Birthday Party Fun

Ben's second birthday came and went and I think it was a success. In the words of my 7-year-old niece, "You know, that was the best birthday party I've been to in a long time." This means a lot coming from Chaise as she's like the Paris Hilton of grade school birthday parties.

Here are the Top 10 reasons why the party was fun:

10. Moon bounce: The Bouchers let us borrow their bouncy house and it was super fun. The kids loved it and the adults tripped over it.

9. Presents. Ben got a lot of very thoughtful gifts including an autographed poster of the Chiefs cheerleaders and an awesome Indiana Jones hat.

8. We finished a few projects around the house that needed finishing and the party deadline finally made that happen. We cleaned windows, touched up paint, nail pops and drywall scratches. And the big one, we finally installed a door on the prison shower downstairs. The basement has been finished for two years and it just now has a working shower. Hooray!

7. Family came from out of town. Chuck's mom, aunt, cousins and their kids came from Derby, KS to party with us and it was F-U-N to see them! Thanks for making the drive! We love you guys!

6. Dance party! I feel like this needs no more explanation.

5. Chuck's super family-friendly apron. Chuck was working the grill and thought he needed an apron to protect his Bob Seger t-shirt. Glad he picked this one.

4. Pinata Fun. The pinata was the gift that just kept giving. First, Cole ripped it open like the Hulk. Second, the little girls collected all of the pinata treasures (noise-making party favors) and "sold" them back to the little boys. What great entrepreneurs in the making!

3. Trike races. The kids rode trikes and various other wheeled toys down our hill and there was only one casualty. I believe Cole has fully recovered from his first injury to what my mother calls "the family jewels".

2. Kickball. This was probably the best part of the night. Chuck's cousins are kids at a heart and when they get together they like to play really competitive games of wiffle ball, sword fighting and that night, kickball. They are also generous enough to let the little kids play too, but don't worry they don't go easy on them. Many of that night's outs came from fathers and uncles bouncing balls off of kids heads and backs. Then they yelled at them if they didn't leave the base immediately. Andrew's unique style of base running (not necessarily going in order) probably saved him a head injury. My mom thought the older boys were too rough, but I think the kids were fine. No one cried and all of them had moms and grandmas in the audience. They could have sought refuge with those very sympathetic ears.

1. Kazoo Concert. This was incredible. Jason started it, but ended up including almost everyone. He played a stirring rendition of Amazing Grace, got Chuck to do some duets with him including Summer Lovin' and ended up playing everything from Party in the USA to America the Beautiful. It was very patriotic. See if you can name this tune.

 

The party was not without hitches though. First, I was really confused when I made the guest list and forgot to invite several very important people: Chuck's Grandpa Kaup, Aunt Diana, Uncle Mark, and a very special Bearcat sister. If you're reading this, I'm sorry.

Second, we ran out of propane halfway through the hot dogs. But overall it was a great party and I'm sure marked the beginning of a great year.

Happy Birthday, Ben. We love you so much!