This past Sunday was our Church’s Birthday Sunday / Picnic. I always think beforehand that I’ve been to a million birthday Sundays, and that this one will be just like the rest.

I don’t know why I always think that, because I always end up enjoying it immensely and being yet again amazed at the day.

We start out with a huge Eight Foot Cross-Shaped Birthday Cake, where everyone who was saved through our Church or is representing someone who was puts a candle in the cake:

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It’s always amazing to see the line out the doors on both sides of the sanctuary:IMG_0803

And super-touching to see it all lit upIMG_0807

But my favorite moment is when our always-planning ahead Executive Pastor gets out there with a hairdryer and puts out the fire hazard.IMG_0808

They used to blow them all out, which was also entertaining, but besides the sanitary benefits of the hair dryer, I really prefer the comedic effect of it as well.

Then, that afternoon was time for our HUGE Annual Church -potluck (at which time we eat the aforementioned huge cake):IMG_0835

When you have 16 eight foot tables full of food, you have to learn to scope out the good stuff. One way to do this is by the dish.

For example:

  • If it’s a white corningware dish with faded blue flowers on the outside, you know a sweet little blue haired lady made it, so it MUST be good.
  • If it’s in glass Pyrex, it was probably made from someone under 40, but still will be good.
  • If it’s in glass Pyrex with an insulated zip “takealong” bag under it, then you know it is someone that got married within the last 10 years. Seriously – one time we had a Sunday School potluck, and there were SIX Pyrex takealongs – every one of them in a different color.
  • If it’s in an aluminum tray and/or a disposable bowl, then it MIGHT be someone that was too busy/lazy to make something homemade, but is trying to pass off something storebought as homemade. (Ahem. No, I wasn’t guilty of this. But if I was, in fact, guilty of this, it worked: Chris checked and it was all eaten. Not that I was guilty of this.)
  • If it’s still in the storebought container, then someone was too busy/lazy to make something homemade, but wasn’t nearly as vain/hypocritical as me someone in the prior category.

    So now you know how to “shop” a potluck.

    There were many kid’s activities, of which we attempted to get Ali to participate in. The one she was most excited about (and therefore patient enough to wait on), was Mr. Bubbles and his balloon making magic: IMG_0825

    I was sure she would be scared of him when we got up there, but he asked her what she wanted, and in awe, she whispered, “A purple flower.”

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    Some kids were not so girlish in their requests. For instance, this was a custom request: A spider hat. IMG_0834

    There was also a face painting line, compliments of Mrs. Giggles:IMG_0824

    And, although Ali didn’t want her face painted, she was quite in awe of those who did. IMG_0826

    Or, more accurately, rudely staring for long periods of would-be-awkward-if-they-were-adults time:IMG_0829

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    Mrs.Giggles was not just talented, but a very obliging face painter. IMG_0830

    That’s right. He’s 20+ years old.

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    Aaaaand yes, he does, in fact, have glitter highlights on his tiger face:IMG_0836Closeup
    There were also water activities, which didn’t mix too well with the aforementioned face painting:IMG_0857

    There were a lot of scary “I’m Meeeeelting” butterflies running around.

    But some of the kids didn’t have to have their facepaint melting off to be scary:IMG_0859

    After the big kids got their fill of the water features, it was the little kid’s turns. Eli was more than happy to give it a go:

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    So we pressured Ali into giving it a try, citing that her much younger cousin was having a great time:IMG_0846

    . . . but she had no problem admitting that he was much braver than she.

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    . . . as was Amy Beth. And pretty much ALL of the kids.IMG_0853

    However, she found her happy place. Rocks.IMG_0858

    I was tired and lazy when I changed her out of her wet swimsuit. And it was hot. And sticky outside. Putting her non-stretchy clothes back on would have been nearly impossible.

    Soo. . . we rode home with Little Miss Indecent Exposure.

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    You know it’s a good picnic when you ride home, past bedtime, in your diaper.

12 thoughts on “Don’t All Church Birthdays Include Scary Butterflies, Hairdryers, and Glittery Tigers?

  1. Wow! Your church could give lectures on how to do a church picnic up! And you're right, it's only a good picnic if you come home in a diaper!

  2. wow! that's an all out picnic. the 20 yr old with the tiger face knows how to be a kid at heart. :) and i think the hair dryer is the best idea. wouldn't want to eat any of that after everyone's blown on it. :)

  3. I was so glad that I was able to come to the Birthday Sunday service, it was amazing. The view of the birthday cake all lit up from the balcony was awesome!
    Wish we could've made it to the picnic…I feel very left out b/c I don't have an insulated takealong bag to go with my Pyrex dishes, guess I need to invest in one!

  4. Wow! None of my church picnics were like this one, maybe I would have enjoyed them more if they were. Looks like everyone had fun. Alex rode home from our family reunion in south Georgia with only a diaper after playing in the water puddles left on the slip and slide.

  5. We have to do the diaper thing with LuLu nearly every time we leave the property. she plays in the sandbox and monkey crawls on the floor….but she is happy and we are getting work done.

  6. this post made me laugh out loud. too cute. tell me the 20+ year old knows his picture is on the internet glitter and all!

  7. It was a great day! And all 3 of mine road home in their diaper/underwear. I even hosed them all off in the shower before putting their jammies on them. Oh wait, I didn't hose Amy Beth off. All she wanted was to go to sleep. She wore herself slap out on that water slide!

    And don't worry, Ali will outgrow her extreme sense of caution. If you need proof, watch Harris. He was doing cannon balls off the big slide, and when he was Ali's age, he would have been no where near as calm as Ali was on the little kid slide.

  8. Wow, that looks like a lot of fun! You do that every year?

    P.S. Have you tried Victoria's Secret for your mysterious smell? I was in there today and there are a lot of nice scents…I remember they were really popular in college, which might fit in your target age group. Just a thought. :)

  9. Haha! I'm so glad Aaron made into your blog post! :) Hilarious!

    Sadly, I must admit that I didnt bring anything to the potluck…*gasp*. I know. But I had to get there early to follow Ginney around so I can one day take over…LOL. I figured I would be exempt from bring a side dish. I also baked 2 of the cakes that made up the giant cake, so there.

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