10/23 Mia's 6th Birthday Party and Ohlone's Harvest Festival

Mia's birthday was originally going to be at a Golfland. But with the high probability of rain, Vanessa switched it to an art studio, where kids older than 4 made sun catchers and younger kids painted pottery. I was glad the kids weren't going to paint another pottery. Don't get me wrong painting pottery is fun, and I have taken the kids myself, but we are accumulating quite the collection.

The owner who was showing the kids how to make the suncatchers was enthusiastic and good with the kids, but I think found parents quite annoying. She told us to let the kids do it themselves and strongly encouraged us to leave and walk around or shop. At one point, a Dad was helping his daughter write her name, I think, and the owner asked him to let her do it. She then under her breath said something like, "Some parents can't help themselves." Vicki, who overheard, made a playful joke back. The owner then said, "Oh, you heard that." She then kind of apologized and explained her comment. I found it kind of amusing.

Besides having a talent for making suncatchers, Mia showed us another talent.

One day Vanessa had asked Mia if she could roll her tongue, and the above is what she did.

After the art studio, we had pizza at a nearby pizza place. To encourage the kids to eat, Spencer, Mia's dad, said whoever ate the most pizza would get a prize. Beck took the contest pretty seriously and would give updates on the amount of pizza he ate. In the end, the prize was tokens for the arcade games for all the kids.

The party was capped off with cupcakes. That's one of Mia's cousins doing the rabbit ears.

After Mia's birthday, I took Maile and Beck to Maile's school for their annual Harvest Festival. The money raised goes toward the school's farm (it's like a mini-farm, complete with veggies, hay, and animals). I bought the kids some tickets to participate in the games and activities, like the apple peeler and slicer.