Flamingo Birthday Party

Madison had a birthday party today, and it was everything we hoped it could be.  As parents you get nervous about who is going to show up, or how many, or how is it all going to turn out.  And the answer to it all is, "Everything's just fine."  In fact, better than fine - it was a wonderful occasion, and Madison was very happy with it all.  She enjoyed the painting party so much last month that she wanted to have her own, so we booked the place for today.  The reason for this is all the camps that are upcoming:  Madison is going to a martial arts camp next week, and a few of the girls above are all doing a ballet camp as well.  So today was a good day to do this, despite the fact that Madison's actual birthday is about two weeks away.  

Here are the girls towards the end of the party, holding up their finished products.  Some time ago, Madison was given a choice what to paint, and there were at least forty different options to choose from.  She chose the flamingos, and from there, Mommy and Daddy made it a flamingo party.

You can see Mommy prepared the cupcakes here, all with a flamingo theme.  The drinks were in a bowl shaped like a seashell, something we first used at our wedding luau eighteen years ago.

We even got an inflatable flamingo to greet everyone as they came in!  We ordered a bunch of this stuff last week, once we knew what sort of painting Madison had chosen.  

Another thing Madison wanted to do was get all the girls some flower leis as they arrived, so one by one as they walked in, Madison greeted her friends and gave them flower leis.  Some wore these on their heads while others put them around their necks.  But shortly after this, all the girls lined up, each in front of a canvas, ready to create their painting.

One parent remarked about how quiet this party was, and she was right.  All the girls were intent on creating something with their paints.  Of course there was chatter and laughter, and a lot of compliments and encouragement.  But the girls were really focused on making their paintings.

As you can see above, the instructor there basically tells the girls what to do, step by step.  She does the same thing on stage there, as everyone else does their best to copy what she is doing, using their own style.

What's great is that everyone does have a different style.  Some chose to smooth out the paint and mix it together with a thinner blend, while others streaked thick globs of paint on there.  No one style is better than the other - it's just a different and creative way of doing the same thing.

Some had never done this before, so it was a new experience for them.  And the end results came out so well, I'd like to think that this is something they'll probably do again!

Another thing about this sort of party is the creative aspect of it.  Much like our annual pumpkin carving party, the participants are actively creating something as they go along.  Other birthday parties feature a lot of running around, or sitting and watching a movie.  While there's nothing wrong about those sorts of events, this idea of making something really appealed to us.

And as you can see in some of these pictures, the girls were really enjoying it  The parents that were there enjoyed it too, watching the girls swirl paints on canvas, expressing themselves artistically.

Here's Isabella, who had this very same type of birthday one month before.  We attended that together, and Madison had such a good time that we decided this would be fun for us to try as well.  She did great with this painting as well, now getting to be somewhat of an expert.

And then there were others that had never done this before, and by the end of the party, their moms were saying the same thing, that this is the perfect idea for a birthday party.

You can see how intent they are with their paints.  Before getting started, each is given a palette of paints, and in some cases the colors are mixed right there on the canvas, particularly with the blues of the sky.  But the pink for the flamingos was mixed on the palette, each girl using her paintbrush to swirl together the red and white paints.

The first part gets everyone comfortable with the idea of painting.  The backdrop  is just a mix of blues and whites, spread horizontally across the canvas.

And don't forget the sides of the canvas!  The entire party was like a Painting with Bob Ross episode, and in fact, that would make for such a fun theme of a party now, wouldn't it?  Daddy was tempted to get a Bob Ross wig, but of course I'm not sure if any of the kids there would have got it.  Plus, it was really hot outside.

Madison sat closer to the wall, so it was harder to scoot back there to take a picture of what she was painting than with the others.  But she was right there towards the front, with her "flamingo glitter head bopper" on.  

Here's a better look at it above.  Earlier this week when she and Mommy were out shopping, they spotted this and had to get it.  We would have gotten one for everyone, but these cost a bit more.  Plus, it was sort of like some sort of "birthday crown" for her today.  She proudly wore it throughout the party, that is until she got another headband some time later.  More on that soon enough.

Ah, the hair dryers.  This is a big part of the painting process once the backdrop was done.  All the girls lined up to use the four or five hair dryers, making sure all the background was dry before going any further.  Some of the girls were working faster, and were at the hair dryers faster.  Others were taking their time - it all worked out in the end with timing.

Next came that pink color they mixed.  Step by step, they create the shapes as directed by the instructor, boldly putting their pink flamingos in place on the canvas.  Some kids made smaller ones, while other flamingos filled up a lot of the space.

Some of these kids are natural talents with the paint brush.  And all of them were enjoying the process, looking at each other's works and laughing together as they made a nice little souvenir to take home.

They all had their smocks on, and the flower leis, carefully observing the teacher.  We had a mix of music playing in the background, and yes, "The Greatest Showman" was playing.  But also there was a good mix of other songs perfect for kids this age.

You can see Madison's picture is coming along really well.  Just a few more steps and they'll be done.  The legs were added almost last.  The kids each added bits of pink fluff at the bottom to cover the tops of the legs so that it looked a bit more natural.  You can see the messy tables in this picture too, where the paintbrushes were wiped on the paper covering the table there.  One extremely young sibling was mixing all kinds of paint on that paper, further down the table.  It made you watch where you rested your hands.  Yes, the kids got paint all over their arms, and were laughing about it.

So here's Madison with her end product.  And you saw all the other ones lined up on stage at the top of this page.  Daddy had them all on stage, lined up and showing off their creations.  And again - with all sincerity - they all turned out really well!  

Here's a better shot of Madison's end product.  The instructor had all the kids sign their painting in one place or another, and just like that, they were all done with their masterpieces!  That's about when Mary Shannon and Camille arrived, and there was much squealing!

It was nice of them to show up, as the girls love to see them at church each week.  Madison gave them both flower leis right away.  They couldn't make it to the party earlier due to prior commitments, but they raced here as soon as they could, just in time to enjoy the part where everyone gathers around and sings "Happy Birthday!"

Mommy lit the candles on the cupcake tower, and there were jokes about flaming flamingos, but no fire was set.  It was a sweet moment.  Madison then blew out her candles.

And soon everyone was at the other table, eating their cupcakes.  Oh... and you can see the shell to the left there with the drinks in it, as well as the chocolate covered strawberries on the plates to the left and right.  And the flamingo plates and napkins we have there to the right.  The strawberries were made this morning - we got up early and melted the chocolate, and dipped the strawberries this morning first thing.  By the end of this party, every single strawberry was gone!  They were delicious!  But so were the cupcakes!

Madison was overwhelmed after that, opening up gift after gift from her friends.  They were all kits for creating arts and crafts, colored pencil sets - or in the case above, cat ears on a headband.  Madison wore that on and off with her flamingo headband as well.  It was really nice opening up all the gifts, and she was so grateful.  When she got home, she immediately wrote all her friends a customized card, using her art kids to make the thank you cards that she'll hand out, or mail.

But the greatest gift they could have given her was simply being there.  And that was the biggest blessing that Mommy and Daddy got out of all of this.  It was such a blessing to see her friends arrive, and see the parents stick around too, because they were having a good time as well.

Yes, that's Daddy photobombing in the background there.  Madison had a great day, and after the last gift was opened, and the last chocolate-covered strawberry was devoured, the kids all gave each other hugs, and posed for pictures, some of which you're seeing here.

It was a wonderful gathering of friends, and we were honored and filled with joy to see our friends show up to celebrate Madison.  It was a truly unforgettable birthday party!

We got outside to load things in the car, and it was so hot and humid that you just knew something was up in the skies.  In fact, it was.  Racing towards us were storms, this time from the west.  Earlier, they came from the north, and before that the south.  Yes, we got more rain today, and it was more violent than anything we've had recently.  Wind assaulted the neighborhood, with leaves and debris left all over as evidence of the strong storms that rolled through the area.  Our great room area has these windows up high, ones that wrap around the corner of the house there - you can watch the tops of the trees from there all around, and it can be scary watching them sway to and fro.  The rain came down at a forty-five degree angle, and we would all be startled by the sudden crackling blasts of thunder that rattled the houses all around.  

The temperature cooled off at least fifteen degrees, very quickly.  The rain continued, but the rougher parts had passed, and it was just nice to sit out there on the front porch, listening to the rainfall pitter patter on the leaves of the trees.  The temperature change was very pleasant, although I know we don't need the surplus of water lately.  The lake is already three and a half feet above pool, as creeks and rivers have been flooding all over the Southeast.  The word "flash flood" is something I usually only think of with the Southwest, but we've had a lot of that lately around here in this area.

We were safe - and grateful - in this house.  Madison spent the rest of her afternoon writing thank you notes, and using her new art supplies.  We played a few games, and watched an important movie together tonight, "Hidden Figures."  This is such a great movie, as it shows what Madison was learning about throughout the school year.  While other movies show racism and the violence associated with it, this one had a different approach, showing the ridiculous things that had to be put up with:  "colored" bathrooms, "colored" water fountains, "colored" library sections, and "colored" bus seating, and "colored" coffee cups.  To paraphrase one of the more intelligent characters who was upset about the bathroom situation, "We all pee the same color."  It's easy to get upset and angry at burning crosses and so forth, but what this movie does is show how utterly stupid racism is.  We all enjoyed the movie, and I felt it was a learning experience for Madison.  And even though Mommy and Daddy saw it before, it's always a learning experience putting yourself in someone else's shoes.  Or bathroom.

Tonight it was late when we went to bed.  That's summer for you.  We read from "The Miserable Mill," just one chapter, and our devotional as well.  And we said our prayers, so thankful for a wonderful, wonderful day.  We are so blessed, and so grateful for so much.  From bathrooms to flamingos.  Goodnight!