Seven hours later, the bouncy house was gone

(Me and my favorite three year old boy)


(Patrick getting ready to join Craig on the golf course, thanks to Mimi Cindy)

(Patrick and his two BFF's)

"What was I thinking?!" I moaned at Kevin around 7am. I'd been up for two hours already and frantically into party preparation. Kevin made the mistake of asking, "What else needs to be done?" in a tone that implied he didn't understand why I was so worked up. I started reciting my list: I stopped at the fifteenth item.

Luckily, no body was on time.

The bouncy house arrived at 9:30am. As it started inflating, Patrick cheered! I stared at the sky. The clouds were gray, but not "raining" gray. Pacific Northwesterners understand the subtle difference. Food was set up, drinks were ready to go, and the house was as clean as it was going to get.

Kids started arriving around 10:15. Everything worked as I'd hoped. Kids played with the different toys we'd set about, helped themselves to snacks, and jumped like crazy. Patrick did a great job with all the activity and people. As the party progressed, I could tell he was getting overwhelmed. At one point he even put himself down for a nap.

The family showed up with a bang (a broken bowl) and stayed until the end. I was so grateful to see them; it meant I could pawn off the baby for the rest of the day. A couple people really went to a lot of trouble to come. Glen and Stacia drove up from Gresham, Don and Cindy came from Bellingham. They drove hours to come and chat with us and enjoy the party! We also got to meet Bruce's sweet new girlfriend, catch up with Kat and Jimmy, and introduce Lisa (a great girlfriend from work) to some of my other friends.

There was a brief moment where I was afraid nobody was going to come. Because I'm neurotic and can't let it go. Luckily my paranoia was totally unfounded.

Like any good party, there was an obscene amount of food. Next time I have a potluck I'm going to specify no chips, because that's what everybody brought. I have some "kid" food that will get donated to a worthy home because Patrick is ignoring it.

Overall, it was a very good party. The bouncy house was a hit. We had loads of our lovely friends stop by. Patrick had a great time. And the house was clean by the time we went to bed.

A girlfriend at work asked me about the party. She commented, "I bet you have loads of great pictures!" She doesn't know me that well, does she.