Yesterday at 11 am our home turned into Hogwarts castle (from Harry Potter fame) with 14 kids all dressed up for our youngest child’s 7th birthday. 12 boys and 2 girls in our home is pretty tough. Not many places to hide. All the children came dressed in Harry Potter costumes and my wife, along with the some enlisted help from neighbors and friends, really did an amazing job. The cake was a 3 tiered version of Hogwarts castle (thanks to Grandma Sara in CA for buying the cake!), and the house was draped in black curtains with candle sticks everywhere. Outside were black and purple balloons hanging from trees (some real and some old branches) all around the front yard. Once everyone arrived, we headed off on a 1 mile quest around the neighborhood to find treasure that my wife had strategically previously planted along the route. True to movie form, the wind was howling and felt like needles as it hit your face. None of the children were fazed as their only focus was more treasure that was found at each stop. The first clue lead them to a large tree across the street where 14 custom made black velvet bags, with jewels, were hanging from the branches looking like they were floating in the wind. Our neighbor Roxy, (who I grew up with) sewed each bag individually and you couldn’t have bought anything like them in any store, even if you wanted. Each child then put their “pouch” around there neck and the group headed off. My wife would read each clue aloud and then the race was on. We constantly had to get the front of the pack to stop and wait as the kids would be strung out for a block from front to rear. Each clue lead to a finely decorated box containing 14 prizes (one for each child) that included everything from the prized golden snitch (ping pong balls cut in half with plastic wings inserted, then glued back together and painted gold), to of course a custom wand (wood cut from our backyard painted gold with glitter glued on the tip), for each kid. We had to have wands but really didn’t think through the spells and stick pointing or hitting by 14 kids at once trying to “out spell” each other. Oh well, no one lost an eye, but it was close. The quest continued around the neighborhood and then we all ended up back at the house. Next was a magic show by my younger brother (the boys uncle), that was a big hit. Then our eldest took his turn at magic and wowed the crowd! Then hot dogs and some fruit, (the fruit really didn’t go over) and then time for cake. About this time I had to abandon the party and go to my downstairs office to refigure my computer network with help from Seattle, as we installed new servers over the weekend (these are big computers that run companies or groups of people), at our Company’s main office. When I finished, Party 1 was over. Next was the family party with grandma and Aunt Blondie and my brother coming back with more presents! After another hour of festivities, it was time to start preparing for bed. A good day was had by all.
My wife did an amazing job getting this all together. Being on a budget, she knew we had to come up with something that wouldn’t cost a lot of money. As it turns out, this was probably the best birthday party any child could have and cost the least. Our 9 year old was a bit jealous but didn’t let it show. However the bar has been raised for next December when he turns 9! He’s already planning out who he wants to come and what type of theme.
I really haven’t had a chance to touch on our Company meeting in Seattle. We really have a special group with a good chance to do some special things. We rented a 7000 and 5000 square foot house where we all stayed. This turned out to be a great choice as the bonding that resulted was priceless. Anyhow, I have two awesome (yes the word is appropriate here) partners, and a great group of co-workers from the front office to the front lines.
I decided (after reading a book from a Harvard professor) to eliminate almost all carbs from wheat and flour from my diet. I did go gluten free while in Seattle and felt great. Now I’m trying to take it a step further and will keep you posted. I also managed to stay on my exercise routine and hit the gym hard twice while out of town. In fact I worked out so hard on Saturday, I’m still sore. I’m really trying to put all facets of getting in shape (diet, exercise and attitude) together as my partner and closest friend in Seattle had lost probably 30 pounds (and he was only 160 or so to start with) and even has a washboard stomach! I was pretty impressed, not so much at how he looked but at his dedication to his new lifestyle.
As my wife said yesterday, we’re lucky enough to have our close friend, co-worker and extended family member, Lolo here from New York/Italy for a week. (he’s from Italy but currently living in NY) I brought him in to handle a few events that were previously scheduled by the man I had to let go early last week. He’s got to be the most polite, gracious person you’d ever hope to meet.
Back to work today after a 3 day weekend (due to the MLK holiday) with lots to do. I do feel reenergized and am excited about what lies ahead. I also feel a huge responsibility to lead by example and surpass any goals that we have planned. It’s really going to be a special year. We didn’t make it to the Stock Show but will try to squeeze it in this week. My lovely wife also starts at Whole Foods today, yeah!, and is busy all week. I’m happy for her as she really wanted this.
We hope everyone is doing well, send us a comment and let us know, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
God Bless,