Gnome and fairy magic

I'm not sure how to write about the party this morning and that says a lot because at a loss for words is not a typical state for me. It was worth all the planning and felt cutting and glitter stressing. I have amazing friends. My mom is a saint. My Dad makes an excellent guard troll for a fairy village.

My children were enchanted. All the children were enchanted, which was just exactly, perfectly, wondrously how I hoped it would be. Maybe it's best to say it with pictures this time around.

Finding the fairy bait cake crumbs and the note from the fairies. They had found their gnome toadstool vests, fairy tutus and glitter scarves by their beds when they woke at 5:30 a.m.

The fairies and gnomes left tutus and toadstool glitter scarves in the backyard for everyone.


Following the glitter trail. The fairies and gnomes led us on a merry chase from our backyard, through the big city park a block from us, ending in an absolutely perfect grove of Dr. Seuss pines (not the official term, but it's a grove of these pine trees that are seventy feet tall and have drooping, fairy beard type needles cascading all the way to the ground) on the south end of the formal rose gardens. They are following the glitter and pipe cleaner arrows through Duncan Gardens in the picture below.

The fairy village at the base of a cascading, Dr. Seuss pine. You can't tell, but the branches touch the ground and create a perfect circle around the trunk that completely hides the fairy home inside. Yes, the miniature fairy village aspect of this whole thing absolutely delighted me. I'm a total geek. What's your point, Matt? (Omigod, squeeeee, make bigger that picture and you can see the tiny wheelbarrow and the bench and the broom and the miniature train for the tiny little fairy babies and ... I'm stopping ... and the little tool set... stopping ... squeeeaaal.)

Finding the wishes the fairies left. (The gnomes left a treasure chest full of chocolate kisses.)

The wishes.
And now the cake. Kristina, a woman I already adored, a friend of the sort that is hard to find and that you nurture and tend and kiss and love just to keep her loving you because it's that important to you, even though she doesn't ask for anything, Kristina offered, actually joyfully insisted, that she make the cake for this party months ago. I agreed happily because she is a baker and I am not. I don't know what I expected. Just a pretty cake. I cried when I saw it. I kid you not. Brace yourselves.

Uh huh. I know. That is a fairy family in front of a little fairy house. NO. Wait. That is my fairy family in front of a little fairy house.

Matt and my three pasty pale red heads. Olive-toned me and my beautiful brown daughter. In fondant fairies. I'm crying again. Look. The girl fairies have wings.

That pretty much says it all, right there. The whole day was like finding enchanting little pink wings on the back of the little pink fondant fairies.

Sigh. That brings us to the end of the saga of the four-child joint gnome/fairy party. It's over. My village rocks. It was hard work and it was worth it. The glitter was ample. The magic was everywhere. And we all know that everyone needs a little magic in their lives.