Last night we had big birthday celebration. A big celebration for a big birthday. The kids spent all day scrambling through the house each on their own mission. Each had projects they wanted to complete for Daddy's big day.
My 11 year old took over the decorations. He used 4 rolls of streamers to cover the sunroom in orange, blue, yellow and green. He set the table with rainbow everything and the room ended up looking more festive than I can ever remember. He finished it off by tying balloons to the mailbox so Daddy would be welcomed home.
My 9 year old was the gift wrapper. Each gift in a different paper. Frogs on one, black and white toile on another, apple green on the third and a bright plaid on the last. It took him a long time because he was so careful that each one was just right. He then got to work on his own gift which he picked up when we were at the craft store.
My daughter was in charge of getting the banner done. She had each of the kids color different letters so that it would be from all of them and then took care of cutting it out. She had a secret project she was working also.
The littlest was our cheerleader and constant reminder of how really fun and exciting this was. He spent the day going from room to room, overseeing the preparations and enjoying the fun and letting us know how great it was. "That is fantastic!" was his mantra yesterday.
It was a shame really that the object of all this fun and activity didn't get to participate in the process. I had such fun seeing the kids scurrying around excited and laughing and creating. Each had such purpose. It was wonderful to see them have a vision of what they wanted the party to be for their Dad. Finding joy in making some else's day special.
One note to myself...I need more tape dispensers...lots more. Everyone needed tape at the same time and I assure you it wasn't pretty. It even warranted a quick trip (which with four kids is never really quick) to the store to buy more.
I love the photo of the cake. It really represents what the party was. Big, gooey, perfect in its imperfection. It doesn't look anything like the photo from the book but that cake was made by a pastry chef somewhere. This cake was made by four glowing children for their Dad's birthday. It was the best cake ever.
What a great birthday story! That's the stuff beautiful family memories are made of. I've found the messier and gooey-er the cake the better it tastes!
Posted by: autum | July 27, 2006 at 09:33 AM
what a sweet memory!!! my gosh, dad musta felt like a king!!!! happy belated birthday to your husband and its such sweetness to hear how much your kiddos love him... the cake looks perfect to me :D and i bet it tasted yummy!!
Posted by: Account Deleted | July 27, 2006 at 10:10 AM