Welcome to Stories Unfinished: Birthday Edition. I picked up my grandmom and cousin in the morning to go to Philly for Aiden's birthday party at the Please Touch Museum. Before they got there I learned about the building itself, which was originally an art museum before becoming a municipal building and finally what it is now.
When the guest of honor arrived, he was given a sticker so people could identify him and then he was set free on the museum.
He didn't care so much about most of the stuff except the water. He seemed to really enjoy that. There were a lot of things to do for kids. It was like a big indoor park with themes. A theme park, almost...
After a short look around, we went down to the party room and got down to business. There were more chairs for little people than big people and there were only four kids there. Aiden blew out his candles and we got our cake and milk while kids colored.
We played a game of hot potato where whoever was left holding the potato when the music stopped had to say their favorite memory of Aiden. Not a bad idea. It slowly devolved into two word answers though because everyone was thinking too hard about it.
Aiden opened his gifts next. He got a lot of clothes but he seemed to mostly enjoy his Spider Man toy. He's also still at the age where it's alright to completely disregard the card.
The gift opening portion didn't take too long. They know what they're doing for parties though. I'm sure they get a lot. There was a container on wheel for all the toys to make it easier to get out to the car.
After the hour was up we took a group shot and made our way back out to the museum.
The kids played in the various stores and stations where they could pretend to shop for a while and then we went up to the big carousel. Aiden seemed to enjoy himself on the horse after not wanting to get on the wild boar.
I said goodbye to everyone and then headed out. Not a lot to do for older people except watch the little people.
As I was leaving I got some terrible news that the Bubble House was closing! Today! I had to stop there before going home so I got a Korean BBQ wrap to go with a Coconut Thai bubble tea. I learned that the cafe would be open for another week or so but the restaurant was done at the end of the night. So sad. I did see Jordan and her friends there so we mourned together.
Next birthday. I arrived at the skating rink early for Carissa's surprise party to find only Heather and Jamie. The rink was all ours and it was wide open. I put on my skates and re-learned how to do it while we set up and stalled Ryan so more people could show up.
Carissa came in acting surprised even though she soon revealed that she knew about it already. Oh well. We tried!
Ryan and I took to the rink first while everyone else talked. I felt pretty good about my skating ability. I did fall right down once but I got back up and kept skating.
After we exerted ourselves for a while and were sufficiently sweaty, we came to the food area for pizza and cake.
Carissa blew out her candles and served us all cake after she opened her presents. It was good cake. Funfetti is the best.
Another group shot with our food and we were back to the boards.
The light is not good for photos but this picture doesn't look that bad bigger. We played games like the hokey pokey and did the Cha Cha Slide. It's hard in skates.
We were skating around for quite a while before they kicked us out. The DJ played a bunch of songs that have been stuck in my head ever since. I'm kinda blurry when I skate.
After the party I went to Erika's to watch Sherlock Holmes and drink some wine. We had fun talking through most of the movie and then paying attention closely to the last half hour and the DVD extras. It's a great movie. A good day.
I went to Shannon's in the morning and then proceeded to the Sea Isle yacht club to which she belongs so we could take out their kayaks. Unfortunately the paddles and seats were locked up with no one around to get them for us. We walked along the path near the beach, passing the evil beach taggers who kept eying us up like we were going to sprint past them onto the beach at any moment.
After realizing there was nothing else to do and drinks (and ATM fees) are overpriced, we came back to her house to eat hummus and watch Dexter. It seemed a suitable fill-in for kayaking.
Once I got back to town Erika and I headed up to Infinite in Philly so she could get her nose pierced. After picking out her stud (and the jewelry she was going to wear) they took us to a back room and got it done. The guy who did it, Kyle, was really cool and knowledgeable so everything went smoothly. She didn't even flinch.
I think it looks really good.
We went to Paddy Whacks for some food. I got a cheesetastic Irish Stout onion soup. It was good but it's really hard to eat. We even got half off our bill because it took a while to come out. Score.
We walked back to the car in the blazing heat and tried to figure out what to do. The smoothie place that we parked near had closed but I certainly need to go back there and see how good they are.
I knew the bubble house was closing really soon so we went to get some tea. I wish I got the one Erika did. Pineapple much better in heat than milky red bean.
This picture is blurry but while swimming at Ryan's aunt's I was able to stand up on Ryan's shoulders and he lifted me out of the water. I'll have to get a better photo next time we do it but it was done! You can see Ryan's head.
The rest of the night was uneventful except for a few mile run I did around my neighborhood. It's a good way to turn a nice, cool night into a sweaty mess.
