Xander's Aloha Scooby Doo Mystery Birthday Party

It was April and we were brainstorming on Xander's June birthday party.  It might sound a little type-A to be thinking about the middle of June in April, but anything to keep our minds off the protracted rainy season.

I wanted to have a BBQ, rent a bouncy house, and have a fairly laid back affair. Knowing that we suck at parties, Jonathan suggested that I put some thought into having activities for the kids. And so the Aloha Scooby Doo Mystery Party was born.

In planning the party I wasn't alone. A quick Internet search and I found oodles of ideas for kids parties, some quite elaborate, some quite doable. Effective kids parties seemed to follow the same plan. Kids arrive and there is some form of craft, and some form a free play... everyone eats. The host has three to five formalized activities planned after food, but before cake and possibly a pinata, then goody bags and good-byes. Easy peasy. I just needed to decide what activities to plan for...

The T-Shirt Decorating Dilemma

I decided to go retro on the craft. I found Scooby Doo iron decals online and created 24 Scooby Doo t-shirts. The idea was to fill water guns with RIT dye and have the kids decorate their t-shirts. At the last minute better judgement prevailed, and I switched to squirt bottles. Also after reading the warnings on the RIT dye, we opted to have one kid at a time decorate a shirt wearing an art smock, sunglasses and rubber gloves. This worked out great, nothing got colored but the t-shirt (and our fence). My parents ran the craft table, and the kids loved it.

The Mystery
What is a Scooby Doo party without a mystery? One thing we knew for sure, something needs to be stolen by a phantom. Online people went two directions, either presents or the cake. We opted for the cake. When we picked up the cake at Safeway we asked for a second cake box. I created a note from the Tiki Phantom which we put in the box. When Jonathan brought out the cake to sing the birthday song, the kids discovered that it had been stolen. Oh my!

The note asked them to find Velma's glasses, and the second clue. The kids were really into it. They ran through the backyard, and our house looking for the glasses. Once the glasses were found, the clue directed them to their first game.

The first game was the leaky cup relay -- since the Scooby Doo gang always works as a team. When we finished the game, and picked up the buckets to determine a winning team we found the second clue, directing them to break off into pairs for a water balloon toss. This is because the Scooby Doo gang always breaks off into pairs.  I hid the next clue in one of the water balloons. There was a nerve racking moment when we couldn't find the clue, and then my strategy to keep the clue dry failed ... so I had to pull the wet piece of paper apart to read the clue.

That clue directed the kids to a game of Zombie tag. I'm undecided whether this was a great idea, or a bad idea. But for Zombie tag our neighbor donned a zombie mask. The rules of Zombie tag are if the zombie tags you, you become a zombie and tag the other kids, until there is one kid left standing. We had no winners and no losers, all of the kids either hid, jumped into their parents arms, or stopped playing. The zombie was apparently really scary. The only kid that was brave enough to taunt the zombie was Xander, who thought it was awesome!

We ended up cutting the tag game short, and moved to the last clue, which was delivered in person by the Tiki phantom. The clue directed them to set a trap for the Tiki Phantom who loves cake, but also loves cake and fruit. We put out a plate of fruit and the kids hid, while the Tike Phantom came outside to get the fruit. Xander unmasked him, and Jonathan said the famous line, "And I would have gotten away with it too if not for you meddling kids."

Parting the Party
The activities took about an hour. Once the cake was found, we sang the Birthday song, and everyone ate cake, then the kids pulled the strings on the Scooby Doo pinata. Like clock work, the party which started at 2 pm, ended by 5 pm. 

Having a plan kept our party from falling flat. The kids had an excellent time, the t-shirts were a hit, and I still got my BBQ with a bouncy house. Now what should I do for Caleb's 5th birthday in September? I think the theme will be Caleb's Super-Soaker Shark Attack Party. Hmmm.... water balloon wars and water gun tag anyone?

Summer Day Camps: What do working parents do?

It was the first day of kindergarten, and I was already asking people about summer time daycare. Having spent months on the waiting list for our preschool daycare when we moved to San Jose  -- we ended up at another center far away that could accommodate us until we could get into the more convenient location -- I figured that summer camps filled up quickly, and I needed to be at the top of my game.

When you searched "summer camps" you got spotty advice. Lot's of links to sites that had links to sites that went to sites that had spotty information - no opinions, lot's of advertising. There seemed to be plenty of options, but it was confusing. And as a working parent you are looking for the powerful combination of convenience and fun.

It turns out that people sign-up for summer day camps in January and February. So, although I was early evaluating options in September, you still run into the mass rush of working parents to the best programs...  Although which are the best programs was still a mystery to me.

Our elementary school afterschool program offers a summer camp. This seemed like a option, but honestly I'm only luke warm about the program. It seems disorganized, and while Xander likes his counselors, he didn't actually like going to the program. Imagine a whole summer of that. Besides, Xander said in no uncertain terms, he did not want to go there for summer camp. I'm glad he had an opinion.

A friend at work recommended the Y and I'm really glad she did. We experimented with it during spring break. Our local Y runs day camps during school holidays. Xander loved the Y program. This was a good thing because I'd already signed him up for the Y day camp this summer, specifically the Splash Camp. If he hated it we would have had a mad scramble to find an alternative.

So, we are a week into summer camp at the Y, and Xander is giddy with joy. The program is well organized and fun! Since we're doing Splash Camp he gets a swim lesson everyday -- bonus -- which is great since Xander loves the water.  They also have a great camp counselor to kid ratio. What a relief, I have one less thing to worry about, and I have a daycare strategy for summers to come!

The Kindergarten Graduate

Yesterday we went to Xander's kindergarten graduation. I can't believe how quickly the school year passed. When we began this journey in August, I was so worried about sending my precious little boy into the big cruel world of public school. Now he seems so grown-up, happy and confident and ready for first grade.

Kindergarten has changed since I attended in the 70s. I should say I didn't like kindergarten at five, my teacher had no control over the class, and I was disappointed that we didn't learn anything. Today kindergarten is much more academically rigorous. Many people we know have chosen to red-shirt their child (wait until their child is six-years old before starting school) because of this.  Not that their child couldn't do the work, but they worry about the social aspects. A more rigorous environment requires sitting in circle, doing work independently at the project tables, opening their own lunch and feeding themselves (by the way Xander did come home hungry some days with an uneaten lunch).

But here is the thing... Xander blossomed socially in kindergarten. His communications improved, specifically diction and story-telling, and we are seeing his personality emerge, and the goofiness that is at his core and how he adapts in new environments.

Don't get me wrong, kindergarten was scary. We had lots of doubts. The homework alone was terrifying. Especially since we are working parents, and the whole family isn't together until 6:30 pm. And kindergartners are tired, so tired. But we figured it out. He did much of his busy work in the after school program, and I checked his work at home.

He also had an advantage. He went to a great preschool, and he could already write his name, count to 100, do simple math, identify shapes, tell time and recite the days of the week. But in an overcrowded class of 31 kids, he managed to learn his high frequency words, read at a first grade level, and foster a passion for learning. He makes up games, creates books and writes stories (of course every other word I spell for him) ... all of this is wonderful.

With Caleb, like Xander, we are starting school on time (in fact Caleb doesn't turn five until September 2).   Forget red shirting, for our boys it is the right choice.

Trains & Jazz in Sacramento

For the three-day weekend we decided it might be fun to take the boys back to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Sacramento is always a great getaway, even on a Holiday weekend. You can get a nice hotel fairly cheap, and it never seems to book up.

Jonathan and I were perplexed when our favorite hotel in Sacramento was $200 a night, and the Embassy Suites was sold out. But we did a little research, and stayed at the Governor's Inn which was well priced, clean, nice and near all our favorite places.

Some fun places to eat in Sacramento with kids

I had to volunteer at the Little League Snack Shack, so we couldn't start our adventure until 4 pm on Saturday. Which is okay, we could still make it to Sacramento by 6:30 pm for dinner at our favorite sit-down Mexican restaurant in Northern California Tres Hermanas. The food is yummy, and you don't feel sick later. The boys love the restaurant too. When in Sacramento, we like to eat, and there are lots of great places to discover.

The next day we tried the Tower Cafe for breakfast. It is in an old Tower Records. With lush flowers and world arts and artifacts decorations, the boys liked playing eye-spy in the restaurant. And the breakfast lived up the Yelp reviews ... it was wonderful. Xander, my breakfast connoisseur, loved the bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and french toast. Caleb ate a pancake ... this is a pretty big deal for him. One note, our kids are early risers. We were up and at breakfast at 7:30 am (the restaurant opens at 7 am). When we left at 8:30 am there was already a line forming. We are not alone in thinking this place is pretty great, so either get there early, or be prepared to wait a little.

Trains and ... Jazz

After breakfast we headed to the the California State Railroad Museum. We knew it didn't open until 10 am, but thought we would walk around Old Town Sacramento beforehand. When we got to Sacramento on Saturday we found out why everything was booked. It was the annual Sacramento Jazz Festival. But, what we didn't know was that Old Town was the destination for the festivities.

Since we were early for both the museum and the festival, we found parking - no problem. We had plenty of people watching to see before the museum opened, as the musicians did their soundchecks before the 10 am show.  Once we went in the museum there were musicians set-up near one of the exhibits, and on the train as well. After our train ride, as we were leaving for the day, we stopped to watch some jazz in the family tent, as well as enjoy some traveling troops throughout Old Town.

The Sacramento Jazz Festival also had a street fair like quality. We ended our morning with some kettle corn and fresh lemonade for the boys (their favorite).

We had a wonderful time, and the coincidence of a museum visit during Jazz Festival was great luck, instead of a nuisance. We've been to the museum multiple times. It is immense.  This time we even went for a family membership (we can bring the grandparents, or friends for that matter under our membership), so we'll be back again soon.

Kids Eat Free: Sunday Breakfast at the Hayes Mansion

My five-year old, Xander, loves breakfast. It is his favorite meal of the day. His favorite foods? Eggs, bacon and toast, washed down with a yummy cocoa. So when we find a great brunch where kids eat free, we get excited.

Two weeks ago we tried the Hayes Mansion brunch for the first time. The historic landmark is a conference center and hotel here in San Jose... it is the last place you would expect to have a family friendly and inexpensive, but delicious breakfast. Did I mention the Hayes Mansion is a very nice hotel? Places like this I imagine are pretentious, expensive and not a good place for kids... but I'm very wrong.

The before 10 am on Sunday's kids eat free offer gets you an all you can eat breakfast buffet for a family of four for just under $25. With kids, buffet means different things depending on your kid. Xander eats breakfast like an adult (the kid loves breakfast), and Caleb has a bowl of corn flakes and a few strawberries.

Xander loved the breakfast so much that he begged to go back today, which we did. 

The other appeal is the vicinity of Hayes Mansion to the Edenvale Garden Park.  The park used to be a Frontier Village amusement park that closed in 1980. It now has a lovely woodsy trail, and a great playscape including a rock slide. So, after breakfast we walked to the park for an hour or so of play.

Vicinity to a park is an important criteria for us. It gives us something to do after breakfast, and a way to burn off some energy outdoors before we start our day.  I'm certain we'll become regulars at the Hayes Mansion on Sundays this summer.

The Social Calendar of a 5-Year Old

The last several weekends we've collapsed at the end of the day on Saturday. Exhausted from a non-stop week and an intense Saturday.

Kindergarten graduation is approaching. Our calendar is filled with t-ball games, school events, parties and ice skating. But come June 4 and our calendar will change for the summer.

What happens then? On June 2, Xander graduates from Kindergarten, and on June 4 we play our last t-ball game of the season.  Then what?

We have summer day camp at the Y, and still Saturday morning skating, both boys have summer birthdays, so no reprieve on the party-front. Xander will also start Cub Scouts. But happily we are under-scheduled until soccer begins in August. Just three more weeks, then summer begins early here.

Are we ready to take a long hike with our little boys?

Today was the Willow Glen 5K a big fundraiser for our elementary school. We signed up the family to walk, after all 5K is a little over three miles. I also had an ulterior motive. I was curious as to whether our family had now graduated from nature trail to more serious hikes.

By serious, we're not ready to climb half dome, yet... But it would be great to do some hikes in the three to five mile range.

Taking up the rear we finished the walk/run in one hour and 40 minutes. Not too bad. And although Xander's "socks were on fire" in the last mile we made it without too many complaints.

So now we just need to find a great five mile hike in our area, pack a picnic lunch and head out. It has been more than four years since we've taken a hike that was more than one mile, and I can't wait to get the boys out and about and explore some nature.