Well my little girl is now officially two years old. I have to say that the party could not have gone better. Abby was wonderful. She loved her tricycle. She didn't want to get off. Almost everyone got her something Dora, so she is set up for a good while. I think because the majority of the party happened outside, where there is lots of room, she didn't feel so shy around everyone. Everyone seemed to have a good time, kids and adults alike. I tried to run things as smooth and as quick as possible. And, everything was running smoothly.........and then there was the fire.

Yes I said fire. But it's not as bad as it sounds. Funny actually. After everything was winding down. The presents were all opened, hot dogs eaten, candles blown, cake cut,....we had the bright idea of giving out sparklers. Just to the older kids, who were being supervised. My husband was lighting them, one at a time, and passing them out to the kids. Then they would walk around looking at them as they burned down. No problems. My son, who is four and a half, passed me his sparkler, which was now burnt out, and said

"I wanted to start a campfire with mine".

Since his was already burned down, I didn't give it a second thought. My friend and I were talking......she was standing up on the deck, next to a empty box which was now filled with wrapping paper. I was down on the grass. We were having a great old say when all of a sudden there was smoke everywhere. The big box, which Abby's little picnic table had come in, was on fire! We all just stared at each other in shock for a moment. Then my husband quickly moved the box onto the ground, ran and got the hose, and starting soaking it with water. Flames were shooting up, Samuel was saying something about his campfire, while all the other kids were asking, "Is that real fire?"

What made it so funny was that just 20 minutes before it happened, I was asking everyone how they thought the party had gone. Everyone agreed it had gone over very well. "Yes, but...", my best friend Christina said, "There's always that one thing that happens". I was like "Shhhhhh...Don't say anything". After the fire, I laughed and said, "Well, I guess this was my thing".

Now the kids are all asleep, my house is a mess yet again, and my feet are killing me. But it was one of those days that I know I will cherish forever.