OREGON SPRINKLE EXPEDITION!

The photo below shows my first-ever invitation to a "baby sprinkle".  Turns out, it was a play on words, since a "sprinkle" is not a full "shower".  The parents already had one young boy (and, hence, many of the necessities a baby boy would receive at a baby shower), so the baby boy still in his mother's womb, would only need a "sprinkle", not a "shower"!  Clever, huh??!!  The golf cart on the invitation, along with the golf phrases, "PAR-TEE", were hints that this event had a golf theme.  

The hostess for the event graciously invited me to stay in her home the Friday night before, so that I was there all day Saturday, to watch the preparations get underway, and assist as needed.  The photo below shows Jan, Deana, Laury, and Stacy, in the process of blowing up balloons (with an electric device), then tying off the top of the balloons, then stuffing them into bags, in preparation for making a balloon arch.  I have always admired balloon arches when I have seen them at special occasions, but this was my first time to ever participate in making one of them.  Suffice it to say, it takes quite a while to get the balloons tied onto a rope, which is then hung on a wall, to form an arch.      

The hostess had ordered custom-made cookies, each with with a golf theme design incorporated into the icing.  Besides each one being a work of art, they actually tasted delicious!  Likewise, the custom-made cupcakes, had a round piece of chocolate on top, wrapped up to look like a golf ball.  A decorative golf club was also on top of each cupcake.    There was no sneaking around to eat one of the cupcakes, because as soon as you bit into it, your lips and tongue turned green, as shown in one of the photos of little Connor, later in this blog.  There were the usual adult beverages, plus the kids had their own "beverage station", cleverly placed in a little red wagon, surrounded by ice.  

We set up an assembly line to make club sandwiches, once again using the golf theme, by the word "club", and a golf club wooden pick, holding the layers together.  

They had a "pop up" canopy to set up, and we all had a hand in getting it out of its folded up position, and into the completely opened up position.  It definitely took a team to get this accomplished!

I was thanking God for the beautiful weather that we had for the backyard event, as there was no rain, very little wind, and the temperature was perfect!

One of the adult activities, was to guess how many golf tees were in the big baby bottle, with the winner getting a special golf-themed prize. The photo beside the bottle, shows little Connor, with a golf club and golf ball.

The centerpieces on the table were made from artificial turf, and filled with golf balls, tees, and photos of Dean, Kaylee, and Connor out on the golf course.  Also, shown is the "Who is the baby's daddy" game.  Each guest was given a scratch off card, and only one of the cards had an actual photo of the daddy Dean.  The other faces were well-known celebrities.  

This photo shows several of the guests holding up their "whose your daddy" card, but none of them won the prize.  

The balloon arch made the perfect back drop for photos, and this photo below shows the honorees---Dean and Kaylee.  

This photo shows the family of the host and hostess.

The photo below shows why I was invited.  My son is married to Kaylee's mom!  (There were dozens more photos of groups under the balloon arch, but for purposes of brevity in this blog, I just put the photos of people who hosted me for overnight stays.)

This photo shows four generations of my daughter-in-law's family:  young Connor (with green tongue from green cupcake icing), Stacy, with her daughter Kaylee and mother Jan.

And this photo shows just two generations---me and my son, known as "Pappy G", to Connor, because my son called my father, "Pappy Joe".   

However, there were additional generations of "Pappy G" represented in the gift I brought for the "sprinkle".   For decades, I have kept the perforated metal top that fit into a glass bottle, that "Pappy G's" great grandmother used to "sprinkle" the clothes with water, she would be pressing, with a heavy metal object, heated on top of a wood stove.  This was the pioneer's version of a "steam iron".  (for purposes of my air travel to get to Oregon, I had replaced the glass bottle, with a plastic bottle, which contained a gift check that could be used for the baby's diaper needs or other necessities).  The miniature iron I gave to Kaylee, is one that "Pappy G's" grandmother used to iron her doll clothes, whenever her  mom was ironing the grown up clothes.  The badly-faded embroidery shows an elf with wings, sitting on top of an old-fashioned iron.  It was a "tea towel", that had been in my mother's Hope Chest.  The Hope Chest was usually a hand-made cedar box, with hinged top, which girls would start filling as a child, with tea towels and doilies and aprons and baby blankets they made, in hopes of having a husband and family some day---hence, the phrase "Hope Chest"!  My father made numerous cedar "Hope Chests".  Also, included was an old-fashioned clothes pin, made from a single piece of wood, before the invention of hinged clothes pins.

I mentioned the games for adults, and there were also fun activities for the little ones.  The most popular was the bubble machine, which always makes for interesting photo opportunities!

My son and I played one of the children's games, which was new to me!

Connor really got into the idea of a "SPRINKLE", when someone gave him a water bottle with a hole punched in the lid, which he repeatedly filled, and proceeded to "sprinkle" anyone who could not get out of his squirting range!

This event was a wonderful celebration of the precious gift, currently in the process of being "knit together" in his mother's womb, as described in Psalm 139.  It was an expedition that gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!  Tricia