Charlotte’s birthday has come and gone. It came and went pretty quickly, or it seems that way now, although I’m sure Charlotte felt that the wait was interminable.
It was a truly joyous occasion. We are very proud of our four-year old. She was quite the hostess. She enthusiastically greeted each guest, running up to just about every group as they arrived, genuinely thrilled to see them at her party. She graciously accepted her gifts from them, deciding on her own to collect them on the dining room table until it was time for the present-opening.
Luke was also gracious as the brother of the birthday girl, aside from declaring “my party” shortly after getting up and learning that the day of Charlotte’s party had arrived. He helped me run the pre-party errands, including picking up over a dozen pink and purple balloons and herding them into the car. I couldn’t see him at all in the back seat as we drove home. Each time I asked, “Are you back there, Luke?”, he’d respond, “I’m right here, Dad,” and would then hit the balloons, sending one or two flying into the front as he gleefully declared, “I hit them, Dad, I hit balloons.”
The Princess Adventure was a great success – Charlotte and several of her guests ran the course repeatedly. After the first few run-throughs, Luke took over my dragon duties, running and roaring round the yard (he could not be contained in the ‘Dragon’s Lair’).
The flower sprinkler (or ‘Fountain of Renewal’) was a highlight. After catching sight of the water shooting from the ‘flower,’ a number of the ‘knights’ and ‘princesses’ forsook the quest route, making a beeline for the chance to get wet.
Luckily, after nearly two weeks of rain, the clouds had parted for our blessed event. The skies remained relatively clear for most of the day. The party had been scheduled for 3pm to 5pm, and at about 4:45, we started to feel sporadic drops. Then, at about 5:05pm, it began to sprinkle, giving us enough time to bid most of our guests adieu and move things inside before the skies opened (with gusto).
Some family and friends remained for a short after-party in the house as the rain pummeled the now-drooping balloons tied to the swing set while large portions of the yard turned to mud.
Then, the thunder and lightning started.
Charlotte, utilizing one of her birthday gifts, a new umbrella, was walking her cousin to the car. They made it halfway there when lightning lit up the sky dramatically, causing Charlotte (with her umbrella) to immediately run back to the house, abandoning her poor cousin in the driveway and pouring rain. Just as he made it into the car, thunder shook the house and ground.
I suppose it was an appropriate exclamation point to a rockin’ party.
Charlotte got many great presents, but one of my favorites is her new butterfly net. Luke also loves it. He’ll walk up to me or Karen, holding the net to his head while extending the handle to one of us and pleading, “Catch me, Dad/Mom, catch me?”
But me, I’m looking forward to catching fireflies with the kids at night so that we can watch them light up in a jar. (Don’t worry, we’ll set them free after a few minutes.) Pretty cool stuff (both the fireflies and the looks of wonder and excitement that are sure to adorn the kids’ faces).
Further evidence that you can indeed catch lighting in a bottle, whether it’s a firefly in a jar or the pure joy of a four-year old’s birthday party.
(Happy birthday to my beloved, four-year old princess!)
I hope you enjoyed today’s serving of ‘mac & cheese’ (followed by some leftover birthday cupcakes).
