A Long Time Coming

I have a little boy who isn't afraid of stating what he wants. In fact, he eagerly takes every opportunity to state what he wants, and holds firmly to his desires. I trust this characteristic will serve him well in years to come.

We have decided, somewhat randomly, that we will allow our kids a big friends party every 4 years. The kind of party that has a theme, the kind of party that will keep a mom busy for a few weeks prior. Thanks to Jackson's aforementioned attribute, we have long known that he would have a Cars party for his 4th birthday. He also determined that his party would be at his favorite nearby park. So I got to planning a few weeks ahead of time--deciding on games such as "Luigi's Leaning Tower of Tires" (tires=mini chocolate donuts) and "Guido's Ring Toss" with homemade checkered bean bags tossed into an old tire. Of course we knew that the best game would be the simplest to plan: a water balloon toss.

I was completely dismayed when the forecast showed a high chance of rain for the day of the party, and stayed up late preparing to host 16 kids and their parents in our home! Fortunately, the weather cooperated...though one family was absent because of the flu and another family was busy having a baby, all in all I think it was a success. The birthday boy had lots of fun...and likely will begin planning his 8th birthday party any day now. ;) Happy birthday, big guy!

Each kid could find their own personalized "driver's license" on the welcome sign.

Making sure to keep that license in a safe place!

And it's off to the races! (License plate nametags worn on the "bumper")

Sheriff's Red Light Green Light

Filling 150 water balloons didn't really take as long as I thought it might. And as the crowd favorite, it was so worth it!