Bubbles! (need I say more?)

Oh, fine, I will (say more, that is).  Those of you that know me know that I always opt for more words than less. Aaaanyway:

We had Aurelia's (much anticipated) Bubble Birthday Party today!  It was, in a word, delightful!  There were several stations set up in the backyard, and Aurelia rolled around in each one.  We had two wade pools, one filled with water and bubble bath and one filled with bubble solution and an assortment of think-outside-the-box bubble wands (i.e. a hula hoop and fly swatters).  The sprinkler was running, which is not necessarily keeping to the bubble theme, but it was appreciated by swimsuit-clad children and parched grass.  There was a laundry basket filled with water balloons (all blue!!), and those didn't last very long at all.  Miniature bottles of bubbles, which, for the record, should be opened ahead of time with power tools as well as regular balloons filled with candy to be popped.  Geez, I had alot of fun setting it up... And since it was all water-based (aside from the blue balloon carcasses), clean-up wasn't super hard either!!  The coups de gras was this nifty gadget:

 

There were literally a gazillion bubbles floating around the yard for two and a half hours.  Each iridescent orb was even more confusing than the last to my overwhelmed son, but the older kids had a super time chasing them and yelling "bubbles!!" (something I've been doing all week as I prepped for the party). 

 Here is the birthday girl in the aftermath.  She had on a beautiful party dress (courtesy of Grandma Patty), but spent most of the day in swim trunks, then this brightly-colored number.  She was in a super duper mood all day (unbelievable!!) until bedtime came around-- then, she was PISSED.  

All in all, a successful day.  Now on to the next item that is jacking up my blood pressure: homelessness.