Friday, February 20, 2009

It's great to be 8



So, what are we going to do for Dalton's 8th birthday? I needed something big. Something special. I had an idea: Disneyland! Our kids had never been (I know, majorly deprived!) so we thought that this would be the perfect time. Of course Garrett was NOT invited, so we called my mom immediately who said that this was the only Christmas present that she wanted; to babysit Garrett! Now, how to do it? I had an idea! I told him that he could have some friends over for a small party a few days before his birthday to which he had a meltdown over and complained that we should do Lazar tag like all the other kids. But I told him that was not an option and a birthday party at his home would suffice just fine. I told him that there would be activities, to which he responded that it sounded "babyish". By this time I was getting so fed up I thought about canceling Disneyland but realized that of course every kid wants his birthday to be the biggest grandest celebration in the world. And his was sounding quite lame. I was worried that it may be a little lame. We had not had a party at our house for years. He has always had to many buddies to invite, which has forced us to have the parties at indoor venues like bounce houses, or other royal rip off locations. In a way it was fine because it meant no work for me, other than writing a big fat check at the end of the day. But it has felt a little impersonal. At the end of the two hours you are quickly asked to clear away to make room for the next big fat check. But what did we have at our house that would entertain a bunch of boys, and in the dead of winter?! We had just had the Superbowl. Dalton and his buddies are all currently obsessed with football. And so we were going to have a football party. I got a bunch of decorations. A football pinata. A cake in the shape of a football. I did a football scavenger hunt for outside. And it is a good thing that there was good weather the day of the party, because twelve boys ended up coming -All really good friends of Dalton's. And so they all HAD to come. Because if one of them wouldn't have been there, it would not have been as fun. (according to Dalton). So, I know that he was disappointed about his upcoming party. But Wednesday afternoon when he got home from school and saw all the decorations, he was stoked. Then his friends started to arrive. Bounding in to the house two at a time. Down the stairs to begin playing Madden on the Wii. Once they had all arrived we went outside for the scavenger hunt where I had hidden football team logos all over our street. They had to knock doors and sing the ABC song to get one, some were taped to cars, others were hidden in trees, or on benches. They were divided up in to two teams. Gavin headed one, and my brother had the other.






Luckily I also had my sitter Sage (lifesaver) and my mom with Garrett. Shelby was at a friend's house. Once all the clues had been found they rushed back to the house for their prizes- mini footballs. We did the pinata, which after twelve hits ended up on the ground. The boys ended up taking turns beating the daylights out of it on our driveway. A mad rush for candy ensued when it broke open. We were lucky that there was no blood with that activity!


Then on to pizza, cake and personal bottles of sprite that served as mini rockets. The next impromptu activity involved shaking the sprite bottles and shooting the exploding Sprite all over the place. Awesome! Then on to Nerf Gun wars. Presents came next where his friends Nathan and Jacob had given him a flag football set. So, we had to try it out! Teams were assembled and a rowdy game of football ensued across our neighbor's front lawns. By the time parents came to pick up kids at 6:00 pm the boys were exhausted, happy and sticky. It was a great party. Dalton said his best one ever.



Gosh, I thought, we don't even need to do Disneyland now! But the next day I had his teacher hand out ice-cream cups to his class, for his birthday treat. And while they were eating she read him a card from his mom and dad, which said, "Dalton, the reason we celebrated your birthday early is because you are going to Disneyland RIGHT NOW. We are outside in the car, waiting for you to take you to the airport. Happy Birthday, love Mom and Dad!" And we were. After we pulled up in front of the school, we saw the blinds to his classroom window going bananas. Kids were waving and shouting. We go in to the school and his teacher tells us, "he doesn't believe it." To which I tell the kids "It's true". And they all burst out screaming again. "Dalton, can I have your autograph?" one kid yells. "Dalton, go on Space Mountain!" his friend Jack shouts. Everyone is patting his back. It is probably about as famous as a soon-to-be-eight-year-old in Salt Lake City can be. Of course the Hollywood version would be us going straight to the airport and then right to Disneyland. But this is reality. We had to go back in to his class where he had left his football and I thought I had left my camera. Then we went home to pack. Shelby had been told that she was going to Disneyland, to which she shrugged (she had no clue what it even meant). Then we sat around for two hours while I gave my mom explicit instructions on how to give Garrett emergency CPR to which she rolled her eyes. I gave her a thorough run-through on his daily routine to which she again, rolled her eyes. And FINALLY, we were off. Disneyland here we come!


3 comments:

The Sandy Bottom Crew said...

you have to be the coolest mom on the planet!!! What a fun suprise for your little guy:)

dan shaw said...

What a great time had by everyone. I think your Mom my have had the best time. She got the whole weekend with Garrett. Keep up the good work, love you guys.

Erin Vorkink said...

can you plan my next kids party? Wow, nice job.