Joshua's 8th Birthday Party
So this was it; the big one! Last year, for Joshua's 7th birthday, we'd put the big tent up in the garden and hosted a great camping party. It was the talk of the school and of course that meant we had to up the ante this year with a new and improved version - hence the invitations for a Giant Indoor Sleepover! With fourteen kids on the entry-list we knew that sleep was going to be at a premium and so Lenore came up with a range of wild and exciting activities designed to engage and exhaust the most sugar-hyped child! That's probably why the first half of the party was all about making things - camping beds in the sleeping room, hand-made pizzas for tea, fire-pits for a barbecue and dens to hide from lions:
| [](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yualb-wZ9Tk/TZJG8n6spSI/AAAAAAAAAH8/YiUnOsWmoMI/s1600/P1080349.JPG) |
| These pizzas are hard work! |
| [](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SckWvJuWT4Y/TZJHElVOCoI/AAAAAAAAAIA/dSxffqc2fIY/s1600/P1080403.JPG) |
| Let it rain - we're snug as bugs |
| [](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTEpmag_UqE/TZJHUAjm1iI/AAAAAAAAAII/Ke8UaoG97Ss/s1600/P1080432.JPG) |
| We didn't do it! |
After this, well, it was more a case of unmaking things! As darkness fell spirits lifted and the garden became a place of magic, mystery and naked flames:
| [](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DdACe9qYmwc/TZJHMks1FuI/AAAAAAAAAIE/Kv6rhb2I-kU/s1600/P1080464.JPG) |
| There's trouble brewing.... |
Speaking of naked flames there was plenty of fire-worship going on whether outdoors:
| [](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vj2bROSvoFQ/TZJKM9DHChI/AAAAAAAAAIM/JU-yojgS1L0/s1600/P1080507.JPG) |
| I think our marshmallows are ready! |
Or indoors:
| [](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JNlID0QhIBs/TZJKRbwhh0I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/FG96y0IJEXg/s1600/P1080632.JPG) |
| Lift-off! |
After these heady times the plan was for everyone to wind-down with a nice DVD, lashings of hot chocolate and some slowly-dimming lights. Well as far as plans go it didn't last long - perhaps up until the midnight feast that got cracked open at about 9pm (luckily giving us adults enough time to relax with a hearty dinner). Beyond this point a succession of increasingly ineffective attempts were made to quieten the troops down and take the edge of the rampant party fever but it was no good; it was rumpus time and we just had to go with the flow. So we made them all sleep in the garden:
| [](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dmVLmtWBGEw/TZJM--SQ32I/AAAAAAAAAIU/TG0ZnsMHonk/s1600/P1080674.JPG) |
| Rise and shine! |
Okay that's not strictly true but it was certainly the case that 'musical rooms' was the order of the evening! Eventually at some time after midnight, and a certain laying down of the law, peace settled across the battlefield and we all regrouped for the grand finale. Surprisingly enough this didn't take place at 5am or even 6am; not until after the clock struck seven did life emerge and we settled down to the very important business of making pancakes for a succession of hungry customers. And then we made some more. And then I went shopping because we'd run out of ingredients! Talk about a production line!
| [](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KxPw10sixAs/TZJNCxh7rdI/AAAAAAAAAIY/YHBSWjMwjnE/s1600/P1080687.JPG) |
| We love Nutella |
Once well-fuelled the mob made for the garden and busied themselves once again with their shelters, bouncing on the trampoline and engaging in a form of hand-to-hand combat with improvised firearms. Probably a typical day if you have fourteen kids! Still everyone seemed to have a great time, the only damage was some nail varnish on the carpet and no-one was especially eager to leave when their parent's arrived. All in all Lenore came up with the goods again - although we couldn't have done it without an army of eager helpers. Thank you everyone!
Next year though - I think that we'll hire a clown!