The Big 4

Perhaps some of you parents of preschoolers out there are familiar with the television series "Busytown Mysteries," which uses characters Richard Scarry made popular years ago. Pig Will and Pig Won't, Huckle, Sally, Lowly, and the gang visit our living room daily via Netflix on the Wii.*

What I'd like to do for Gabriel's upcoming birthday is host a Busytown-themed party, perhaps with a mystery/scavenger hunt for the kids to solve. Fun, right? Well, I don't really know where to start for decor or for cake. A few Googlings for Scarry-themed party decor didn't help, as I'm not talented with icing, fondant, or a needle and thread, so I couldn't reproduce what I saw. I can totally come up with the "mystery," maybe some coloring pages, and I'm even considering using older copies of some Scarry books to use as part of the decor/invitations. But I'm out of ideas when it comes to the cake. (Feel free to comment with suggestions)

And the place to have it is still a bit undecided,as I've procrastinated calling Putt-Putt- which may have a really good deal on their party room. We can always have it here at the house, but space inside to accommodate guests is a possible problem, and since it'll be June in Texas, having the party outside isn't a real possibility.

And now for a list of some of Gabriel's current favorite things:

• Psalty - the funtastic singing hymnal is as awesome to G today as he was to his daddy and me twenty years ago. Retro for the win!
• Busytown - See paragraphs one through three of this post...
• Dirt - I have not purchased a single toy for outside play this calendar year, due largely to my son's desire to play in a patch of dirt on our driveway for relatively long periods of time, uninterrupted.
• Being a big kid - Since our potty trials with G are over (JOY!), he's very much into being a big kid. He wants to go to school, write his letters, do arts and crafts, and shadow kids much bigger than he is when we go to local parks.

I reckon my post should end here before I ramble on too much longer and the antihistamines I took twenty minutes ago knock me out. I'll post again soon, though. Til then, Q

*Incidentally, how ironic is it that we rarely use our interactive, get-up-off-the-couch gaming system for anything besides sitting on the couch and watching television any more?