Sometimes It Rains (When You Have an Outdoor Party Planned)

This weekend we attempted to have Everleigh's Kansas City Birthday Party (otherwise known as Party Numero Uno). My family has a track record of dragging birthdays out into a multi-week celebration of sorts, and Everleigh big FIRST BIRTHDAY was no different. When we discovered we would be out of town on for a reunion on my husband's side the weekend preceding her actual birthday (June 6th), my parents sprung into action and began planning an epic party in the park.

We (my mother and I) purchased food, little table clothes, matching napkins and plates, a boat load of felt, and enough cupcake mix to charge an elementary school up for days. We ordered balloons and bought little baskets for the hot dogs and brats ("in case it's windy"). We thought of everything except the beast that is Mother Nature. Scott and I labored over making a giant felt "Happy Birthday Ev" banner (can you tell we got lazy at the end ? :) He made a template for the triangles, I cut them out. He made templates for the letter and cut them out. I used fabric glue to get the letters on, then hand-stitched each triangle to the rope. We deserve a medal really. I tried my hand a making an adorable little felt birthday hat for Evie. If only we had known then what we know now :)

The weather report called for partly sunny and 75degrees up until about 3 days before the party, at which point, it turned to 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms, then 50%. I tend to be an optimist, but it was looking pretty sketchy. Determined not to let the weather ruin our good time, we chose to press on with the park plans. After all, my parents have a tail-gating tent they planned to bring, and how bad can these alleged "scattered showers" be?

Um, just bad enough to kind of turn the whole thing into a brief and chilly experience of eating a quick brat and visiting with a few friends, then hurriedly opening gifts and forcing Ev to eat a little cake while Scott started loading up the car. I have to say, I had a pretty good time regardless. Maybe even more fun than I would have if we had scored our perfect weather day, because I was FORCED to cut loose, throw up my hands and say "F-it."

I'm pretty sure Ev had a great time too, cause she slept like, well, like a normal baby that night.

And wouldn't you know the VERY NEXT DAY was about the most perfect weather imaginable? Life. You just have to laugh sometimes.

Now, for Party Number TWO (taking place this weekend at the reunion). Don't worry folks, there will be minimal stress involved and if it rains, I hope we find some big puddles to jump in.