We had packed the car and I planned to go ahead of the boys/Ryan so I could pick up balloons and arrive early to set up. We decided to have his party at one of our favorite parks.
I had to stop rather suddenly for a stoplight causing the plastic tub or perfectly arranged/iced cupcakes to fall onto the floor. While they were still safe inside the container, they were now all smashed and smeared. :(
I stopped at a Walmart (one I am not familiar with) to pick up ice and asked if they had balloons. They didn't but I decided I would just walk next door where there was a Hallmark. I quickly learned that Hallmark (at this location) is closed on Sundays. I now was going to be behind 'schedule' as I had to derail to another location. I needed four balloons for an obstacle course I had created. As I went to pay for the balloons one just suddenly popped. Another delay.
The picnic table I had hoped for was available and I quickly got to work setting up. After all, I not only had to drape spiderman table cloths and shove drinks in ice but I also had to string rope through the trees and set up a rope swing!!! As I got to work, two of my four balloons got loose and floated towards the sky. I was suddenly wondering why I just didn't keep it simple!!
Ryan had just arrived with spiderman himself (Logan)! He dropped Hayden and Logan off and took Owen to get two more balloons! Thank goodness our babysitter was due to arrive any minute. We had decided to have our babysitter come and shadow Owen who LOVES to climb, run and go down the slides. He requires 100% of somebody's attention with the tall heights and we figured with our sitter watching him, Ryan and I could enjoy the party and be with Logan.
Our babysitter was nearly 20 minutes late (she got lost) but we were relieved to see her! Owen took one look at her and burst into tears clinging to Daddy with white knuckles. We tried calming, coaxing and distracting but nothing worked. He was petrified that we were leaving him at this park. So no sitter after all. Ryan took over the Owen shadow job.
It was a few minutes after the big boys arrived that Logan started to grab his side and complain of it hurting. He didn't want to run around. He didn't want a snack. He didn't want a drink. He wondered when his friends were going to arrive. He was anxious.
The party got started and Logan was still clutching his side and being rather unsocial. Was he sick? He was fine all day and ate a great breakfast and lunch. He didn't feel feverish. We tried to proceed as normal.
Time for the obstacle course! It was a spiderman camp of sorts. The first station was to lift a 'barbell' 5 times to exercise those strong spidey muscles.
Next, the kids had to swing on a rope over 'flames.' (not pictured) After that they needed to weave through a 'spider web' (rope zig zagging through trees).
Lastly, they had to spray the 'bad guys' with web (spray balloons with silly string). After completing the course each child received a spiderman mask.
Logan was still out of sorts.
Next, we did the cake with the request of no singing (by Logan). This was not a big surprise. Until Logan was 3 he didn't like any singing. As a young toddler it would upset him (some might argue it was my singing voice--fair enough--but it was any music for a period of time). It made the blowing out of the candle feel a bit anticlimactic.
I felt like I was just trying to survive the party at this point. Nothing seemed to be going as planned and I had been planning this party for a long time! Logan was holding his side and not enjoying himself. I didn't know these families all that well which caused me to fret about first impressions.
We forged ahead with gifts. Logan was gracious (we had practiced--no matter what you open you smile and say 'thank you'). Thank goodness! When he got to the last present he paused and looked at me. He had a funny expression and all I could think inside my mind was 'don't throw up.' But, sure enough, he did. I felt like everybody, who doesn't know me well, was wondering why I hadn't canceled the party if he was sick. I cleaned Logan up and offered everybody hand sanitizer and their goodie bag. I have to say, everybody was very sweet about the entire situation and nobody went running off. Logan immediately perked up and was hungry. It turned out he was just over anxious! Poor thing! He was so excited for the party but I should have known he might be more suited to just have a couple of friends over to the house.
Well, now that the formalities were finished, Logan was chipper and ready to go play on the equipment. He chatted and laughed with friends. The pressure was off, I suppose.
Unfortunately, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I hoped. I desperately wanted to get some good shots of the 3 boys (Hayden and Owen were wearing spiderman shirts) but it never happened. Here is the only picture I got of Owen and not sure I have any of Hayden.
We stayed for another 45 minutes when guests started to leave. Ryan and I were worn out. As we pulled out of the parking lot Logan smiled big and said, "I want to have my party here again next year!"
"Well, that makes one of us" Ryan whispered to me.
Although some of our best laid plans went awry we did mange to leave with a happy super hero!
