Gabe's birthday bash

Gabe poses with his best friend, Ollantay

So when we made these plans in May, we had no idea that June would be the wettest month in the DFW area EVER. Not the wettest June. The WETTEST. MONTH. EVER. But having paid for the event plus a deposit, we went ahead with our plans. I was a little nervous when one of my students who worked at the pool said the kiddie area was closed and under construction because of a leak, but there was still nothing we could do about it.

That morning, I was downright grouchy because it was not just raining, but STORMING. I had put too much effort into this party for it to not happen. I didn’t WANT to postpone it. Gabe had waited three weeks past his actual birthday already. The cake and cupcakes were ready. The favors had been painstakingly made and the kids helped pick what went in to each sack for each guest. In fact, all of the party loot and decorations had completely taken over our dining room. And we had NO plan B or even knowledge about the rain policy.

A view that belies how ugly the day was

The weather outside was frightful for most of Father’s day (and the week before and after it), but for the two hours of Gabe’s party, it was miraculously clear. We’d had tons of calls all day of people asking whether the party was still on. It was, because the city doesn’t reschedule unless lightning/ thunder cause them to vacate the pool (or they can’t see the bottom of the pool because it’s raining too hard). Of course, this policy was NOT in the paperwork I had from the city. What was in the rules, I had not completely related to Abbey. I didn’t tell her we weren’t allowed to get in early to set up or decorate. I actually didn’t think they’d be so strict about it. Plus I know half of the kids who work there. But that didn’t help us in this case. I felt bad about this because I could have prevented most of Abbey’s frustration if I had only given her the Xerox of the papers I’d had for her but never remembered to hand over when I saw her. The rules were the rules, but since she didn’t know the rules til she got there, it was upsetting.

(This is the only good picture I have of Maddie's Luau side of the party!)

As it was, I also missed the first half hour of the party because I was setting up the cake, decorations, etc. I started to take pictures right at 7 o’clock, at which point my last camera battery died. So I went to plug it into the socket on the wall near our picnic tables, and promptly got a big electric shock. My feet were still wet from going in the pool to get Paloma, and I was standing on cement. I yelled involuntarily and was seriously dazed for a few minutes. So stupid, I know, but I can’t remember the last time I gave electrocution a thought.

The balloons ended up being a waste, but they are still floating around in the house now!

The cool weather could not have contributed to the comfort of anyone who dared to go in the water, but for those of us who stood around and watched the children turn blue, it felt very nice out. (Mason literally looked blue, so Amy made him get out of the water, but the picture I took to capture the phenomenon did not show it at all:


Paloma sits on the kiddie pool contraption (Carmen was too tall to go on this structure, although it's the same as the Bedford one where all sizes are allowed).
T Paloma thought she was stuck.

I had to go in the water to help her, and I literally yelped when I felt the water (only up to my ankles).

We didn’t have great turnout; many people who had RSVP’d did not come. But we had plenty of people to celebrate with us and Gabriel did not notice that Ollantay and Austin were his only friends from school who came. He had insisted on inviting everyone in his class, and I had made license plates for all of them just in case.

Austin & Gabe

I was delighted to have 3 former students as lifeguards—Tricia, Chris & Jordan—and Amy, one of my favorites from this past school year, was working the door when we arrived.
Tricia, one of my favorite lifeguards in the whole world (she was a yearbook kid)
Lifeguard Chris
Lifeguard Jordan
Gigi made Gabe this fabulous Lightning McQueen cake.
We made the cupcakes and stuck the road sign suckers in them! (Wish I had a better picture, but I don't!)
This is my cousin Chrys, whose blog inspired this one two years ago!
Owen, climbing out of the pool
My cousin Andrea is home from t.u. (aka UT). I guess she's too grown up to swim!
Allison with Zoe & Maya
I'm in a picture because Lety offered to hold the camera when Paloma was crying and I had to go in the pool to get her.
Sofia was feeling protective of P-Lo.
Lety & Sofia
Ashley & Carmen
Carmen played most of the time with Ashley and her cousin Benjamin (so where is HE?)
Amy G took this picture of Gabe. I was so thankful to see her there with her camera. She's trying to start up a photography business. (She took the next two below as well.)
Oh yeah, one of the funny things at the party was, during the singing of "Happy Birthday", Gabriel and Austin (on the left) were in deep discussion. At the end of the song, someone had to get his attention to blow out the candles. I think the boys were negotiating about which cupcake/ sucker they were planning to eat, but I never found out for sure.
Gabriel wanted a piece of cake as well as his cupcake. He asked for Lightning's eyes, so he got them. Unfortunately, he left them on the table, and did not understand why we would throw them away. (We had to be OUT at the time the party was over or risk losing our $100 deposit. I fed the lifeguards our extra cupcakes as insurance on our way out.)
I missed this part of the party because once the children had their cupcakes, we could not find the plates & utensils for the Lightning McQueen cake. (They were on the dining room table. David loaded everything that was in a box, but those were in a bag.) Thankfully, the supervisor at the pool provided us some nice, thick papertowels, so we were able to serve cake to people who didn't mind eating with their hands. How embarrassing! Also, was no one thirsty, or did they not recognize our coolers? We had over 100 drinks, but only 5 Diet Cokes, 4 Cokes, 1 Sprite, 10 bottles of water were consumed, so we had to take them all home! (I don't know how many juice boxes, but they will last us forever--we never serve juice at home!)
Maya and Zoe enjoyed all of the laughs they could get by being silly.

Mason, the Champion

Landon shows off the Piston Cup

Reese wins the piston cup

The “Piston Cup” inflatable trophy was a big hit with several kids, but Gabriel enjoyed the inflatable street signs, particularly the “SLOW” sign, which he strategically placed on the path to the water slide because that was where the lifeguards kept reminding the kids, “Walk!” “Don’t run!”

We did have almost all of the family turn out for the party. Even my aunt Jennifer made it, and we haven’t seen her in a LONG time! Also, my cousin Chrys, her husband Mike and son Oliver came all the way from Garland despite the weather.

Family table

Lots of people helped with Paloma during the party so I could be a host and take pictures: Nesha, Jackie, Lety, Tricia, Sofia, and my friend/ stylist Tammy. Thanks, everybody!

Nesha helps with Paloma

Jackie arrives, much to Paloma's delight
Finally, someone to help her get the chocolate off of her face!

The Avila Family
Maddie & Melanie
Owen was adorable in his Lifeguard tee and sunglasses (in the Luau theme).
Landon enjoyed both sets of party favors.
Paloma signed Maddie's guest book (but her name isn't on her page--sorry, Abbey!)
Gabe poses with the only present he opened at the party: his new "whacker" from the golfers in the family (Joe & Susan, Meg & Andy).

All in all, it was a good party, enjoyed most of all by Gabriel!