By: Paul S. Cilwa
Viewed: 3/28/2024 Occurred: 9/4/2022
Page Views: 576
Topics: #Gianna #RollerSkating
Gianna skates her way into her eighth year.
The party was held at Skateland in nearby Chandler. It opens to the
public at 1, but we had the place to ourselves by special arrangement
starting at 10 AM.
Gianna's mom (and my daughter) Jenny is the supreme party arranger.
The moment they let us in she organized where everything should go
and making sure the attendants and she were on the same page.
L2R: Noelle, Jimmy (Gianna's dad), and Dawn
Jimmy told me that Dominic has skates at home, and uses them there.
Still, I was not expecting him, at 6, to be so good at it!
But most of Gianna's guests, despite coming mostly from her
gymnastics class, didn't actually know how to skate at all. In
addition to wrist protectors, Skateland provides these little walker-like rollers
to assist learners.
Like Dominic, Gianna had a head start since she also has skates at home.
Here's a shot of Dominic greeting his uncle (my son) John and John's
partner, Adrienne.
L2R: Noelle, Dawn, Jenny
L2R: Adrienne, Michael, John
I loved Gianna's illuminated Minnie Mouse bow. It made it easy to
spot her on the rink!
L2R: Brenda, Jenny, Chris Wudarksi
Once she was certain the party was on autopilot, Jenny joined the
kids skating.
It's such fun for me, as a grandparent, to see how effortlessly Gianna
interacts with her friends.
Even Jimmy joined in the fun!
And there she goes!
World's cutest eight-year-old.
Chips and cheese, and pizza, had already been served informally. But
now it was time for cake! Or, more specifically, birthday cupcakes.
L2E: Dawn, Chris, Brenda
And then we all sang Happy Birthday, while Gianna looked charmingly humble.
She got a good haul, too.
Jenny and Jimmy watching over the party. Jenny's birthday is actually
tomorrow, but she's celebrating by spending the weekend at a
Scottsdale resort.
Here's big brother Zach with Gianna at the resort after the party.
(He'd been up all night with a sick cat, Cassie, Zach's first kitten
he's had since he was 5.)
However, after a rough night, Cassie seemed to be resting comfortably
with her feline housemates. I know she'll be happier when Gianna and
Dominic return!