Making Lemonade

Sonny turned 4 today!

We usually spend sonny’s birthday at Grandma’s house, where we celebrate his, hubby and Grandma’s b-day in one go. But this year he wanted a real party at the park with pizza, cake and all his friends around. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Ha!

On the day we handed out sonny’s invitations at daycare, another group (three kids, one big party) handed out their own, and there was a slight overlap in party times. For us, this was no problem but the other parents were a bit annoyed because this was supposed to be the last birthday these kids would spend together before going to different schools in the fall. But still, we saw no reason to change the date, and we didn’t expect them to either. Needless to say, there was a little awkwardness at daycare for a couple of weeks.

This morning, I sent hubby to put signs on the picnic tables in the area we reserved. He came back telling me the park was currently under construction. Yes, Portland Parks and Recreation decided the best time to renovate a park was during the start of park season, and they failed to tell us they had torn out all the play structures when we made our reservations 3 weeks prior. Hubby and I are kicking ourselves for not driving by the park sooner. To top it off, there were drunks laid out on the picnic tables (at 9 in the morning). I almost cried. In my frazzled state, I forgot to pack a cake knife, salad fixings, butcher paper to cover the picnic tables, and a CAMERA.

When we got to the park to set up, it really wasn’t as bad as hubby made it sound. They left the merry-go-round and see-saws and fenced off the area where the construction was going on. The hobos were gone too. There was plenty of space to run around, and luckily I had the foresight to purchase badminton sets, balloons, sidewalk chalk and bubbles from the dollar store. There was also a cool (almost bird’s eye) view of the train yard down by the waterfront. The weather was gorgeous (relatively speaking...no sun, but about 69º). So all in all, things turned out great. Sonny had a great time, and he said, “I think I will remember my birthday for a long, long time.”

I have to thank my peeps for helping me out. Megan, you are an awesome baker and everyone loved the cake and cupcakes (click here to see the original recipe). I originally planned to purchase a cake, but now I’m so glad you volunteered to bake one (a double layer, no less, and about 60 cupcakes). Brian, Susie, Liz, Michael, Chris and Lise, thank you for the moral support and for helping keep the party running smoothly and cleaning up. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a special day for sonny. Oh, and thanks Pizza Schmizza for opening early and getting our pizzas ready on time.