Birthday Bash #1

 It's not every day you turn 40. And when you're as popular as Stacey, one party in one country just isn't enough. While we've been planning a big dinner in England for months, we didn't want to ignore the occasion at home. 

Stace said he'd like to take part in a scavenger hunt. I thought we'd do it in teams, and end at Meadows Park, where we could play some games, all for points. Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty took over from there. Then, it was back home for a grilled dinner. 

I hid clues in buckets around our neighborhood and then across McBean and at the park, with little rhymes leading you from clue to clue. The four teams also had to find and photograph various things related to Stace, like the number 40, a coin from his birth year, and an awesome car. This team - JT, Jim, my dad, Scott and Keith, photographed Keith's Jag. Stace picked this one to win the points.

 

Another task was to "photograph the rain that Stacey misses."  Here is Stace's team's idea, getting a neighbor to spray the hose.

 Back at the park, Bill (a junior high principal) ran the games. There was a water balloon toss, wet-ball dodge ball, Twister, filling empty milk jugs with cups of water, watermelon-eating, a pinata - it was a ton of fun and very well-organized.

 Here's Michelle and Cora tossing water balloons...

 ...but John and Ave won the points. In fact, they won many of the points in the different games.

 The wet dodge ball game was a hit - we had such a fun group of friends to celebrate with.

Most of the games involved getting the dads wet. Thankfully the weather cooperated (and it wasn't too hot to play around outside.)

Watching the watermelon-eating contest was priceless. This round was between the previous rounds' winners, John, Rigo and Jim.

The pinata brought out all the aggression in Johnny.

The moms were blindfolded before they got to take a swing. Stace never got a chance to hit it - Colleen broke it open before the men got a go.

Back at home, Brad took over the barbecue while everyone chatted and enjoyed a lovely evening.

Jim and JT's little guy Jonah was a hit - everyone wanted make him smile.

Thanks to Michelle for making all the delicious Nutella cupcakes and cake! And thanks to my dad for the photos! And thanks to everyone for coming out.