ZOOMANIA!

The party!  Kate has wanted to go to an indoor play place for a party.  I kind of like having the party at our house, you're so rushed at a play place.  For Ciaran's 5th birthday Zorana had a children's entertainer, James Funnyhat, he was so awesome.  Kate loved him, all the kids loved him.  I thought, that's an idea, bring something to the house.  I'm not sure if we started talking about Kate's party in November or December, but I suggested "Zoo to You", and Kate jumped at the idea!

I booked the party, we made a guest list, and then we perused the list of possible animals and made our selections!  Kate also asked her Grandma if Maurie could make her a fabulous Zoomania cake, and Grandma agreed.

Maurie's cake this year was amazing!  Kate loved it.  I loved it.

So, party day!  The forced cleaning is of course what I think of.  The forced cleaning and forced organizing.  We should really throw a big party every other month, I suppose two-three times a year is a start?  Okay, don't answer that.  I think we started cleaning before Christmas, and then started up again after returning from Connecticut.  I cleaned off the ledge upstairs, and the one downstairs.  We cleaned up the basement.  Got rid of some inconsequential toys.  It was a team effort.

The party started at noon.  We brought all the kids to the basement where we set out a huge blanket for them to eat on.  Ken made pizza and hot dogs, we had chips and drink boxes, and the kids happily played and ate.

Around 12:45 the Zoo to You people arrived and set up.  At 1 o'clock we brought the kids upstairs, and the animal fun began!  The kids sat around the edge of a drop cloth and one by one an animal was brought out.  Stacy was the presenter and she was fabulous.

First up...red eyed tree frog.  It hopped out of Stacy's hand over and over and over again, and each time she caught it.  It was amazing.  She didn't drop it once.  The kids weren't allowed to touch it, but Kate was allowed to have it sit on her hand.

Second...a house hippo - aka a skinny pig, which is a naked guinea pig.  It was kind of cute, kind of ugly, and Kate got to feed it a carrot.  I was excited, I wanted to see it. 

 

Third came the bearded dragons.  They had a race.  The big one beat the little one. We all got to hold 

one.

Fourth was an American Alligator.  Holding it was kind of crazy.  It was funny because Stacy said that its mouth was taped shut for our comfort, not so much for anything else.  It was heavy.  The top was so rough and the underside was so soft.

Fifth, was Joey the Sugar Glider.  He pooped a lot, which of course the kids enjoyed.  He also ate meal worms - kind of gross.  Everyone got to give him a one fingered stroke down his back and then he was supposed to glide.  Kate stood holding his pouch and Joey was supposed to glide into the pouch.  He didn't.  He wouldn't move.  Finally he jumped, but it was onto Alice.  She reacted really well and the two facilitators were really impressed.  I wish I would have gotten a picture, but by the time I realized what was going on I'd missed it!

Sixth, Tori, the red-footed tortoise. Not much to say about the tortoise now that I'm thinking about it.

Seventh, Cooper.  (Just kidding!)

Seventh, was the velveteen rabbit.  You can see the "oh my goodness this is so soft" on all their faces.  It was so soft.  I could have cuddled the bunny for ages.

Eighth, Dolly the Burmese python. When I commented on her beautiful colouring I found it she's albino.  Snakes are so, so soft.  Stacy warned the children to only go in one direction because stroking the wrong way would feel like someone sticking something under your finger nails, yuck! The kids sure had fun holding her.

Ninth, Kate was a little excited to see the chinchilla!  So cute!  She was very soft - said to be softer than the velveteen rabbit, but I like the feel of the rabbit better.  We got to pet her, watch her climb the sister mountains, and take a dust bath.  I think Stacy said that if she gets wet she can't dry herself and her fur will rot.  Ew.

Tenth in the line up was Sonic the Hedgehog!  So cute!

Eleventh, a crested gecko.  She asked first if she could stick it to the window, and I thought as long as the dirty window won't harm it?  Kate got to have the gecko on her arm.  Kate loved being the star of the show!

The twelfth and final animal(s) of the show - Duncan and Donut the ferrets.  So stinky, but so awesome.  Everyone that wanted to was invited to make a circle on the floor.  The instructions were to keep the ferrets in the circle.  If they tried to escape you were to pick them up and put them back in the circle.  It was too cute watching all the kids giggle and play!  They were an awesome end to the show. Oh and just like the sugar glider, they seemed to favour Alice!

The show was so, so great!  Kate was in heaven, and it looked like all the kids loved it.  After the show was over it was hand washing time, and CAKE!

Kate was so cute.  Her little face while she was being sung to, I should have taken video not still pictures.  She was just so happy.  It made me so happy!

After the cake Kate wanted to open her presents, and I said yes, but then went upstairs to check something, and well... Kate and the opening frenzy and friends leaving = no thank you cards this year.  I suppose thinking about it, I know which is which from several, but not all. 

This is what Kate had to say about her party:"Zoomania was awesome.  I loved the animals that came to my house.  One of the funny parts was when the alligator was trying to swim when Stacy was holding him."

I'm not sure what next year will bring, or why I'm already thinking about it - other than it's her 8th birthday and her baptism, which is a big deal in itself.  Thank you to all who helped celebrate my sweet Kate!  ZOOMANIA was a wonderful success!