A Sports-Themed Fifth Birthday Party for Caleb

In June, I optimistically thought we'd have a Sharks-themed super soaker birthday party for Caleb. We were coming off the high of a successful Scooby Doo Mystery party for Xander. Then, our summer ended with a week vacation in Michigan, and the start of Kindergarten and First Grade. A Labor Day weekend barbeque at our house with 16 to 20 kids seemed exhausting.

So, we did what we thought we never would do. We looked into a jump house party. Those organized parties at a location that has an obstacle course of bouncy houses for the kids. You get a "party planner" who guides the kids through the three sections of organized fun, followed by a pizza party and cake. There is nothing wrong with these parties. They are just a bit sterile.

Once we decided that we were going down this path, we started researching sports complexes in our area where we could combine sports with jump houses. And we actually found two such options, and settled on one. We ended up having the party at the Silver Creek Sportsplex -- which claims to be the largest indoor fitness and sports facility under one roof in North America.

The party was two parts bouncy house, and one part play on an indoor soccer field. The sports theme fits our very athletic five-year old to a tee. It was also off the beaten path enough, that we had yet to attend a party there on the preschool birthday circuit.

The facility is very clean, and the party was extremely well organized. Our "coach" for the day was excellent -- he teaches soccer clinics to young children, and one of our guests had spent the summer in his class.

We also had the run of the place. It could be the Labor Day weekend, but the bouncy house areas were closed to the general public during the birthday party. Which meant the 15 minutes in the obstacle course bouncy house section, followed by the 15 minutes in the bouncy house section with the basketball court, and the 15 minutes on the sports field were for just our 16 kids. We also weren't back to back with another party, so the kids weren't rushed through. It was awesome.

Maybe next year will do a barbeque -- with my super soaker vision (water guns, water balloons, and a slip and slide). Hopefully back to school should be less daunting, and Caleb will have plenty of friends in first grade to invite. But this year, a bouncy house party organized for us was just our speed.

I'm not 4 I'm 5

Today was Xander's fifth birthday. In two months he will be starting kindergarten. The beautiful green eyed boy that I called "baby boy" is growing up. He knows how to behave in restaurants, he holds your hand when crossing the street, he can walk into a store filled with breakables and not touch, he is  kind, thoughtful and sensitive.

We went back to Oak Meadow and Vasona parks for the first time since December. We road the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, and played in the playground with the firetruck, airplane and train, as well as the blue playground. It was amazing to watch how much more sure of himself he was on the playground. He is starting to do the monkey bars, he could climb the ladders I thought were reserved for much older kids ... well now I guess he is.

He got a scooter for his birthday. He let me put on all of the padding, and agreed that he would need to wear his hockey helmet, to make sure that he didn't break anything. Considering how many times he fell it was a good thing... but he tackled the task of learning to use the two wheel scooter with confidence.  But he was tired ...

So, we were soon home where he got two of the trains he asked for and had me write on a birthday list that he kept under his pillow for the last month. He was so happy to get patchwork Hiro and Birthday Thomas. He had me check them off his list.

Then we went to St. John's in Sunnyvale where they have great chicken tenders. He feasted, polite, sweet and so grown-up.

In the middle of August I will no longer be able to say my preschoolers. My little Xander will be a kindergartner.