Wow! What a fun day I have had. This morning I co-hosted a "Princess Tea" at the local library. It was the brainstorm of mine & another young lady who lives near my in-laws & has a daughter 4 years old.
We started talking about how fun it would be, how it could benefit the library in signing kids for the summer reading program, etc., etc. So--we limited it to 25 young ladies under the age of 10 years who would be required to attend with their mom or another adult. The library put a blurb about it in the local news & told the "storytime" group, and within a few days, the event was full.
Most of the young ladies were ages 4-7--and they dressed like princesses! They were sooooo cute in their princess dresses (some complete with wings!!), and upon their arrival, they were each given their tiara, which they wore with pride!!!
Clear plastic teacups were at each place setting, which they were instructed to decorate with sticky-backed foam shapes. They were also given foam wands to glue sequins onto. They were instructed in the proper way for a princess to wave, curtsey, and walk. After having a storytime (which was interactive!!), they were treated to mini-muffins & crown shaped sugar cookies. Their "tea" was actually punch--we didn't think the little ones should have tea!! They ate and talked, moms took pictures, and then for the really fun event--we had a "princess parade" through the library (upstairs) to the delight of patrons who happened to be in the library. The young "princesses" waved with their most royal wave, walked like they owned the kingdom, gathered for a group photo and curtseyed good-bye.
It had been such a long time since I had interacted with youngsters like this that the fun was actually all mine!!! Reading to the princesses was so much fun--and they were the most well-behaved group I have been around in a long time. I'll post some pics later. You just HAVE to see some of these princesses!! AND--we all decided this should be an annual event--along with a Christmas Tea. Of course, the library (being politically correct) must do something for the young lads, so in August, we will attempt to have a Pirate Gathering! Not quite certain what this will entail, but I'll bet it's every bit as fun!!
After having a delightful time with the princesses, I rushed home & had lunch with my daughter & Hank. One of Hank's little 2nd cousins was celebrating his 2nd birthday, and they came early to visit. So the first thing we did was take Hank to eat at his favorite place in town--Jalapeno's Mexican. It 's yummy, yummy, yummy and he loves the salsa, rice & quesadillas.
Then it was off to a playground park where we met the rest of Tucker's family (on both sides) and played til we almost, really! almost, dropped from exhaustion. The playground is new, has lots of "little" kid slides, walls to climb, bouncy cars, etc., and the three 2nd cousins, Hank, Michael & Tucker, had a great time. It was all outside, so they could be as LOUD and BOYISH as they wanted!
I can't imagine anything that is more refreshing than spending a day with children, watching them play with "imagination", hearing them talk to one another, seeing the twinkle in their eyes and the laughter in their voices. It's been a day of true wonder---from princesses to little boys who love dirt.
