With sumer dragging on and Claire not having seen much of her friends the last couple of months, I felt like she could use a little lift before school suddenly started.  We decided to have an end-of-summer party to match Claire’s beginning-of-summer party.  Claire invited a small group of friends over to celebrate basically going back to school and being together again.  Really, it was just a glorified play date.

The party featured a small inflatable pool with the world’s smallest water slide, water sprayers, and water balloons.   Yes, school is starting, but it is really still summer outside.  Claire had also wanted to do a lemonade stand, and she happened to have a workable cardboard lemonade stand that she had made with her favorite summer sitter, Julia.  The girls set up shop on our front curb.  The lemonade, made from a mix, was $.50 per cup — or free if you don’t have any money or too large of a bill to make change.  Claire’s friends were really good at hailing cars, bikers, and walkers.  It helped that the weekend exercise types were out in force.  The girls ended up selling about $12 of lemonade in about 45 minutes.  They split up the money and resolved to donate part to a cause of their own choosing.  One friend was going to donate all her money to the Philippines.  Another’s went to the pet shelter.  Claire is saving hers for Winter the injured dolphin, who is featured in a favorite movie of hers.

The girls also put on an impromptu show when the various parents came for pickup.  It was sort of a very disorganized Hawaiian luau of sorts.  It was fun, and the parents clapped, etc.  Then the kids ran and hid to try to avoid going home, if only for a few more minutes.

The girls happily included Molly in the water play, the lemonade stand , and the show.  They all think Molly is adorable and want a little sister like her.