The Adventures of Momma Dana: November 2011

So this is our second year heading out to Great Wolf Lodge in November. I have to say, I need a couple 84 degree days this time of year. And especially after pulling off the birthday party of the decade (see previous), I really needed a break as well.

Our first stop was this BBQ place in Olympia. Awesome smoked yummy meats, and Colton got a crayon mustache while we waited for our food.

Mom and Tina loved the water.

I was a little disappointed that Hudson didn't enjoy it more. He normally *loves* bathtime, but I think the water here was a little bit cold for him, and a bit intimidating. He would wander in to his knees, but no further. And any time he got moved in further, he just clung to us for dear life. On the bright side, he loved to cuddle when he got cold, so I'll take that any day.

Thanks, Katie and Colton, for such a wonderful trip!

Caleb hasn't had a birthday party since he was 4, and boy, let me tell you, #7 is a whole different ball of wax. A seven year old has fantasies about what a party should be that are extremely creative, but very difficult to pull off. Building transforming spy cars that turn into all the characters in the movie, a race track that is two feet tall that goes all around the house. Wow, this kid is full of ideas, but I have to execute them!

After months of deliberation, we finally settled on a Cars 2/Lego theme. And given the spy theme of the movie, it simply seemed appropriate to announce that Caleb Dang is double-oh-seven.

I wanted the party to be a special memory for him. We had a fun time planning the decorations, the activities, and the food. It took a lot of time to set it up, but the preparation payed off. We had it the Friday after Thanksgiving. We invited 51 kids...and we had nearly 30 come. I am so glad we had so many kids come...if I only do this every 3 years, I wanted it him to invite anyone he wanted.

Here is the entry way.

I made lots of banners simply by using Uno Cards which were Cars 2 themed.

The party favor bags were made to look like Lego bricks, and the tags were Lego font, which I just colored in the yellow and red.

Matthew shows off the bags.

I found this 5 piece poster set which made a great place to take pictures of Caleb with each of his guests, and a great way to set the theme of the party.

We decorated the family room with more Uno Card banners, crepe paper, and balloons.

And we had three tables set up for the kids in the sunroom for them to do their activities at, and also for eating.

All those Duplo Cars themed Lego toys came in handy as centerpieces.

For one of the activities, we made Lego cars, what else? And in keeping with the theme, they were all in boxes labeled "Top Secret WGP" (World Grand Prix). Each box had the pieces below for making one car. The boxes were simply recycled baby food bins. Other pieces were also put in the middle of the table to add creativity.

I got this great idea at MOPS to take a plain black bag, mark it like a road with yellow tape, insert crepe paper, a toilet paper roll to hold a stick & card, and voila, a centerpiece for less than a dollar.

In keeping with the theme, I made "Mission Cards" for the moms who came with their kids. Fellow moms always want to help, and instead of spending my time delegating duties, I let them choose their mission (make root beer floats, use the camera, clean up, etc.) It made a huge difference in how much I was able to enjoy the party, too. I felt like I was able to concentrate in what was going on and not worry about forgetting anything.

In preparation for one of the activities, I made these root beer bottles into an "Allinol Bomb". Caleb told me it looked so real it was almost creepy. I take that as a compliment.

Here is Caleb welcoming Kai and Sam, friends from school.

And goofing off with Micah and Joel.

The first activity was drawing on these poster sets from Cars 2. My husband was a fabulous coordinator for these activities.

And the presents pile up.

Someone is having fun.

Mike and Jay

And now it is time to build Lego cars. The kids seemed to really like this, especially since they got to take it home.

Some of the great moms who came and were immeasurably helpful.

Lego girl with her Daddy (and ever present piggy)

I told Caleb this was his time to host, so he went around admiring all his friends' cars.

And the showroom floor.

So Professor Z has stolen the Allinol we need for the Allinol Floats, and he has hidden it as a bomb somewhere in the house. I made an iMovie with trivia questions about the movie, Cars2, and had the kids answer them to receive a letter-clue.