Rachel's Swim Party!

The chocolate fountain that worked wonders at Katrina's party was a success at Rachel's too! She had an outdoor POOL party and it was a blast! The clean up was easy, first the dog licked up any spilled chocolate and then, the whole deck got the hose. I think I'll do ALL my kids birthday parties here! Thanks Joanna and Brian (and Nicky, the dog!!)


She had 6 friends, 1 cousin, 1 sister and 3 babysitters attend and the weather and water were FINE! The babysitters were great as Olympic Judges, ribbon/flower presenters and all around help! Thanks girls!

We bought a plain "beach" cake and Josh, Rachel and Daddy decorated it with Polly Pockets. All the Polly's surfed the cake, while the handsome lifeguard sipped his drink.

I thought I'd save money getting the "unadorned" cake and decorating it ourselves. Too bad all the beach Polly Pocket sets cost $30. This was the most expensive cake I've ever bought! BROTHER. Sometimes I just get carried away and don't think. It's a good thing Damian doesn't read this blog.

Rachel is so excited to turn 8! We've set her baptism date for Sept. 13th and she can't wait! It's GREAT to be EIGHT! And it's great to be Rachel, she is the cutest little button I know, in third grade!

Here is the "hired" help. OK, they worked for free and they were greatly appreciated! Thanks Alli, Emma and Hillary. You girls should really go into a party planning business together. Breanna was a huge help, too. She didn't get in the water, but managed all affairs on deck for me.

This is my favorite shot of the day. I love the look on Rachel's face and the concentration on her friend's faces!

I found someone MORE tan than Miss Rachel! These two were always giggling and having so much fun together, in the pool. I'm so grateful that Rachel has so many nice friends.

We had the RACHEL IDIART BIRTHDAY OLYMPICS and Rachel won the first GOLD MEDAL (Biggest Splash!)

We made Gold Medals out of Rolos, Silver Medals out of Peppermint Patties and Bronze out of a Reese's PB Cup. We played the National Anthem and had the girls stand on stools of varied heights. It looks like Rachel isn't too sure where her heart is!

My niece, Rachel's bosom BFF, looks down with pride, at her Gold Medal. She won it at the next competition!

The Winners of the Smallest Splash!

Rachel's long-time friend, JoJo was a true Olympian. Her family has a pool and she is a GREAT swimmer. She won the Gold Medal for Longest Jump. Then, for quite a few other races I would whisper, "JoJo, you won this race, too, but I'm letting another girl win the Gold, OK?" She was a good sport and I was very proud of her. What a cutie!

Darian hosted the party at her pool for Rachel and she basically was the best at everything, too . . . but she only took the Gold in Strongest Lungs (held her breath about 3x longer than everyone else!)

I tried to disqualify her relay team, so she and Jordan wouldn't get another Gold, but they were too smart for that. They must watch the real Olympics and kept filing protests. I told them their turns were bad, that they didn't touch the wall in the proper way, etc. etc. Finally, Darian's mom told her that their kick board was a faster model, so it was unfair that they won. They bought that, poor kids. They knew their form and execution was perfect and couldn't be swayed by false accusations.

What a shame that the RACHEL IDIART BIRTHDAY OLYMPICS were rigged.

OK, this particular competition wasn't rigged. . . these girls had the most creative dives/jumps and beat everyone, hands down. One did a Kamakazi, another did a front flip. They were so funny, all the girls were cheering and laughing at their crazy moves!

These are the relay teams . . . but now you know, the team on the right (Silver Medals) actually won. Again, due to a "speedy quick" kick board, they were DEMOTED. That advanced the three girls in the center to a Gold Medal. They were happy about that. The little shrimps on the left won the Bronze and those tasted the best, so they didn't mind a bit. Those Gold Medal Rolo's aren't actually that good. I mean, who, besides Emma Idiart even likes Caramel?

Happy Birthday Party to Miss Rachel, the sweetest little 8 year old, I know. We love you, honey.