Tyrien turned six! Another mid-pandemic birthday celebration. He was hoping his friends Diana and Stephen and Misty from his preschool could come over for a party. I broke the news that it wasn't safe to have friends over. He was disappointed, but took it like a champ.
As usual, I asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner, and what kind of birthday cake he would like. He, like his brother, asked for "regular pepperoni pizza" for dinner. Seriously. Frozen pizza. That's all these kids want! As for his cake, he requested Mario cake.
To keep things simple, I ordered Mario figurines and fondant. Tyler helped me create the shapes and decorate.
Looks like we have a winner!
I was delighted that he stood there and played with his figurines! Then I left the room for a minute, came back, and all the figurines were gone! I went to the family room and found them all on the floor. I had to rewash them and reapply them to the cake. No harm, no foul, but pretty funny.
The reality of a birthday party during a pandemic - relatives that typically wouldn't get to attend get to attend via zoom! Not sure how much fun it is for them though. Uncle Eddie hopped on for a moment, but couldn't get his sound to work. Grandma G stayed on for a while!
Grandma A came in person, hence the table in our front yard! For the record, I set the table up in a way to allow her to maintain distance from us, but as soon as I stepped away, the table was rearranged, and everyone was sitting together. I struggle with the balance of feeling the need to follow all the precautions, and yet having respect for other people's preferences and trying to maintain a pleasant family environment. At work, precautions win. At this event, and Thanksgiving, majority won. Masks, outdoor air, and the knowledge that all three of us are fastidious about hand hygiene and have experience preventing infections, with one of us specializing in the eyes, one the blood, and one the lungs served to console me.
To increase the celebratory factor, I splurged on foil balloons, filled with helium. This was $16. Worth it - they are still floating, almost a month later. Funny enough, I have never ever driven in a vehicle with helium balloons. I put them in the backseat, clipping them into Kylo's seatbelt. As soon as I started driving, the huge Mario balloon charged in front of me, obstructing my view. I managed to push Mario down, when all the stars charged forward. I quickly rolled down the back windows, and all the balloons immediately flew out the window, hanging on just by the strings attached to Kylo's seatbelt. They were no longer in my way, but I couldn't bear the thought of $16 worth of balloons escaping and drifting off to the sky. I took the first right turn I could, pulled into a parking lot, regathered the balloons, and did my best to anchor them down better. I drove the rest of the way home with no windows down and no air on. Never have I felt more foolish! But they made Tyrien light up.
Kylo celebrated Tyrien's birthday too!
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