The Trip to Raleigh

{I'm not sure why the layout is all messed up. I'll try to work on it. Click on the pictures to enlarge. There are a lot of them}

This little girl turned 3 on Saturday!!

Our trip to Raleigh was awesome.

I think Olivia LOVED her party. Kim worked hard to pull it all together.

For a party for 3 year olds that normally wouldn't have organization, there actually was.

We got down there on Friday night at about 11:30pm. It was a long ride but I got to play DJ with the ipod and entertained Steve with my singing....to country music....the WHOLE way. I'm positive that he loved it. :-)

We drank some wine when we finally arrived.

The kids were already in bed so I didn't see them until the next morning.

Saturday morning, we woke up to Olivia and Carleigh jumpin' on the air mattress.
As amused as Carleigh looks in this picture, she had fun too. I have to catch her off-guard cause she won't pose for pictures for me.
And, why does this 4 year old look so old??? WHAT?

We spent Saturday morning helping decorate the basement for her SCOOBY DOO party.
Kim went all out.


She bought tons of decorations, rented a "jumpin bean" as Olivia calls it, and even had the Scooby Doo theme song playing.

We took a break at one point to visit a spider outside who made a home on their bush.

That spider was NASTY looking. North Carolina has some BIG bugs!

Back to the party...I was told that I needed to be on "tattoo duty" for the little kids when they walked in. I practiced on Carleigh and Olivia beforehand. Tattoos are serious business.

I had a station set up and everything. Stickers, snacks and tattoos. What more does a kid need?

So, when the party started, they planned a cake mystery to go along with the Scooby Doo theme and the cake went MISSING!

The kids had solve the clues to find the cake.

Each clue led to a different game.

The kids started out in the theatre room (yes, they have a movie theatre) and watched a little Scooby Doo while all the other kids arrived.

The birthday girl was asleep while this was all going on, poor thing.

Most of the adults were just mingling.

When everyone arrived, we herded the kids like cattle to where the cake was originally and now it was missing.

But...there was a clue! Check out how animated Kim is when she reads the first clue.

The clue told them to all go back to the theatre room. They had to get their goody bag...

...and play the first game there...

They had to toss a ring on Scooby's ear and they would get a prize.

After they all got a prize, Kim read the next clue for the next game.

(Again, the animation in her face...unbelievable)...

They had to pin the bone on Scooby's mouth.

They all cheated except for one little girl.

But, it was cute.

And, Steve was happy too with his friend Jack.

And, the third game was a Scooby pinata.

I didn't realize that kids don't "beat" the pinata with a bat anymore. I guess too many kids got whacked in the face.

Now, they pull strings until someone pulls the right one.

And, they went crazy!

Grabbing all of the candy until there was not one piece left.

And, from there they got their final clue which led them to the cake. It had been stolen by this scary man...

We ended the missing cake game and lit the candles for Olivia to blow out.

The cake was served in dog food bowls with their names on them.

They sat on a picnic blanket on the floor...like a dog.

And, the birthday girl was happy. Doesn't she look it?

For the final surprise of the day, they had rented a princess "jumpin' bean". This thing was insane.

It had an obstacle course complete with basketball hoop...

And, slide!

There were a few injuries.

But, overall, everyone had a great time.

And, then my camera battery died. :-(

Doug, Steve and I went to a par 3 golf course that had lights after the party was over and came back and Kim made us iced tea vodka and lemonades. We LOVED them!

(And, just for the record so I remember, I beat Steve by 7 strokes at golf!)