Party Time, take 2...

Back in April, when the "strong winds" (as my children have come to call it) blew our trampoline into the lake and the playhouse into a crumpled mess, we had to cancel Jackson's backyard birthday party and reschedule it for a later date.  Kevin kept telling me, "I can fix it," referring to both the trampoline and playhouse.  He didn't have to tell the kids that, because the day after the storm, they told me, "Daddy will fix it."

I wasn't sure anyone was seeing the same mess I was seeing.  Oh me of little faith.

Problem #1...When Kevin pulled the trampoline out of the lake, he realized he might have some problems there--some pieces didn't make it out of the lake, and others were bent beyond repair.  If you've never priced replacement parts for trampolines online, let me just say that buying a new trampoline is cheaper.  Especially when you, um, borrow, from the kids' piggy bank to do it.  Problem #1 solved.

Problem #2...The playhouse was in pieces.   Lots of them. Some of the pieces were in pieces. 
(At this point you might be wondering why we didn't just file an insurance claim for all of this.  Because we are cheap, that's why.  We raised our deductible to a number we could still afford to pay out of pocket in an emergency, but this number was higher than what we paid for the trampoline and the playhouse together.  It's not a decision we regret, because we saved a LOT of money.  It just stunk in this particular case.)
...Anyway, as Kevin surveyed the damage, he still said, "I can fix it."  I smiled and nodded and patted him on the back.  Yes, I knew he could fix it.  However, I thought that our kids might be graduating from high school before it would happen.  Boy, he showed me.  It took a couple of weekends, but before we knew it, the playhouse was back in one piece.  We made a few modifications--we didn't replace the monkey bars because the kids are still too small for them anyway, one swing still needs to be hung, and the roof  still has a "sky light."  (So if you ask Jackson, "Did your Daddy fix your playhouse?"  he will say, "Yes!...well, not quite...") But it was fixed enough to reschedule Jackson's superhero party.

My original plan was to have an outdoor party with superhero capes as party favors.  We could sit and visit in lawn chairs while the boys saved the world, the playhouse, the sister, the trampoline...whatever. Let me just say that my plan was good in theory.   A May outdoor party is significantly hotter than an April outdoor party.  The boys were good sports at first, but finally they came to me, redfaced, and begged to be allowed to play inside...I totally understood, so upstairs they went, capes and all!  I was pretty proud of those capes--especially when you consider I didn't sew them--however, they weren't the sturdiest little suckers.

I think this is my favorite birthday cake yet.  Jackson and I sat at the computer looking at superhero cakes one night, and this was a combination of his two favorites. Only better.  It was as delicious as it was cute.  Jackson LOVED it. April did a wonderful job!

This is the only picture I have to show the new and improved playhouse.  Trust me.  It's fixed.  Note the capes.  Aren't they swell? :)

In the end, it was a great party.  The boys (and girl) had a wonderful time "heroing up."  It wasn't quite the outdoor extravaganza I envisioned, but it was everything Jackson wanted it to be, and that's all that matters.