Bowled over

Who knew it could be so difficult to plan a small birthday party in March? Our first thought was to have Aidan's tenth birthday party at an indoor sports facility, where the boys could play soccer or some other sport. Great idea, except that because it is an indoor sports facility and March is typically a month with winter weather, the facility has league games scheduled and parties can only be held during the day, weekdays only. Harumph.

Our next thought was to have it out at Beaver Lake Nature Center. Great idea, except that March is maple syrup time and the ONLY month when they don't host birthday parties. Harumph again.

We then told Aidan he could have a sleepover with several boys. Before we could finalize details and invite the boys, an incident occurred during winter break where he had a sleepover with one friend that did not go well (the inspiration for the Works in progress post) and we told Aidan that it would be a long, LONG time before that boy would spend the night at our house. Harumph, harumph, harumph. And since that boy was one of the boys whom Aidan wanted to have at his birthday sleepover, he had a choice to make: hold the sleepover without that boy, or choose another option. Aidan choose to do something else, and we finally settled on a party at the local bowling alley. Even then, the first two days/times we chose were already booked, so we had to have it this past Saturday afternoon.

It turned out to be a very fun party. Here Aidan shows his bowling skills:


They took a break from bowling to eat pizza:


We served whoopie pies from Geddes Bakery instead of cake, and Aidan was thrilled to receive a Wii game, two Legos Star Wars kits and two Nerf guns. At the end of two hours, we bagged up the trash, paid our bill and were done. No muss, no fuss, and no pack of boys rampaging through our house. Not bad for a party with fourth grade boys!