Mouse's friends party

At our house, we do not have friends over for birthday celebrations. Early on we learned that there is no way to invite people over for your child's birthday celebration without getting lots of gifts -- you can say "no gifts," but someone always brings'em anyway. So instead, we wait a few months and have a friends party.

The girls after breakfast the next morning.

Mouse really wanted a pool party so she and her friends could pretend to be mermaids. That seemed simple enough: just pile the kids into the van and take them ot the outdoor Aquatic Center for a few hours, then back home for supper.

Well, wouldn't you know it, after a very warm few weeks earlier in June, the day of the party was forecast to have a high in the 50s, with rain and high winds. Starling and I spent the twenty-four hours before the party trying to figure out an alternative setting for the pool party. (Postponing wasn't an option, since one of the girls is moving to China in July.) You know, there are something like nine indoor swimming pools in this town, but accessing any of them is either impossible or prohibitively expensive ($100+ for a hotel room).

So we went on Facebook to fish for suggestions, and we got one that worked -- a hotel in Rochester with a small indoor waterpark that you could get into for a reasonable price. Sure, it was an hour away. Sure, it cost more than we planned to spend. But the mermaid party was saved! All the girls had a fun and memorable time.