Party at the Park, Erin's 6th birthday party

I decided to save a little money this year and have Erin's 6th birthday party at a local park instead of renting a bounce house room or Chuck E. Cheese. I rented the pavilion, then went to Party City and spent a small fortune on paper plates, table covers, etc. So much for saving lots of money. Invitations went out and we were all very excited, until the weather forecast predicted rain on party day. The rain came right on schedule on Friday and lingered all day. Since the rain was supposed to continue into Saturday, I ran to WalMart and got a bunch of games we could play under the pavilion: Pin the Tale on the Donkey, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, etc. But the weathermen were wrong (no! really!!) and it didn't rain on Saturday. Granted, it was cloudy and muggy during most of the party, and there was a little mud in the park, but overall the party went off as planned. The kids played at the park, blew bubbles on the basketball court.They painted sun catchers.

Notice the pinata in the background, hanging from the tree. We had pinata issues.

They ate pizza.

The cake was "Littlest Pet Shop." They were out of Hannah Montana, which was the theme of her party.

And Erin blew out 6 candles. I can't believe she's 6! Time really flies.The pinata was a bit of a fiasco. There is a plastic loop that comes out of the top of the pinata. You string the pinata up through that loop, which I did. Erin was the first to hit the pinata, and after two whacks, the whole pinata, intact, falls to the ground. The plastic loop could not support the weight of the pinata, so I just tore the pinata open with my hands and scattered the candy all over the ground. The kids still had fun grabbing the candy.

Then Jared, Gary's nephew was nice enough to climb the tree to cut the rope down.

After a lot of fun, food, cake and candy, it was time to go home. Erin decided to open her presents at home so that she would have more time to play with her friends. I thought that was a great idea!!

By the end of the party, the sky had cleared and the sun was shinning brightly. It turned out to be a really fun party. Happy 6th birthday, Erin!!