Gilbert has changed the way our family does birthdays from now on. For months he has made it clear he would like to have a giant water balloon fight for his birthday. A few weeks before we went to Costco for the easy filler water balloons. When we saw the box had 420 water balloons, we didn’t even think we would us half of the balloons. A week before the party the forecast looked good, 74 degrees and sunny. Half through the week it quickly changed to rain. We tried to warn Gilbert there was a good chance there wouldn’t be a water balloon fight. But he was sure it would be fine, to him the rain didn’t matter because everyone was already going to be wet. But even then we weren’t so sure. But he persisted, he and his cousin even had a debate whether raincoats or swimsuits would be better for a rainy water balloon fight.

The day of his party arrived and by noon it was pouring down rain. The adults had no intention of hosting this water balloon fight. But Gilbert was still sure the battle would happen. The party started. We had pizza. We had presents. We had cake. And the whole time it rained. But when the same old birthday routine ended this glorious golden light peered through the clouds and the rain stopped. So we quickly filled up a fifth of the water balloons, thinking that was enough. We lined them up and gave them a run down of the rules and they were off. The water balloon fight ended up being the highlight of the party. The kids were all in. We ended up filling all 420 of the balloons, surprised at how quickly the kids consumed them. Half way through the fight they realized the best chance of winning this battle was to team up against the oldest and biggest cousin. During the chaos Louisa stood in the corner of the yard in shock at the appalling display of her brothers and cousins, until I brought her up to the grownups on dry ground. The laughter and silliness added so much more to the birthday, than we have ever had before. That night Kollin and I both agreed that all of our family birthdays had to include more fun and silliness. It’s simple things like these, where memories are made. Where kids are given the space to be messy, run, laugh and do something out of the ordinary. The light heartedness of it all is exactly what the kids (and grownups) needed.

Since the rest of our family birthdays fall in the cold and dark seasons, indoor suggestions of playful, silly activities are welcome.