A real "hoot"!

Zoey's Owl Party was so much fun!

The day couldn't have gone any better...well, I would have preferred a bit more sleep the night before, and it would have been nice if the cold I've been brewing for a week now had chosen another day to attack my sinuses full-on, but other than that, it was great. Due to the lack of sleep Friday night, Zoey went down easily for an early nap at noon on Saturday, which was PERFECT. Knowing full well that a tired toddler and a party full of people is a recipe for disaster, I was praying for a solid two-hour nap that afternoon and the birthday girl totally delivered.

Kendra and I showed up at the pizza place at 3:30 p.m. to set up for our 4:00 party, and the first words out of the high school employee's mouth were "we have a birthday party today?". At first I found that VERY disconcerting, until we both looked around at the deserted restaurant and she said "well, what section do you want?". We naturally chose the section closest to the kid's play area and set up all the owl goodies I've been working so hard on in the past couple weeks. There was even a decorated Christmas tree in our section--very festive!

Lots of Zoey's friends were able to come and they all had a blast running wild in the restaurant. Fortunately there weren't many people there until we were getting ready to clear out, so they pretty much had the run of the place. Sadly, not one of them was interested in sitting still long enough to color on his or her place mat. What was I thinking??

We only had one minor birthday-girl meltdown at present time. The first couple of presents were clothing, which were much appreciated but not terribly exciting when you're two. The first toy that got unwrapped and not actually OPENED, however, was enough to start a downward spiral in to meltdown mode. Luckily, Oma was there to wisk each gift away and hand her a new one, so we were able to move fairly quickly through the whole pile.

I think everyone had a great time--it helped that there was a football game on TV (who was playing, I have no idea...), and all the Daddies (okay, and most of us Mommies) could kick back and relax with a beer while we either watched the game or chatted with friends. My mom and sister Lisa, and Lisa's baby Lily, all drove down from Mt. Vernon, and my dad, grandma, and Bryan's mom were all here from Puyallup. It was a great group!

Oh, and the owl cupcakes? Total hit.

Enjoy the pictures!