Pirate Party!

Last summer when we were still living in Nibley, Atticus went to a super hero birthday party and realized birthday parties could be themed.  Ever since then he has been talking about having a pirate party for his 5th birthday.  He was a lucky kid and had my parents in town for his actual birthday so we spent the day with them in Boston and then the next week he got to have his party.  He'd never had a friend party before, and following my mom's wise lead he will only have them on his odd birthdays from here on out, but I apparently like planning birthday parties and had a ton of fun with him prepping for this one.  (And was very glad it was over afterwards)

Our front door welcoming the little scallywags.

The captain and his first mate.

Clearly that's his hook.

The kids came in and were given their pirate essentials, eye patches, hats, mustaches, and tattoos.

Then they headed over to decorate their own treasure boxes.

We played Pin the Patch on the Pirate.

Then we went on a treasure hunt.  Searching for clues throughout the house.

My cute friend Liz Walker saw we were in over our heads and stayed to help.  She also took some great pictures.

For one part of the treasure hunt, the buccaneers had to pop "cannonballs" with their bums to find the next clue.

Toward the end of the treasure hunt, they were all forced to walk the plank to get to the treasure.

Jonny was a little nervous.  She went last and all the kids chanted her name to cheer her on.

X marks the spot!

The treasure box we uncovered was actually a pinata full of treats and gold coins!

Then it was time for our feast!  When Atticus was turning 2 I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, expecting him to say chocolate or something.  He asked for a caterpillar, and every year since I swear he makes it trickier.  I don't know how much longer I can keep up, but it's been fun trying.  This year he, of course, required a pirate ship.

The treasure chests I made to top the cupcakes

One more of the cake because I was actually pretty proud of how it turned out.

Gold coin oreos!

My favorite picture from the whole party.  

(Thanks again to Liz for taking this one!)

Then he opened up all the pirate booty.  His friends were so sweet and generous.  Once everyone was done, they all went up to Atticus' room and had themselves an impromptu dance party where they got to take turns dancing crazy with Atticus.  I was told grown-ups were not allowed and had to peak through the crack in the door.

Aaarrrrgh!

The whole swashbuckling crew!

After the party this kid played with his balloons for hours.

And then for several weeks we were all about pirates at our house.  Atticus would wake up every morning and set up this pirate display in the hall (note the peg leg on the pirate on the left).  Plus decorated his room with handmade pirate decor.  We made hooks and they wore them and their bandannas everywhere.  Oh, and eventually there was a "Pirit Jonny" sign to go with his "Pirit Atticus" sign

One of the decorations he hung on his wall.  The little black lines that lead the way to the X each say "Going to the treasure" and on the X he wrote "This is the treasure".