I shopped a lot in Texas before I left and when I got to the kids house, I did some cleaning. So, by the time we got to the day before the big birthday and party, I was having a lot of problems with my knees. This is really nothing unusual for me, but I was in enough pain that I could not stand the thought of standing to mix the cake. Not what I had wanted for this weekend. So, I roped the kid's dad into making the cake. Of course the girls did help and I was on stand by for questions. It was his first time to mix a cake from scratch, possibly the first time to make a cake, period -- I'm not sure. All in all, I think they did a very good job of it.
You can't really tell from this angle, but that is indeed a Dora the Explorer cake pan. Fortunately, they had one already. Unfortunately, neither the kid's dad nor I felt up to decorating the cake as Dora should look. The oldest granddaughter came up with the perfect solution. Make Dora a ghost since it's close to Halloween! One smart kid! I loved the idea and her dad did too. After it baked, we left it to cool on the racks, so we could frost it in the morning.
On the big day, the girls wanted to help with the party too, so I let them decorate the cake. It did not look the least little bit like Dora when the girls finished with the white frosting and I put on the chocolate sprinkles that represented her eyes and mouth, (it would not have looked like Dora if I had done it either!).
Dad and I decorated the kitchen for the party while the girls frosted. When it was all completed, the birthday boy realized that everyone had disappeared into the kitchen. He came to investigate and the party started! First we sang "Happy Birthday to you" and he blew out the 7 candles, even though he continued to tell us he was only six.
Then came time to eat the cake -- which he had been asking for for 2 days! I don't think he cared what Dora looked like at this point.
Then we started playing games. First there was Bingo. I didn't look at the game cards before we started and didn't realize that all of the cards had the same exact pictures on every card, only in different places! So, when we played a "black out" game, they all "bingo-ed" at the same time! Actually, they all "bingo-ed" when we did a single row too. I never did figure that one out, but I didn't try really hard either. After Bingo, we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey. It was the first time for my grandson to play anything like this and possibly the first time for the girls too. They understood the rules well enough, but I think the two youngest could see the game despite the blindfold. They both got the tail very close to the bull's eye that marked the spot to aim for. The oldest, didn't peek, but did feel the game for the other two tails!
At that point, I decided that I didn't really do that well on the games (or enough fun had been had!) and we decided to open the gifts! The costumes from me were not a huge hit, but that's OK. I know that they will come in very handy down the line somewhere. They will be enjoyed. His dad and sisters got him a Nerf gun that shot Nerf darts. It only took about 10 minutes before the first child (CV) was hit near the eye and the safety lecture started. The hit of the gifts was a water safe car thing. It actually floated. Only about thirty minutes after the gift opening was completed and the balloon playing was dying down, did I hear the birthday boy ask for a bath so he could play with his cars in the tub.
Balloon playing continued off and on all night. I think the party was a success and fun was had by all. The girls are already talking about what they want at their parties.
