Dodgeball & Double Digits

Well I am exhausted but I survived and I have to say that it was a really fun day all round! Yesterday was Jude's 10th Birthday party and this year we decided to do something different for him. Most of the kids gravitate towards things like the indoor trampoline parks etc. and to be honest, I am so tired of them lol - what ever happened to kids having good, clean outdoor fun!

So we got Dodgeball South Africa team to come and give them three action packed hours of dodge fun! Jude absolutely LOVES dodgeball, so it was a fail proof choice haha!

The 10 x 20 metre inflatable arena is quite something when it is fully constructed and really set the mood for a great afternoon ahead. Unfortunately, Cape Town decided that it was a good day to shunt out some 40km winds so I eventually gave up on half of the table decorations which I had planned because everything was just blowing away - including the steel based umbrellas haha

Once all the boys had arrived the dodgeball team began with their instruction and training session. There were about 17 boys and despite the fact that they had been playing soccer non-stop prior to the arena being setup, they were not lacking in energy and were clearly ready to get going!

Once they all knew what was going on they kicked off the tournament which was a grueling 90 minutes. It was really awesome because they had a continuous running commentary from the dodge team leaders and had some great upbeat tunes blasting through the arena to keep the boys going!

Not entirely sure which team won the tournament at the end but I do know that Jude was always the last man standing on his team - which naturally bode well being the birthday boy haha - in his defense, I have to admit that he is incredibly quick on his feet so I am not really surprised.

The boys were not hungry once the tournament was finished... they were RAVENOUS and they tucked into their hot dog and pizza platters BIG TIME!!!

The platters were absolutely CLEANED and I have never had to order so many jugs of juice in my life haha, but the boys were happy and after a good bit of chill time, plenty of laughter and conversation it was time to head back into the arena for some dodgeball variation games. This was about another hour (how those boys survived is beyond me) and then it was time to sing happy birthday to my little man!

I am pleased to report that whilst the cakes pretty much got destroyed by the heat melting the icing and the serviettes getting stuck to the tops of the cakes on the way to the venue - I gave up caring haha because there was just too much going on. They were however, absolutely DIVINE chocolate cakes and there was not a single solitary slice left which I suppose was a good sign. I was just a little disappointed for Jude that the wind make it completely impossible to light his candles... lol

So all in all, for a mom who cannot bake to save her life - I was pretty happy haha! But for the other 364 days of the year, I will stick to cooking! I consider Jude's cake making my annual baking challenge lol.

Once the Happy Birthdays and cake eating was done, everyone headed home. Sadly we were held up by one mom who literally arrived an hour late to fetch her two kids. I was nothing short of livid! I have very little patience for such careless inconsiderations, especially when they clearly did not revolve around any emergency and could have been easily avoided with proper communication. Nonetheless, when we eventually did get to leave, we headed home to celebrate National Braai Day with the family.

Naturally, the present opening was first on the list of priorities though lol. And Jude raked in a pretty R2300.00 so he was over the moon as he wanted to go on a shopping splurge for some new soccer kit!

I was absolutely blown away by the boys - when we got home and they had finished all the present opening they disappeared and were not seen again until it was dark as they were playing soccer outside. When they eventually came inside, they still had enough brain power to put together Jude's minecraft lego set he was given by his poppy.

Little Jojo on the other hand, did not last quite as long haha.... yes that brown lump on our guest bed is indeed a little rascal.

It was a very memorable birthday for my little man which made my heart so happy! It was not his actual birthday - which is on the 30th, but it was a super celebration in advance - and now, he gets to celebrate twice, which I don't see any little boy complaining about haha!!! Oh, and yes - posh pup was with us too! No, much to his disappointment, he did not get to join in on the dodgeball lol but he was quite happy roaming the grounds socialising with everyone!