Bowl-a-thon

Today was S's long awaited birthday party at Cordova Lanes. We haven't taken the monkeys bowling in quite some time so I wasn't sure what to expect. When we arrived most everyone was already very busy throwing and pushing (thanks to an ingenious ramp) balls down three different lanes. Satchel and Jiro ran right over and were eager to join the madness. I quickly secured them some bowling shoes, and they jumped right in.

S.A.M. noted that this was the first (public) birthday party in which we had full dad attendance. (I do believe we had full dad attendance at Miss M's party just a few weeks ago, but it was in the safety of S.A.M.'s abode.) I guess all the guys knew RJA had to go, so they decided to make a show of solidarity. (I couldn't help remembering that it was JP's birthday last year when the various husbands and wives started speaking to each other in person, thanks to the magic of the Internet.)

Back to the bowling...

There was no attempt at keeping score or even finishing a set (?) for most of the crew. Okay, maybe just for S and Jiro. The two of them simply ran back and forth from the ball return to the ramp and back again pushing the balls down as fast as they could. S was patient enough to wait for her own ball to return, but Jiro simply grabbed any ball he could and pushed three to her every one with no concern as to whether he hit any pins or if the pins were even ready to be knocked down. This of course led to him clogging up the alley several times. On the third one we removed him from the game, much to his disgust, and the delight of every other party goer who hadn't been able to get a ball in edgewise.

C and JP had a fairly organized game with some of the older boys and Satchel and Connor did very well taking turns on their lane. They were very serious about making strikes and celebrated or pouted quite loudly depending on their results. Steph, the ultimate sports fan, was very encouraging to them both and made sure to dole out as many high fives as Chloe would allow.

Miss M, who's had a pretty rough week, opted not to bowl mostly due to the shoe requirement. (Can't say I blame her.)

After an hour of bowling we all moved to a party room where we were treated to pizza, soft drinks, cake, ice cream, and present opening. The monkeys all sat patiently and happily ate pizza. It was at this point that I noticed that all of the guests at S's party, save for Miss M, were boys. Kristy reported that S preferred playing with boys, probably due to hanging out with her big brothers and the rest of the monkeys (who are 2+). I predict things will be much different when Chloe and GK get a bit older.

Warren allowed Jiro to have a Coke (Satchel requested water!) much to his delight. He called me over several times just to point it out. After having allowed Satchel a Coke at Circa, I couldn't berate Warren too much, but I was thrilled to discover that Jiro only drank about one sip. (He was much too busy eating candy!) Meanwhile Satchel let JP know that drinking Coke would rot his teeth. (He didn't get that from me, I swear!) JP simply replied, "I like Coke," and went about his business. In an interesting turn of events, JP refused cake and ice cream and Satchel and Jiro both followed suit. (I guess if they all continue to join forces they might turn out cavity free. Or something.)

When all the presents were opened, everyone under age 10 was given tokens and set free in the game area. The racing games were very popular and after watching Satchel, Jiro, and Connor drive like maniacs Steph and I agreed we wouldn't let them actually operate a vehicle for a very long time. Air hockey was also a hit. Sadly, no one was brave enough to get in the giant (8 token) roller coaster simulator.

S.A.M. stayed behind in the party room for a minute of peace and a bite of cake while her clearly dehydrated baby languished in his sling. (Photo evidence below.)

When all of the tokens were gone, Kristy passed out goodie bags and everyone hugged goodbye. A we were leaving, Jiro turned to me and said, "Where are my new shoes?"

"What new shoes?" I asked.

"My new shoes you bought me here."

"Oh! You don't get to keep those," I said while barely containing a giggle. Clearly he and Miss M couldn't be farther apart on the shoe issue.

Anyways, I anticipated many future pleas to go bowling.


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