Ryan's 6th Birthday!

Back in June, Ryan turned 6. In years past we have had a little family/close friends BBQ in honor of his birthday. This year, however, he wanted a "friend" party. I was a little bummed because I love our annual birthday BBQ. It was a lot more work and I don't think I sat down once during the whole party but the kids had fun and the birthday boy loved it! 

Ryan couldn't decide on a theme for his party so we decided to go with three! He had a Ninjago/Super Hero/Star Wars party. I made the invitations on Zach's work computer and haven't had a chance to get the file off his laptop- so this less than stellar photograph of the invitation will have to do.

For the Super Hero portion of his party we played a game where we stacked cups and had the kids throw balls and try to knock the bad guys down.  I was able to reuse my super villain cut outs from Brady's 3rd birthday last fall. Bonus!

The cake was nothing special. Ryan requested a yellow cake (Well, he actually wanted a gold cake but seeing as he's not Beyonce's kid- yellow would have to do.) I was excited to find these little super hero toppers at the dollar store though. In the past I have just bought a new figurine toy to top the cake with as a bonus present for the birthday boy. We have gotten to the point where we literally don't have room in our house for one more action figure- so I will be happy to reuse these little guys over and over and over for years to come. 

Action shot of the knock-the-villains-down game. 

For the Ninjago element, I made this Ninjago piñata. It was my first time making a piñata. It was a fun but drawn out process. I learned a lot. My next piñata will be much better/sturdier. 

As the kids arrived I gave them each a cape made out of a cut up dollar store plastic table cloth and some velcro tape. Once the kids all arrived, we played sharks and minnows- only we called it super heroes and villains. Another repeat from Brady's party last fall. 

Zach and I took turns being the villain. When we tagged the kids they joined us until all the kids were tagged. 

The next game we played was keep-the-balloon-off-the-ground. We used pool noodle light sabers- successfully incorporating the Star Wars theme.

Ryan will tell you, the best part about a friend party was ALL the PRESENTS! (This picture is out of order.) #toolazytomoveit

With the kids armed and ready to go with their light sabers, we played a Star Wars hide and seek game next.

They all closed their eyes and counted, while I went and hid. By the way, I was dressed up like Darth Vader.

Look at Nico's face (far left). I always wondered when boys and girls needed separate parties. I can now say with confidence that it is when they turn six. We had so many active games and the boys were all having a blast. There were three girls at the party and Holy High Maintenance. Between complaining that they were tired/thirsty/hungry/didn't get the color they wanted, having to go to the bathroom (there are no bathrooms at the park- my neighbor is a saint and took her all the way back home) and just being generally annoying we will be having all boy parties from now on. Apparently, I am not cut out for little girls. :) 

I'm not sure I totally thought this game through. It wasn't until I had been spotted and I saw 13 little bodies running toward me with light sabers drawn that I realized they were all going to attack me. Always the opportunist, Zach joined in on the assault and did not hold back one bit. He will pay.

Truth be told, in the planning stages of this game, I had originally cast my little sister, Anne, as Darth Vader. She was smart and showed up too late so I filled in for her. You're welcome, Anne.

Zach volunteered to be Darth Vader the second round. Mwahaha. Sweet revenge.

He is awesome.

Meanwhile, Camden hung out in a swing with Aunt Anne. (Both she and Lindsey came and were total life savers during the party. Lindsey took pictures and Anne took care of Camden.)

Finally, it was time for the piñata. We strung it up on a rope and tied it to a long pole. Zach ceremoniously raised the pole in the air and...   the string ripped through all three-day's worth of layers of paper mache and the piñata fell to the ground.  It was pathetic. Next time I will be sure to reinforce the piñata before I tie the string on!

Luckily, Zach is a total stud and held the piñata while the kids attempted to hit it with a real, metal baseball bat. It may not have been the safest decision, but it saved the party. Lindsey got this sweet action shot of the candy falling out. She almost got smacked in the face while trying to take it. I applaud her "throw caution to the wind" attitude when it comes to photographing children's parties. Well done, Lindsey.

The kids going crazy for the loot.

These two were buddies during the party. Don't be fooled by Camden's less-than-impressed expression.

Next it was cake time!

Just kidding! We did present's first. That was another out of order picture. Haha.

Ryan got lots and lots of Legoes! He was in Lego heaven for the next four days straight. He would pick a set every morning to work on and would sometimes be working on it through lunch! It was great. Hours of entertainment.

All in all it was a great party. We live in a fun neighborhood and the boys have so many fun friends (too many when it comes to party planning if you ask me ;)  ). We just love having Ryan in our family. He is the best big brother. I am so grateful I get to be his mom. He is one of the most loyal, friendly, caring, sweet hearted boys I know and I get to call him mine! How lucky am I? 

We love you Ryan! Happy birthday! -three months ago. Ha.-