The Big Party

Ms. Bri has been fetted in grand style.  That little kid kept going the entire day with no nap and no tears.  She had a great time.

Walt and I went over to Tom and Laurel's new house at about 9 a.m.  They aren't moved in yet but they had the couch in the living room and a table in the kitchen.  Tom was in the garage putting together the playhouse that was Bri's big present.  There were "only" 96 pieces.

Walt and Norm got busy helping and I have to admit watching the three of them scratching their heads trying to figure out which piece of wood went in which direction was very cute.

When it was all finished, it was perfect, down to the weathervane on the roof and the basketball hoop over the puppet stage.

The theme of the party was Tinker Bell, and while the guys were working on the playhouse, I was busy assembling pirate chests to fill with treasure and give to the little boys at the party.  It had a basic design flaw--Tabs C and D went easily into Slots C and D, but I assembled six of those damn chests and Tabs A and B gave me problems every single time.

Laurel had made a gorgeous Tinker Bell themed cake.

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The birthday girl was dressed in a lovely blue and white polkadot dress and was very happy to be in the yard of her new house.

She was definitely the center of attention from the mamarazzi.

We had brought her a little plastic slide and one of the first things she did was try it out.

Tom and Laurel had rented a bouncy house and it was a HUGE hit.

Especially later in the day when the adults could get all those pesky kids out of it and play themselves!

Bri was quick to let Grandpa know that you can't nap in a bouncy house!

The play house was a big hit too!  When they carried it around the corner of the back yard, Bri left what she was doing and raced over to it.  She spent a lot of time in it for the rest of the afternoon.  Grandpa came to visit.

Someone also brought her a bubble machine and that was a great favorite with all the kids...

...except for this one.

There was a funny "sign of the times" moment, when the propane lighter turned out to be out of fuel and Laurel couldn't light the birthday candle because (a) they only had an electric stove, and (b) nobody smoked, so nobody had matches or a lighter in their pocket.

At the end of the day, after most people had gone home, Bri hosted a tea party with her new tea set.

When the party was all over, Walt and I went to the hospital to visit his mother and were very pleased to see her sitting up and alert.  Walt had been there for about an hour earlier in the day and she was asleep the whole time.

I think everybody had a great day today, and Miss Bri most of all.  My biggest present was at the end of the day, when she came over to me, put out her arms for a hug and kissed me.  Made my day!