Sophia’s Birthday – Two-fold celebration

In the last few weeks/months, we have been working hard to get our new house ready for my daughter’s seventh birthday this past Saturday.  We celebrated both the birth and the life of our dearest oldest daughter Sophie as well as the birth of our new “home.” 

Up until Saturday, only a few close friends and  relatives were able to transcend with the walls of the place we now call “home.”   Basically since our move-in date in December, we have been living surrounded and sometimes suffocated by moving boxes and other items that had yet to find their place.  It was like coming home to a place expecting to escape the stress and challenges of the work place, but being forced to realize that chaos would further overwhelm our minds.  So many things to do and seemingly so little time and energy to do it.  

As with most things in our lives, our children provided us the strength and will to take control of  this chaos and make me this house a place  for all the Jackles to be proud to call “home.”

One thing you have to understand about my life partner Jackie, nothing is more important to her than the family(especially our girls) and making someone feel special on their birthday.  Be sure to never tell her she needs a “strong man”  to do anything.  Thirdly, do not tell her that something she wants for the girl’s birthday can not be done.  This heart and will are some of the many qualities I love about my wife. 

Before the party, I told her we do not have time to paint the girl’s bedroom, playroom and our dining room.  We needed to focus on unpacking the boxes and finding homes for our mass of things. The painting and decorating can wait until after the party deadline.  When we moved a few months back , it was promised to the girls that their bedroom would be painted with Sophie’s choice of purple and the playroom would be painted with Savannah’s choice of yellow.  

Well, we have a birthday party coming up where she arranged approximately 40-50 guests.  When Jackie sets a deadline, things will get done or else.    We just can not do things half way(no painting in this case) when it comes to the kids birthday party plus we promised the kids.  So the rooms not only got painted but also decorated in a manner that would make some like Martha Stewart proud.  Jackie should start a home decor company that specializes in kids rooms.  I will leave the pictures of these rooms for another blog post down the line.  

You would think after being together for almost 15 years that I would not have any doubts that all the “decor” and “party” things on our list would be completed in time for our birthday celebration.  Keep in mind, the credit for the home transformation and party planning does not center on the person that is writing this post but rather on the hard work and vision of his partner in life.

So, the plan for the party was to have the guests take turns in the “moon walk” or “bouncy house” that we got from our realtor Linda Craft.   We arrived at her office to pick it up and were told we need 3-to-5 strong men and “big” pickup truck to get it to our house.   Well, my brother-in-law Craig  and Jackie came in our mini-van, and I  arrived straight from work in my Subaru.   So much for three big strong men (especially when I am counted in the mix) and a big pickup truck.   The three of us loaded the bundled bouncy house in the van and Jackie and Craig rolled it out of van and on to the driveway at our house before I could arrive at home.

Well, it rained all weekend none of the guests were outside and the bouncy house stayed put in all its bundled glory until Monday when it needed to be returned.  Sorry Linda, no bouncy house advertising for you this past weekend.  Or in the spirit of Jerry Seinfeld  “No Bounce for you!”   So everyone was packed in our house entertaining themselves with the crafts, indulging in the facing painting artistry of my niece Beverly, and smacking one super-sale piñata. 

No one seemed to care that they could not go for a bounce.  The party went off  like a bang!  Again thank God for my wife’s party planning.  That may be another business idea come to think of it. 

Here are some shots from the party.

First up, the birthday girl grabbing the first slice of the cake with my camera interruption under the watchful and loving eye of her grandmother Ginger. It was great to see my dad and Ginger at the party.  They surprised us earlier in the week by letting us know that they would be in NC.

You can always count on Zoe from Sophie’s girl scout troop to add some energy and humor to the party.

 

 

This brother and sister team added to the fun!

Do you think they will be this “love dovey” in a few years ?

The kids patiently waiting in the piñata line. 

Another satisfied “Beverly’s face painting” customer!

I am trying to convince a son of a Steelers fan to be a Packer fan!  Or at least to razz his father! This is my god son Josh.  Do you think that the parents really knew what they were getting into when they named me his god father?    Time will tell.. :)

 

Guests can find these and more pictures from the party can be found on  my Triangle Photo Prints web site.    I will be adding more to the gallery in the next few days.