I had an idea based on a memory I had from when I was in preschool: a teddy bear picnic. I remember going for a walk with my class and coming across all our favorite teddy bears from home in a clearing, waiting for a picnic. It was magical. I wanted to recreate this, but using my girls' favorite Beanie Boo stuffed animals.
I took Lula to church with me this morning to keep her out of the way. I nearly choked when her name tag printed off with the class "PreK/Kindergarten" on it. When did she get so big? While I was gone, Genevieve, with Fiona and Daniel's help, made my vision reality. They arranged fake flowers (bargain bin at Michael's) and hung balloons and set out a blanket with all the Beanie Boos.
I also brought out an old tea set that belonged to my grandmother (don't worry, I looked it up online and it is not a high quality set). I've had this set in a box for 20 years and I am so happy that we used it! I have always wanted to do a real tea party with my girls, but the ones that would climb on the table and break pretty dishes outnumber me. Luckily Heidi was down for her nap during the party (Jason was too).
Genevieve was the perfect hostess and Fiona was the perfect assistant. I cannot tell you how much I love having these older girls help me make my ideas work. Everything was just as I imagined it.
Even Daniel graced the tea party and served as a polite little gentleman. He was just there for the food (his sisters said he wouldn't get any cake if he did help set up).
And no Downen party would be complete without a couple of well-behaved guard dogs...but who invited the hundreds of mosquitoes? They chewed me up within a few seconds, so I quickly headed back to the house as soon as the tea was gone.
We love our Lula Joy.
