A Pirate Party

Anders turned the big 5 this October.  We usually do a big party with friends for the 5th birthday and Anders requested a pirate party.  I have a love/hate relationship with parties.  I love planning them, making crafts, researching and creating games, and making food.  I hate the chaos of the actual party. So usually I do all the planning and work beforehand and Hans entertains the kids at the party.  He's the fun one....story of my life.

 All the food had a pirate theme.

 We had several stations set up for the kids to visit.

This was Digging for Buried Treasure.

There was sand everywhere.  Actually, I'm still finding sand.

 They could also visit the Tattoo Parlor...complete with a grumpy tattoo artist.

 Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate

 Hans realized the kids could see through the mask, making the game too easy.  So he took his shirt and wrapped it around the kid's head.

 Some kids got wild and crazy and wanted to pin the eye patch on upside down.

 Then the kids thought it would be a good idea to make Hans play the game.  See?  He really is the fun one.

 Then Hans worked on his acting skills by reading a pirate book.  The kids loved all of his voices.  They were hanging on his every word.

 My little pirate was really enjoying himself.

 He's trying hard not to blow out the candle before the song is over.  He just wants to eat the frosting off of the cupcake...he can't wait!

The party ended with presents.  All the kids like watching the birthday boy open presents...it's actually pretty funny to watch.

So looks like a fun day...right?  That's what the pictures will tell you.  But it was loud and crazy and a couple of the kids kept telling me how much they didn't like my food.  And that is all fine and expected.  But my little introvert who often separates himself away from a loud bunch decided halfway through his party that he would rather play up in his room all by himself than be with this friends.  There were tears when we told him he had to play with his friends.  I was partied out.  Can you guess why I don't do "friend" parties every year?

John's Birthday

John turned 9 this year. 9.  That tiny little baby that cried all of the time turned into a squeaky voiced little boy who loved Thomas.  That Thomas loving fool suddenly grew up and is now in 4th grade.  I feel old.

 His "party" consisted of Debbie, Pam, Glenn, Sophie, and the Davis family.  Small yet fun.  As long as he gets cake and a cheap table cloth this kid is happy.

 He had a ton of helpers opening presents, but John didn't mind.  He likes being the center of attention.

 This year John requested an ice cream cake.  I tried my best.  I still need to play a bit with the whipped cream topping.

Chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream and cookie dough ice cream.

John had a great "party".

I still can't believe my baby is 9.

Sophie's Birthday

Hans, John, and Gus actually left for Canada on Sophie's birthday.  So we said goodbye to them, then Anders and I went to party with Sophie.  Sophie turned 13 this summer.  13.  I don't like teenagers...but I'll keep her around.

Anders had to be standing right next to her the whole time she was opening presents.  I kept calling him away and he kept going back.

Her big present from Pam, Debbie, and Glenn was this Ferris Wheel set.  That is one excited girl right there.

After present opening and ice cream cake we made our way to Medieval Times.

Anders takes his sword wielding very seriously. 

When you enter Medieval Times you are in a large room.  Trumpeters announce the presence of the king.

The king will knight the special guests.  The announcer called Sophie to the front.  She was not at all happy about this.  So Anders went up with her.  The announcer called him her bodyguard.  He's a cute little bodyguard.

They even put a little cape on him.

Once it was all over I think Sophie had fun.  But she is not one to draw attention to herself in a room of people she does not know.

Shortly after this the knighting the tournament hall was open.

We were cheering for the yellow knight.

Sophalicious and her mom.

Our knight did not win, but we all had a blast.

Fun with Cousins

Just a week after we went to Zionsville, we went again!  This time Andrina flew in with her kiddos so we had all 7 grandchildren there.

 Michael's birthday was earlier in the month so Solveig decided to throw a little party for him.

 There was a lot of noise and chaos and Michael decided he wanted his mom to be next to him.

 He is really into Thomas right now, so I decided to make him some train cupcakes.

 John made pizza and we all enjoyed an afternoon of crazy, loud children and good food.

 These two have always loved each other, but this  year they really started to play together.  Machara was telling Gus what to do and Gus was following directions!

 Then we decided to take a picture of the 7 grandkids.  And, if you can count, you can see I'm missing two.

 And then I got all 7 kids....and a dog.

And. Well.  This is as good as it got.

These kids don't have time for pictures.  They just wanted to play.

Happy Birthday, Gus!

On Monday this little bundle of joy with an extremely sad resting face turned 6.  Gus the Bus is in Kindergarten this year and loving it.  He's actually even participating in class.  I can't believe that he is already 6.

 The day before his birthday we had a little family party.  I love that a party for Gus is getting a superhero table cloth for the table and plates.  I should give this kid a party more often.

His brothers were close by to lend a helping hand in opening up presents.

 As you can see, he was thrilled with his gifts.

 John wanted to "help" so much that Sophie had to physically restrain him.

 Gus got a package of face crayons and Anders begged to be painted like Leo.  Gus is a good big brother and happily obliged.  

 Gus requested a cake that was not round that had an orange background and Litlo (a pokemon) painted on it. He was happy to get this.  

 His birthday fell on a school day, and just like John, Gus was happy to go to school.

 Mrs. Dernulc was kind enough to let us come in and read to the class.  And by "we" I mean "Hans."  Teachers LOVE having Hans come in and read.  Several of the teachers in the school know all about Hans' reading skills.  He sure know show to capture a room full of kids.

Mrs. Dernulc is amazing!  We all love her.  Gus has already said that he will be sad when he doesn't get to see her everyday.