Lollapeelooza: Redux

Redux - adj - brought back; returned; resurgent

Yup, it's back. We finally brought back Lollapeelooza. It's been a couple of crazy years between building a new house and being pregnant, but we had a good excuse to throw a party this year. I won the Dreyer's Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute again which meant that I needed to get all of that ice cream out of the house!

James and I rented the CH Community Center (such a great deal), got a bounce house from Trish's company Bounce for Fun (we also checked it for quality beforehand by jumping in it), and catered fajitas from Avalon's (I'm all about supporting the local folk). Other than that, snacks and ice cream toppings were all we needed!

The plan was to have the party from 11-2, so I asked to rent the place from 10:30-2:30 (you know me, I like to make sure everything's in order). Fran - the lady that runs the center on the weekends - said it wasn't necessary because we were the only booking for the day, so 11-2 was fine. Save $30? Sure! She even gave us a key to let ourselves in the morning of at whatever time we wanted.

Come Sunday morning at 9:30, we're all up and raring to go. James' dad had already run out to get us bags of ice, the cars were all parked, and Claire was dressed. We show up at the Community Center and the room was filled ... BY A CHURCH! Now, I'm willing to do a lot of things, but throwing a church out of a space isn't one of them. We sweetly asked what time they would be done and were told they usually run until 11. Um, yeah, that wasn't exactly going to work for us. I think they heard the panic in my voice because they said they would get out of there by 5 'til. Gee, thanks.

We spent the next hour getting ready in the lobby (packing coolers, setting up trays, melting queso) while the sermon was happening. I believe it was during one singing stretch that the bounce house was inflated right outside their window (I can only imagine what a sight that was!) and during the closing remarks was when James and I were scrambling into the house to try it out. We had purposely not taken Claire on a walk in the morning so that she wouldn't inadvertantly take a nap, so she fell asleep for the hour right before the party started (perfect!), and, as soon as those doors were opened at 10:50, you can bet your bubkus that we were scurrying into the hall to set-up in record time.

The party itself was great. The first hour or so was pretty much Horizon Lines folks (way to represent!), then there was a flood of folks around noon when babies' morning naps were finished. I have to say, the 12-1 hour was pretty darn overwhelming. Our final RSVP list was somewhere around 60 adults and 30 children, and it sounded like everyone was there during that middle hour. But most of the kiddos were little, so we didn't really have to worry about lots of kids underfoot. Then, from 1-2, things slowed back down again and nicely wrapped up right at 2 so that we could quickly clean up and get out of there for the 2:30 party after ours. They extended the rental on our jump house when they came to pick it up. :)

I only wish I had been able to talk to everyone more and had remembered to take more pictures, but it was so good to see everyone! I can't wait for next year's, but I think I'll give myself at least a few days off before I start planning. Hehe.

It is amazing to think that we have truly reached another chapter of our lives. This was the first party of ours that was truly PG-rated. Not that we had drunken debaucharies before, but this was definitely the most kid-friendly. And it was fun! Does this mean I've finally grown up? Scary.