Camp Bailey Myers Birthday || Sat., April 19, 2008

What does a rave have in common with Bailey and Myers's birthday party? Glowsticks and a healthy supply of grass.

It's time for the annual birthday celebration. The nice thing about having two kids so close together is that we only have to plan one party. I mean, they both know the same people, have the same family, run in the same circles. This year we went with a camping theme (a stretch for us, I know). We set up a tent in the yard and filled it with balloons, made a homemade papier mache hornets' nest pinata, set up a fire ring for smores, and cooked out turkeyburgers and chicken dogs (I know... it sounds like some kind of inbred meat project... but a statistic to chew on... 17% of greenhouse gases in the world are emitted by cars, trucks, vans, etc. 18% is produced by the beef industry, covering everything from methane gas to nitrogen fertilizer to agricultural production to be fed to cows to cost of transporting food to cows, cows to slaughter, meat to stores, etc. IF every American ate 20% less meat for a year... less, not even cutting it out.... it would be the equivalent of everyone driving a hybrid for a year... wow.... Where's the tax credit for vegetarians?). All in all, a great party. As always, Jodie made a kickin' cake. This year, to add to the theme, she put down a base layer of green icing and then some candy grass we got after Easter to add a layer of realism. It looked great, but the kids freaked out. One kid said at least 30 times "This is gross! It's not even real grass." Yes, folks. He wanted real grass, and around time number 29 I was ready to shove some grass down his throat :)

In the end, any party that ends with a fire is pretty good in my book. We asked Bailey today what she wanted the theme to be next year so we can start planning... SO, I beam with pride as I say this... next April get ready for a kayaking party :)