The Summer Olympics in Connecticut!

Wow – last week was a whirlwind!

I love holidays but not as much as vacations with family.  After our super fun 3 day, 2 night stint at the resort, we came home to do a couple of loads of laundry and by 6:30am the next day we were on our way to Connecticut.  When I woke the boys at 5:45am, my oldest jumped right up and said, “We’re off to CT!”  I love their excitement!

The flight was uneventful, the type I like.  Our first day was spent swimming and playing with the cousins, catching up and cleaning my sister’s closet (very lucrative…you should try it if you have the chance).  My luggage was 4 pounds heavier on the return flight.

Saturday my sister planned my niece and nephew’s birthday party.  The theme was Olympics and it was a blast!  We found Olympic-themed plates, napkins, and trinkets such as medals, and a 30′ plastic banner of “spectators in the stands”.  My niece made a torch out of a tall tropical drink cup that we purchased at the party store and a yellow and orange Hawaiian lei. She covered the drink cup with aluminum foil and stuffed the top with plastic bags.  Then, she wrapped the lei around the plastic bag that was sticking out of the top…it was GREAT!

My sister had everything covered – she literally created a project plan the night before.   The cake was decorated with flags from around the world and cut out colored circles to create the Olympic symbol.  Music was downloaded to her iPod for the Olympians to walk to during the opening ceremonies.

Favors comprised of Magic Tree House books (my son’s favorite) – Hour of the Olympics for the younger kids and the fact tracker Ancient Greece and the Olympics for the older guests.

The “Olympic Games” were formatted like a relay race – boys against girls.  The kids loved it!!  Once the games ended, we all went straight to the pool…23 kids in a pool at one time!  My sister had 2 lifeguards on hand, which was a really safe and smart idea.

Tired after pizza and cake, the kids played freeze dance, then had a dance party (did I say they were tired?  I meant me LOL).  This party reminded me of the birthday parties that I remember having when I was growing up – when there weren’t any bounce house places or over the top party planners that cost a gazillion dollars.