Lauren’s Bubbly Birthday

The big day finally arrived for Lauren to celebrate her eighth birthday. She had been planning and anticipating this big day for the past six months, so Kory and I made ample opportunities to celebrate it with her. The festivities started out with cupcakes being delivered to her class, upon which all of her classmates circled around Lauren at the front of the room and sang “Happy Birthday” while dad took pictures. She was all smiles.

After school, Lauren was greeted at home by a house full of streamers and balloons that Katie and I put up when Kory went to get Lauren after school. Then we proceeded into the kitchen to sing “Happy Birthday” again and present Lauren with a gooey chocolate fudge cake and her own little “Birthday Girl” sign on top. Katie played the Happy Birthday song on her viola as Lauren cut the first slice of cake. Who says you’re not supposed to have desert before dinner?

After cake, Lauren opened up her gifts, spent time playing with some of her new toys, and then we went to dinner at Red Robin, where Lauren was presented with an ice cream sundae and sung “Happy Birthday” yet again.

The following Saturday came Lauren’s big bubble birthday bash with eight of her friends joining in the fun. They arrived with bubbles clouding them as they made their way up the walkway, thanks to the mega bubble blower we rented. We also had polka dot balloons hanging throughout the house and yard which complimented the “bubble” theme. Lauren chose baby pink and turquoise as her colors, so all of the table cloths, streamers and other accessories kept in line with this theme.

The food was carefully chosen to appeal to the youngsters and also passed a rigorous screening for bubble worthiness. The kids enjoyed popcorn chicken, cheese balls, Ritz crackers with round pieces of turkey and cheese that Lauren and I cut out, buttered popcorn, grapes, and tons of candy (gum balls, Blow Pops, candy coated chocolate balls and more). The cake was from Dairy Queen and had hand drawn bubbles on top.

The party activities included lots of bubble blowing in the back yard. We had bubble wands in all different shapes and sizes, ranging from a gigantic bubble wand to pipe-like bubble blowers. We moved the mega bubble machine to the backyard, which was accompanied by two mini-bubble blowers, so the entire backyard was swarming with bubbles. I’m sure the parents enjoyed cleaning bubble solution off their childrens’ clothes later that evening. The girls made so many bubbles that they must have been out of air. There were big bubbles, tiny bubbles, bubbles inside of bubbles, and bubbles on top of bubbles.

We had an experimentation table set up where the kids could use different household instruments and supplies to try to create bubbles (slotted spoons, paper cup with a hole cut out in the bottom, strainer, spatula, etc.). The kids also made their own bubble art. We had four bowls of colored bubble solution laid out and the girls dipped their wands in the colored bubbles and blew the bubbles onto white craft paper. It was a bit messy, but the results looked like tye-died shirts and the kids really enjoyed creating art masterpieces.

Another highlight of the party was musical chairs with bubble-themed music that Kory put together. The kids played three rounds and us adults even joined in on the action, only to realize that we don’t have the energy of eight-year-olds any more.

The bubble birthday party was a huge success and I’m sure Lauren will be talking about this for years to come. Who knows what her ninth birthday will hold, but I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it many months before it arrives. We love you Lauren, you precious birthday girl!

The Polar Express

Since our family had so much fun on our Polar Express outing last year, we decided to venture there again this year. This time, we invited the LeCompte Family (Anne, Allison, and Kristy), as well as Lauren’s friend, Julia. In order to get rooms at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and tickets for the Polar Express train ride, we had to book our reservations in March for a December vacation. That’s how popular this adventure has become.

We left our house early Saturday morning and, rather than taking two vehicles, we packed our luggage, pillows, blankets, games, snacks, and the eight of us into Anne’s Chevy Equinox. We were surprisingly comfortable. We had great conversations and fun road games on the way.  My suggestion to sing show tunes was overwhelmingly ignored.  We stopped at Denny’s for lunch and reveled in the huge smiles and laughter that Katie and Lauren had with their good friends.

Later that afternoon we arrived at the hotel in Williams and, after checking into the hotel, took a walking tour of downtown Williams. Katie, Allison and Kristy particularly liked an old furniture store, where they wanted to buy the hip, artfully designed, luggage. We certainly had no room for additional baggage on the way home, so we declined. The weather was cold and crisp, but not snowy and chilly like it was last year. After getting back to the hotel, we relaxed in the hotel lobby near the warm fireplace, enjoyed hot chocolate, and played Apples to Apples.

Prior to the train ride, which was scheduled to depart at 8pm, we had dinner at the Grand Depot Cafe. In addition to a full buffet, the restaurant offered us selections from a pasta station, carving station, salad and soup bar, and a desert corner. After dinner, we made our way back to our rooms where everyone got bundled up for the train ride. The kids put on warm pajamas, scarves, and gloves. Lauren and Julia had matching pajamas that Julia’s mom gave them to open as gifts after dinner, in keeping with their Hanukkah tradition. The hotel grounds were filled with adorable children in festive pajamas, and several adults even joined in the fun.

We made our way to the train depot and waited outside our boarding zone until the train chugged it’s way to a complete stop. Everyone cheered as the conductors and crew got off the train to welcome us aboard. On the train, we sang Christmas carols, enjoyed chocolate chip cookies, and watched the colorful lighted town displays along the way, including a stop at The Polar Express. The girls particularly liked Angel, and elderly lady who served us on our ride. She was quite feisty and exuberant for her age and she played right along with the girls. What a job Angel has, it must make her stay young at heart being around such joyful youngsters every day. Amidst all the cheers and laughter, we listened to the Polar Express story book being read to us by one of the crew members, and then Santa Clause made his way through the aisles and handed each child a bell as a reminder to “believe”.

Kristy after lunch...
Kristy after lunch…

The following morning we had breakfast at the hotel before heading to Flagstaff to play in the snow. We found a nice place to park near the top of Mount Humphrey’s and, after getting out of the car and putting gloves on, immediately engaged in the long-awaited snowball fight. Lauren wasn’t too excited to be hit by snowballs, but she sure liked throwing them and most of all eating them. Anne was the brave one to lay in the snow and make a snow angel, and Katie, Allison and Kristy climbed a tree. We tried to lob snowballs at them in the air, only to get the snow crashing back down in our faces. It was a great way to expend energy and get some snow play in, but without the proper attire Lauren and Julia started to cry because they were so cold. With that, it was time to pile in the car and head home. Poor Lauren got car sick on the way and we had to stop and let her ‘paint’ the side of the road. We then enjoyed great burger and fries and Bun Hugger’s restaurant in Flagstaff prior to making our way home.  Kristy especially enjoyed the burgers as seen here.  What a great time we had on this mini-vacation, and how grateful we are for the LeCompte family and the friendship and fellowship they provide. What a great start to the Christmas season!