5.04.2012

Sharks vs. Superheroes!


Yesterday was Eddie's fourth birthday. We had a bunch of his friends over in the afternoon to celebrate. There were 14 kids total (including Eddie), so it was pretty chaotic. The day turned out typically windy, which put a bit of a damper on the water activities, but the kids still had a lot of fun.

The first activity we did was a big hit. We dumped packets of Kool-Aid onto the kids' papers, then they each used an ice cube to paint. It was incredibly messy, but the kids thought it was great and only stopped when we ran out of powder.

By this time, the kids were dying to get in the kiddie pool, so we started the other activity I had planned. I had blown up silver balloons and drawn shark faces on them. Each kid got a shark balloon, the idea being to "smash" the shark in the pool and pop the balloon. Unfortunately, this did not go as planned. The balloons I bought apparently were too high quality, and only a few of the bigger kids could get theirs to pop. Plus the balloons kept blowing away while the adults took turns chasing them down.

At Eddie's insistence, presents were next. He got a lot of good stuff, including water guns, action figures, LEGOs, Play-doh, bubbles, plastic dinosaurs, a ball, a bug house, and some books.

His favorite present was the one he had been asking for since the first time he heard the word "actionator" a few weeks ago. We got him a transforming Batmobile that has lights, sounds, and little missiles to launch (one of the missiles is already lost). He opened it very first, so it took all our persuasive efforts to convince him to open the rest of his presents. Near the end of the party he actually took the Batmobile into the house to play by himself.

Finally, we passed out party favors and let the kids run wild until it was time for treats. The favors included felt super hero masks for each kid, a can of Shark Repellent (silly string), a water gun, a magic towel, and some candy. The Shark Repellent sure didn't last long.


It was a great party, meaning it completely overstimulated both me and Eddie. I think we'll wait a couple of years before we have another friend party. We are very grateful to all those who came and helped Eddie celebrate his day.

3 comments:

Dave said...

I've worked with some pretty demanding clients in the past, but they all pale in comparison to designing that party invitation with Eddie looking over my shoulder. "Is the shark done yet? Can you draw two sharks? Can you draw three sharks? Can you make it a hammerhead shark? How come his eyes are so bulgy?"

Also, I love the shot of the kids anxiously standing poolside (with Luca flouncing by with his swimsuit barely hanging on).

Ben said...

Slow clap for the Jaws/Batman design

Cheryl said...

Sarah loved it. I love the photo of the kids standing poolside as well. I can only imagine what Eddie is saying.