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!
This weekend we took a trip to Half Moon Bay in California to celebrate my beautiful wife’s 50th birthday! The trip was great and we were able to enjoy the splendor of God’s creation along the way. It was also nice to enjoy much cooler weather in a very scenic place. I am so very grateful for the time the Lord has give us together and look forward to His plans for the future.
