Brevin is Seven?

*A high volume of traffic has been directed to this post via Pinterest and Tip Junkie related to the pirate party ideas.  I have since done another pirate party for Brevin's younger brother, and there are some much improved concepts if you care to look at them from this link.* 

Whoa! When did that happen? I still feel like I'm trying to figure out why anyone would trust me enough to send me home from the hospital with my first baby. Well, despite my inexperience and inadequacies as a mother, Brevin has turned out alright, I'd have to say. While he is all boy, he has a very tender and sensitive side to him that is very refreshing. He has many interests and is proving to be quite adept when it comes to working with computers. I am also glad to see that he is comfortable in new environments and is willing to try new things.

He's grown (physically) right under my nose. All of a sudden we realized it was time for a larger bike for Brevin, and so his gift from Dad and Mom was a brand new bike (and a bike lock to go with it).

A Pirate's Life for Me

The Friend Party

I know, I know. This party theme is probably done more than any other (just do a search on Google for "pirate parties" and you'll see what I mean), but it is what Brevin decided on, and it turned out to be wonderfully easy to plan and execute due to the mass of information available on the Internet.

The Party Details

This was an idea I found online for the invitations that I loved. The party information was printed on an authentic-looking treasure map, the map edges were burned, and it was rolled and placed into an empty IBC root beer bottle for delivery. This seemed to get everyone all excited (parents and children included), and our children were thrilled that I forced them to drink all the root beer.

Rather than buy party favor bags, I sent lunch sacks through my printer with a warning to the buccaneers that they best be guarding their booty, which included an eye patch, bandanna, plastic gold coins, limited candy, a pencil, and a pirate book of codes. I printed a list of pirate phrases and their definitions to go on the inside of each of the code books. That was a fun touch.










Of course, the detail I pay most particular attention to is the cake. With loads of images from the Internet to reference, I finally decided on this design. It was nice because the most time consuming and difficult task (assembling the sails), could be done well ahead of time. I used the basket weave frosting tip to create the look of wooden planks. That turned out to be a very simple frosting method.




The Games

We first played a game similar to hot potato, but passed a skull around to the music from the Disney ride "Pirates of the Caribbean." That was followed by a treasure hunt which lead to the cake and party favors. We went outside to dig in the sandbox for gold, and finally, we played a water game where teams tried to bail water from "their ships" as well as throw water into their opposing team's pool. The losers had to "walk the plank" which simply meant they got to go on the slip-n-slide first. It ultimately turned into a huge water fight by party's end. That was the expectation, and the kids loved it. So did I. It was a really fun party!

Out to Eat

We originally planned to eat at Pirate Island Pizza, a new restaurant in Provo. It wasn't ready for it's scheduled opening in Spring, so we'll go when it does open to the public. Instead, Brevin chose Red Robin, and our family had a fantastic evening.

A Sabbath Birthday

Oddly enough, everyone's birthday,except Garrett's, fell on a Sunday this year. So we had all the above mentioned activities take place on Saturday, while Sunday kicked off with Brevin's breakfast of choice: red heart-shaped pancakes (I can cook other breakfast items besides colored, shaped pancakes, but that is what the boys always seem to go for). That evening, we had family over for a little party and we watched Brevin's year in review video.

With the culmination of Brevin's birthday, we wrapped up the birthday season of 2009. Now what am I to do in place of planning and looking forward to parties? Hmm...maybe I can finish that ward cookbook I promised to compile some months ago!

This post authored by Amber