Birthday Girl

Today we celebrated Fiona's 4th birthday. She does not turn 4 until the end of the month but due to other commitments, this weekend was the best weekend to have the party...and there were no complaints from Fiona about having it early. In fact, she has been looking forward to her birthday party for a LONG time.

The theme she chose was a "Magic Party". The entertainment was a magician that a friend had recommended, who was to perform a 45 minute show for the kids. He did a really good job. He engaged the kids, was funny and kept the show moving at a nice pace...and he was a good magician into the bargain. The audience really enjoyed the performance which included an illusion of him cutting through my arm and the grand finale, Fiona levitating on a table. Naomi was one of the assistants for this trick. The look on her face as he was describing the fact that she was about the fly made the whole day worthwhile. A combination of confusion, panic and terror all rolled into one!

After the show, the kids had a craft station, Mindy gave them air-brush tattoos and made some balloon animals for them to play with. All of the kids seemed to have a good time and now Mindys stress levels can get back to normal.

Towards the end of the party, I left with Mindy's (and so I guess my) nephew Ben to tak him to see New York. Gary also came along for the day trip. It was interesting to see what a 13 year old kid was interested in doing...he wanted to see Chinatown and also the big shops in Times Square. We accomplished both of these goals, and had dinner at a pizza restaurant as well. I think he enjoyed the day, even though I don't think he was prepared for the amount of walking involved.

Tomorrow we head off with Holly, Gary and their kids down to Atlantic City for a few days at the beach (and casinos!). Hopefully the Sunday beach traffic is not too bad. Also, hopefully, I do well enough at the tables to pay for the trip! We will see if the poker gods are watching over me.