Birthday Fun!

My oldest son turned 6...Oh my goodness! Since this is his first year of school, I wanted to make it an extra special birthday. There is a Fun Zone down the road from us that has go carts, miniature golf, laser tag, arcades and a batting cage. How could I go wrong? It also HAD to be a Mario Brother's theme. My mom is the expert at finding obscure items, so I enlisted her help. Mario items started arriving by the box fulls. Reservations were made, invitations were sent, and Grandma was flying in from WA...we were set to go.

The children started to arrive one by one. T's eyes lit up as his friends lugged in wrapped boxes and fancy bags. He jumped up and down and proceeded to give everyone the grand tour of the grounds. He was so very excited to have this special day. Arcade coins were handed out and the children scattered to all corners of the room. Motorcycles roared, skeeballs rolled to victory, and pucks floated across the air covered table. "Ding! Will T's party please return to the table for lunch!"

The children quickly appeared out of nowhere and began gloaming their food. "I've changed my mind", stated one of the little girls as she shoveled her sweet winnings into her mouth, "I'm not hungry." The mom in me wanted to force the issue but I sweetly smiled and told her to wait while the others ate their food. After eating their pizza and hot dogs, the cake was lit and set on the table. The birthday anthem was sung and mounds of cake were placed on their plate platforms. "I like cake, but not this one.", said the same girl from before. Again, I smiled through gritted teeth and told her to clean her place. After presents were quickly unwrapped, it was time for laser tag.

I was very nervous about how T would handle laser tag. He is deathly afraid of dark spaces but bravely walked into the black light lit room. I hovered around the score board outside watching to see how my munchkin was doing. About halfway through the time, the back door creaked opened. My son's head peaked out as he whispered, "that was scary." I wrapped my arm around him and praised him for giving it a try. One step at a time.

After laser tag was finished, we all headed out to slap some balls around the green. The cool breeze greeted us as we opened the doors to exit. Green mazes twisted and turned with white billowing flags guiding the way. The children started out taking turns but this took too long. They then began to gather together as they whacked the balls into the holes. Some even resorted to picking the ball up and placing it in the hole before moving on. The type A personality in me began to scream...NO, you MUST follow the rules. I took a deep breathe, looked at their excited faces with smiles and grins and remembered that this was a day for them. I smiled and watched as my youngest son, J, followed behind his big brother. The children cheered as the final balls were swallowed up by the remaining hole. They then bounded towards the door in anticipation for more fun.

Balloons and goodie bags were handed out as my son waved goodbye to his friends. Hugs were given and thank yous were exchanged. It was a fun day and one that I hope was memorable to my big guy!