle) and clean up (Kristy, Sue, Anna, Gayle).  We also found out that a clutch parent to have at a party is Mr. Martinez (aka, Joseph's dad), who is an event planner.  He was awesome with getting the food organized and served to the kids.  Unfortunately there are not many pictures at the moment for this birthday event because we had no time to take any.
Anna & Ella

It is hard to believe 6 years have gone by.  Ironically, our niece Christina just welcomed her baby daughter, Elizabeth on September 2 - the Sunday of Labor Day weekend just like we did 6 years ago. It has been a memorable journey so far full of many lessons along the way.  The lesson for today - have a smaller party next year.

Happy 6th Birthday Anna!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming with the Lakevale Dolphins

Image
The Swim Gang - Leo, Aidan, Megan & Anna Tonight Anna completed her third season with the Division II Lakevale Dolphins.  It was a great season for Anna as she improved her strokes and her times and made it to the "A"team to compete at Saturday meets.  It was an educational season for Joe and Theresa, who learned the ins and outs of life as swim team parents. The neighborhood swim team is the hub of neighborhood social activity in the summer.  There are events throughout the season, including Friday night pep rallies, and Sunday night fund events that include such things as the neighborhood scavenger hunt, laser tag night, bingo night, and even a team night at the Washington Nationals game.  In between the fun is the seriousness of the swimming, and there are definitely some top notch swimmers on the team. Anna with her lollipop for getting a "personal best" time Kids are motivated by different things. Some kids love to race.  Other kids try to b...
Read more

Camp Coles Trip & June Birthdays

Image
Anna at Girl Scout Camp Anna just returned from a fun-filled week at Girl Scout camp.  This year she was old enough to go to Camp Coles Trip, which is on a bay area off of the Potomac River.  This is a water camp, so she spent her days on the bay learning to paddle board and sail along with kayaking. Girl Scout Camp is definitely roughing it.  The camp is in the woods and girls stay in platform cabins with screens.  Anna shared a cabin with 4 other girls.  Mosquito netting is very important at night.  The only electricity is at the dining hall, health center, and activity building.  The girls are also responsible each day for doing "kapers" or chores.  They take turns helping serve meals, cleaning the bathrooms, and general clean-up.  They are also responsible for keeping track of their own things and carrying their bags. Anna had a fantastic time, despite the lack of modern conveniences, and is already planning her return next year....
Read more

The End of 1st Grade

Image
Last Day of 1st Grade Pool Party Anna is officially a "rising 2nd grader."  She was quite excited to celebrate her last day of 1st grade on June 14. She learned a lot this year, including great strides on reading, addition, subtraction, and writing. Anna kept a writing journal during the school year.  Below are some excerpts: If I had a pet I would choose a dog.  I would feed him, walk him, play with him, and a dog would keep me company.  PS, i atcally want one these are the things i would do One day while I was driveing on the road a deer was in the way.  My dad honked the horn.   self-control is keping your self in control.   Peace is when you are quiet.   I can respect others by bringing over plates afer diner.    The last week of school included a field trip to Frying Pan Park, a working farm in Fairfax County.  Anna, upon recounting the details of her trip, stated that they learned how to do farm chores from...
Read more