Another Successful Party!
Primping for the party. Grandma was in charge of this; I’m seriously impaired when it comes to stuff like this!
The first guests arrive - Haileigh & Karina, straight from the first soccer game of the season.
What is it? Why, it’s a Starbucks gift card, of course! You should have seen how happy she was about this! She feels so grown-up when she can go 
to Starbucks and pay for her own hot chocolate and madeleines during “Mommy and [Thing One] Time”.
Isn’t that the face you want a kid to make when she opens your gift? 
Haileigh, Becky, Thing One, and Cristian
Thing Two, wearing Thing One’s puppy ears. 
Grandma Ruthie!! She brought the balloons for the party. Pretty cool. It never would have occurred to me to have balloons at the park.
25 kids + 21 adults + beans, salad, pasta salad, ribs, chicken, hot dogs, chips, and drinks + good weather + a comfortable park with a play area just the right size = all in all a great party. Of course, we ended up with a bunch of leftover meat. I was so nervous about the meat. We only had 20 ribs, so I didn’t think it would be enough b/c it wouldn’t be one rib per adult. Hubby cut them up, though, so we have a bunch of ribs leftover. He did such a great job on stuff. He brought home his cart from work to use (can’t park anywhere near the picnic area), and he got up at 6:00 this morning to cook the ribs. The cake Thing One and I made was a big hit. I made a half-sheet size, and there were only four or five pieces left.
We’re all pooped, but it was a great time. Even Jenna had fun, though she really didn’t want to have to be on-leash the whole time, poor thing. She so wanted to go run around with the kids, dig for gophers, etc.
The best of the pictures can be found here.
