The place is called Planet Gymnastics and has a 40 foot long trampoline for the kids to run and bounce down, a 3 story climbing frame with many slides and tunnels, a ball pit, 3 balance beams…and oh so much more. The staff were seriously wonderful, taking the kids through a warm up first with jumping jacks and stretching and then monitoring them on the trampoline, helping them on the bars…it really was AMAZING!
Isabelle started off with the cutest dress, but it was very hot in the gym so off it came and she ran around in her tights and shirt...too cute!
After the hour and a half of playtime we moved into the party room. There was pizza, juice and a few healthy choices (carrot sticks, fruit, yogurt) for everyone. The theme of the birthday was Spiderman and Owen really wanted everyone to have a spider on their piece of cake. When we were looking at the pre-made grocery store cakes, none of them fit the bill. So I embarked on the ambitious task of doing cupcakes for everyone. The idea was to then draw a spider web with piped icing and put a plastic spider on each one. But that idea got thrown out in favour of candy. Once we started talking about cupcakes, Owen was keen on the idea of everyone decorating their own. Much easier than drawing 30 spider webs and worrying about children choking on little plastic spiders…so mom was all for it! I baked them on Friday morning while he was at school and then on Saturday, a few hours before the party, he and I iced them together. They were a hit!
Owen got well and truly spoiled in the present department; lots of Hot Wheels, Spider Man and board games. The present opening was a little chaotic, too many kids crowding Owen as he tried to open, I am not sure if he even knew what he was opening before the next package was thrust into his face. We will have to do some brainstorming and come up with a better system for next year’s party…at least we have plenty of time to work on it. I was a little overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and told a friend that I was a little embarrassed and she said the nicest thing to me “Don’t be, this is a reflection of how people think of Owen, he is a good friend to people and that is what is reflected here.” Thanks Donna! I never tire of hearing wonderful things about my kids.I was curious to see how the party would play out with school friends, neighbourhood friends and other friends all thrown in together. I wondered how Owen would split his time; would he play only with the kids he sees every day or favour the ones we only see occasionally? Well I didn’t need to waste any time worrying about that…it was fantastic. Every time I caught a glimpse of him (running from one area of the gym to another) he was surrounded by different kids. He played with everyone and all the kids played with each other...no separation of groups, no favourties...just lots of great fun. We adults could learn a lot from these 4 year olds.
At home both kids went to bed pretty easily and no wonder with all that running around. Owen literally crashed...sweet dreams my 4 year old.
Lastly I need to thank some very special people who helped make this party perfect. From helping serve the pizza and cake, to packing up the presents and loading them in our van, to changing Owen’s pants when he had a pee-pee accident…to grabbing my camera and snapping shots so I would not miss anything. The party went off without a hitch and I could not have done it without them. THANK YOU Leslie S…Leslie T…Jen…Andrea…Jarka…Donna…Sharon. From the bottom of my heart…thank you!Happy Birthday Buddy!
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