Hunter only asked for a pirate sword and eye patch for his birthday. He found it in an Oriental Trading magazine. He told me this two days before his actual birthday and so I promised him that we would get them if he wanted to do a pirate friend party. He was thrilled.
I knew I wanted to do the message in a bottle thing for the invitations and was just ready to start on them when I found
these! They were cheaper than doing it myself, plastic and came with sand, toys and an eye patch. No contest.
I got some printables from a cute
etsy shop. They were my favorite part of the party. It was so much fun to put together! She even personalized them with his name and age and a pirate that looked like him. It was so cute!
When the kids came we sent them to the "loot table" and get a pirate bandana for their head, sword and eye patch (the very same that Hunter coveted).
Now do you see why he fell in LOVE?!
And everyone was all too thrilled to be dressed as a pirate.
This is Hunter's very best friend from preschool. Funny thing is that his older brother was Palmer's best friend.
The girls were such good sports as well. Don't they look cute as pirates?
Our first game was "pass the crocodile," which is sort of like hot potato. We had 17 kids and it was a little crazy, but a lot of fun!
Then we had some yummy lunch. Kids are so easy! They just want sandwiches and chips.
This really is the longest post of all time, but I want to remember every detail. I had a ball planning the party!
This was the funniest. All of the kids kept asking for more "grog". I tried to freeze swedish fish in the ice cubes and it was pointless, you couldn't even see them and then they sunk to the bottom and lost their color. Gross? Yes.
We also had Goldfish crackers that were called "Shark Bait."
I was a little worried about serving lunch, but the kids were awesome!
The pirate captain himself.
We divided the kids up into two teams. One group was the crew of the "Black Pearl" and the other was the crew of the "Flying Dutchman". They each got six ping pong balls and tried to sink the other teams ship. I have to say I LOVE the internet and all of the ideas that it gave me.
The ships I painted. Don't they look seaworthy?
Our last game was walking the plank. The kids had to hold a spoon with a golf ball on it and walk across the plank. I tried to show them how to do it and I COULDN'T! They were all much better than me.
Then it was time for presents. Of course Hunter was pretty pumped about doing that.
Then it was CAKE TIME!
Josh drew a treasure map for the kids to go on a treasure hunt for "Captain Hunter's Treasure". I took this picture a few days after the party and by then it had gotten a grease stain on it. I am POSITIVE that pirate maps had all sorts of stains on them so we are just authentic at our house.
They found the TREASURE!
And it was time for the party to be over. I planned for 1 1/2 hours and I had two things that I didn't even get to. After all of the friends left, the cousins stuck around for the rest of it.
My awesome sister Debby kept McKay occupied for the party (along with her baby). She is pretty much awesome.
So we did our tattoo parlor. The rule was that since church was the next day, they had to pick a spot that their shirts would cover.
The last game was so fun. It is a good thing that we couldn't play it though, because I bought the wrong size of pretzels. You have to have regular sized pretzels for this. You get a hook and they have to transfer as many pretzels as they can in 60 seconds (by hooking them on the hook). Ours didn't work so well, but I am determined to do this game again with my boys and do it the right way.
I actually LOVED planning this part and I think the kids like it. Palmer gets a party this year too. I am already trying to think of things to do!
P.S. Thank you Heather (my awesome sister) for all of your help preparing for the party. I have the greatest sisters ever! My parents also came before and helped me. Thanks guys!
Sorry for such unoriginal titles, but I like to have the title spell out what is in the post so I can find it easily. My Dad has finally retired (well at the end of this month) from Intermountain Farmers Association. He worked there for 30+ years 15 of which he served as President and CEO. We have a lot of good memories associated with IFA and my Dad deeply loves the company that he worked for for so many years. Most people change jobs at least a few times in their lives. My dad has worked there from the time he was in college until retirement. I have watch him work very hard my whole life and I knew that where he worked must be pretty special for him to be so dedicated to it.
This dinner was given at the Little America in honor of my special father. There were about 250 people in attendance and they all loved and respected him. He was given a standing ovation twice that evening and he deserved them. Everyone should have the opportunity to hear the things said about their fathers as I heard about mine that night. Many people talked about my dad's integrity and honesty. I think those are two of the best things that can be said about anyone. I am very proud to be the daughter of such a person.
My mom has been there with my dad every step of the way. They are two peas in a pod and definitely complete each other. There were a lot of wonderful things said about my mom too.
We got to take a picture with everyone there. My aunts and uncles also came to support my dad on this special night. It is a night I will always remember.
