A Pirate's Life for Me

***Be ye warned . . . lots o' pictures!***

On Saturday, February 11, we had Benjamin's 4th birthday party.  Here's the invite:

Front

(Yes, I designed the heart pirate myself.  You'll see the inspiration for it on Benji's birthday shirt, courtesy of Gymboree, but I did make this one!  I used a combination of GIMP and Picnik to do it.)

Back

It was supposed to start at 2; I was up until about 5am the night before trying to finish everything up (I may or may not have been slightly distracted by watching Downton Abbey at the same time . . .), so it was a little late starting.  I didn't get any pictures of the decor, but that's okay.  It was just some jolly roger flags and crepe paper, really (red, yellow and black; it easily could have been the same for a Lightning McQueen party!).

I originally thought about doing a Monsters, Inc. party, since Benji thinks that Mike Wasowski is hilarious.  Then I had a small epiphany: since there will be a pirate night on our Disney Cruise, I decided we'd have a pirate party and outfit all the lil' buccaneers with pirate paraphernalia.  There's a LOT of stuff on the internet for pirates, pirate parties, etc.  Not much of what I did was original, but it turned out to be pretty fun.

After some of the kids put on their shirts (which I made using skull & crossbones cardboard stencils and Martha Stewart any-surface paint from Michaels), we started with "Pin the Eyepatch on the Pirate."  Everyone got their own bandana, which was used as a blindfold for the game.  Above is Noah, observing his doo-rag.  He later admitted he could see through it, which is why he got it his patch on closer than anyone (his was #3).  Poor little dude--he wasn't feeling well.  :o(  He was a trouper, though.

 

Next was opening the package with a hook.  The hook got bent pretty quickly, but the kids had fun doing it.  It was a big candy bar, and I wrapped it in a few layers.  We gave them each 30 seconds (one minute was too long!), so it took a few minutes.  After we shared the candy bar, we went downstairs for the "boat ride."

Phoebe waiting to be towed. 

Allen tying the tow-rope on

This was actually an original idea; I had this little unused dolly, and I thought the kids could paddle themselves across the living room.  Well, that might have worked except for the carpet.  And the box which I covered with brown poster board wasn't very sturdy, so most of the kids fell out of it trying to get out.  We did a little I-Spy thing, where the boat rider had to close their eyes, and find

Ella waiting for her turn in the "boat

the red sash.  I intended to sew those, but that didn't happen.  Instead, they frayed all over everything, but they did look pretty good.  I also wanted to make a spotting scope out of empty cans.  Yeah, that didn't happen either.  I just ran out of time!  Everyone managed to keep themselves busy, between watching Seuao's rugby (or was it soccer?) game in the background, taking funny pictures, etc.


As I was taking this picture, I believe Sarah was taking the picture below with Zekey.      BTW, I owe a huge shout-out to Sarah for taking so many great pictures.  I was a little busy, and the ones I got were pretty pathetic.  Thanks so much, babe.

Love this one! 

Lex channeling John Lennon

After the marginally successful boat-rides, we had a treasure hunt.  I didn't get pictures of the clues, but I printed them out, and tried to make them look old by soaking them in really concentrated herbal tea.  I think it works better if you use real tea, because mine just turned an ugly shade of pale yellow-green.  *sigh*  Well, the kids seemed to like it anyway.  The first clue was:

"Where the Wild Things Are and the Skies are Blue
Is Where You Will Find Clue #2."

It took them a little while to get it (though Nanny was pretty excited when she figured it out!), but it was in Noah's bedroom.

Ella took it upon herself to read all the clues, and while I'm not sure the other kids appreciated it, it was fine.  The age difference makes it a little hard, and she really does put up with a lot.  Ella's such a good kid.  Anyway, the second clue read:

"In the Back Yard, Under the Tree
Is Where You Will Find Clue #3"

I put in the little notes, just in case you were wondering how much work I put into this thing.

At this point, I was trying to hold onto Benji and take pictures and help with the clues, but the boy ran over to the trampoline.  So I tried to get him off while the kids went onto the next clue.  I didn't get any pics of that one.  This clue read:

"Close to some Flowers And Near the Front Door
Is Where You Will Find Clue #4."

Of course, there weren't any flowers (hello, Mary--it's February!).  But the clue that was there read:

"On the Back Porch In Sand Without Measure
Is Where You Will Find Your Buried Treasure."

This wasn't an original idea.  I read it on some blog, and I thought it would be really cute.  I put Allen in charge of purchasing and hauling sand . . . well, it didn't cost much, but it was pretty gravelly (is that a word?).  Anyway, by the time I got Benji off the trampoline, the kids had found the "buried treasure" (I had Dave put little pretend jewels and kaleidoscopes and the swords in the sand, which was in the ginormous bucket that Mrs. X gave us to bathe baby Benji in.  At least it has come to some use!

So that was the end of the games.  Benji wasn't much of a participater; he's so caught up in his own world that being social (even at your own birthday party!) just isn't a priority.  Oh well--the rest of the kids had fun, and we are all a lot closer to being ready for Pirate Night!  Of course, Lex is going above and beyond by making awesome costumes for her crew.  If she weren't so freakin' sweet, I'd totally have an inferiority complex around her.  But then, Lexy has threatened to moon me, so I guess I'd better watch out anyway. ;o)

Captain Dave.  Awesome.

Nanny helping out the Cap'n with his sleeves, and Bex ever-ready for the picture.

We then did cake and presents.  (P.S., thanks for making the cuppy-cakes and the GORP, Mach.  You're a lifesaver.)  The cake was pretty pathetic--a red velvet cake from Costco, but when I bought it, the decorators had all left.  So one of the bakery chicks did it for me.  Not great, but I didn't have time for anything else.  Oh well.

I love the look on Benjamin's face!  Four big ones!

I didn't (i.e., Sarah didn't) really get any pictures of the presents, but that's Benji wandering around in the background, while I'm sitting on the floor opening gifts.  Lily was looking pretty tough here!

Benji got some great gifts--lots of books and puzzles, some finger paints, some clothes, etc.  Everyone was very generous, and Benji is loving them.  We haven't put him in the cute dressy outfit, but we will on the Cruise.  Thanks for the gifts, everyone!

Here are some more random pictures.  Again, Sarah got most of these. 

Allen, in all his scruffy glory

Great shot of Bex and Zeke

Phoebe!

Nanny and Sabrina (with her sword)

Auntie Sarah and Benji, who was very excited to see himself on the screen

Well, that's about all I can come up with.  A lot of the party was, erm, half-baked, but all in all, I think it came off okay.  I'm glad it's done, and I'm glad the kiddos had fun.  Happy Birthday to my sweet little valentine!  I love you all the way to the moon and back!