Cassie's Very Cold Clubhouse (and a very, merry Mickey birthday party)

When I left the hospital on October 8, 2010 with my newborn baby daughter, I was shocked to find that it was warm out.  I don't remember the exact temperature, but it was in the 70's.  Lovely.

Last year, for my daughter's first birthday party, I bought her a cute sweater dress and leggings to wear.  The day of the party dawned and she instead wore a sleeveless summer dress to match the 80 degree weather.

I knew it would not be that warm this year, but I was cautiously hoping for 60's and sunny.  See, our house is kinda small.  And our combined immediate family totals 20 or so people.  Add on friends and their children and we would be pushing at the seems of our abode.

We have a nice little backyard and a great garage, so the plan was to have a Mickey Mouse themed party and make a little "Cassie's Clubhouse" in the garage.  We would put up a few canopies, set out the slide and playhouse, tables, chairs, etc.  Add a few cheap Mickey decorations and you have a party waiting to happen.  But not if it's freezing out.  Because that would suck.

Unfortunately, it was freezing out.  The adorable Minnie Mouse dress, gifted to Cassie by my late Aunt Linda, was covered by a jacket and we went through innumerable pots of coffee as everyone tried to keep warm.  It's honestly only comfortable for approx. 10 people to even be in the common areas of my house at once.  So, outside we went!

Luckily, the menu included warm pizza, so the cold salads sat uneaten as we all tried to keep ourselves warm with carbs.  I didn't even get out the ice cream (although a few individuals still had some...teeth chattering or no, some folks just need ice cream with their cake) to accompany the M&M covered cake.

I was bummed that the weather was poor, but my brother-in-law pointed out that the adults didn't mind and the kids didn't notice.  He is right.  I think the kids had a blast despite the chill in the air.  I hope everyone did! A friend mentioned that even with the perfect weather, it's the people that make the party.  Another truism.  Had it been bright, sunny and warm, but lacking in friends and family, it would have been a lot less fun.

Of course I was running around too much and forgot to take many pictures.  Below are a few for posterity's sake!

("My name is Mickey Mouse and I approve this party.")