Post Birthday Update (thanks to @Street Gamz)

The girl wanted to have a slightly different type of party for her 12th.  The changes started with her cake, which looked like a basket filled with flowers.  We had cupcakes which we put Happy Birthday on, instead of the cake.

We went kind of 'old school' and broke out our inflatable water slide for the water war side of things.  I'm not sure which they enjoyed more.  The sliding crazily down the slide..

 or the water guns and buckets that were strategically placed around the yard.

The fun part, though, was when the truck from Street Gamz pulled up in front of the house.  The kids were eating and immediately tried to abandon their food.  Fortunately, it took the guys in the truck a couple of minutes to get set up and ready, so the kids had the chance to inhale their food before entering.   We didn't see the kids again until just before time for the truck to leave.

The truck was awesome and had plenty of room for our crew.  The guys running it were very polite and professional as well.  I highly recommend them if you are looking for an alternative option for your kids (or other event).  It worked very well for my crew of tweens & teens.

The evening ended with the girls that stayed over taking over the playroom (and Wii) and the boys getting the den (and XBox).  Bill & I retreated upstairs and were available if needed, but otherwise stayed out of the way.