Not So Sweet Anymore??

Kiki turned 17 last week and we had a little party here last weekend. Actually, it was a joint birthday party with one of her friends whose birthday was 2 days after hers. Her mom & I figured out that we were in the same hospital at the same time. Kiki was born by C-section so I was able to stay - I think 3 but even still probably 2 nights. Kiki's friend was born after her mom had spent quite a few hours in delivery, so their paths crossed somewhere on October 4th and 5th. Pretty cool, shows what a small world it is.



So we had about twenty 17 & 18 years old over, and we had to think of a way to amuse them that was safe, legal and wouldn't end us up in jail. I specifically warned Kiki & friends, no intoxicating substances of any kind and spoke of dire consequences should I find any. It was a pretty idle threat, these are pretty good kids and while I am not naive enough to say that I don't think any of them have had any experience in this area, I don't think they have gotten to the stage where they believe that they can't have fun without something of an intoxicating nature or in others words - 45. We just had to think of something to keep 'em busy. So we devised a scavenger hunt, by car. We had a list of some 40 things that they either had to bring back with or take photos of. The limit was 12 photos and the items had various point values assigned to them, which the kids didn't know in advance. There were no bonus points for finishing or coming back first and we had a flexible return time. We didn't want young teenage drivers rushing to try and get back for some kind of time limit. The other rules? They couldn't buy anything, they couldn't go to their homes or anyone's homes, they had to obey all driving laws, they couldn't steal or take any item without permission. They did a good job. We didn't have an expectation that they would get all of the items but they came back with quite a few. Some of the items they had to get? A McCain Sign (tougher than you think in this Obama neighborhood), California state quarter, a house for sale flyer, picture of the team with a waiter, a pumpkin, and the list goes on. It was a good way to start the evening, a good icebreaker and the kids had a good time seeing some of the creative ways the other teams obtained items and they all had stories to tell. We are a bit fearful that their classmate that works at the local grocery store might be in trouble at work since all 4 of the teams went there and apparently he was quite helpful to all of the teams. Not sure how much work he got done that night though!

Afterwards Mexican food, pin the tail on the donkey (hard to believe but the kids enjoyed it), cake, ice cream, pinatas and hot tubbing and swimming. The boys left at midnight and the girls spent the night. As far as parties go, it was pretty easy. My only job was the aforementioned liquor watch, staying out of the way when the food was served (people could get hurt!) and being invisible in a visible kind of way.

Next year, Kiki will celebrate her birthday at college. I am fairly certain I won't be invited to that party so it was nice to share this one with her. And yes, she is still pretty sweet!!