A Pirate Party...Argh!

Argh Mateys! Welcome to Talmage's 9th Birthday Pirate Party.

A house full of 8-9 year old boys wielding pirate swords, now that's scary. I found this cool tutorial at Sophie's World to turn regular party store swords into a safer version optimal for a pirate sword fight. Kris and Abi engineered them. The boys LOVED it! Of course we did have to referee and enforce a few rules like no tackling or hitting in the face but the boys were begging for more sword fights even before the cake and ice cream.

Next I created this treasure hunt up and down our street. The treasure was hidden on our front step where each boy received a ziploc full of candy booty.

Note our unusually warm, dry winter. Can you believe we can play outside games in mid February?

Next we played Capture the Jolly Roger. My cousin/friend Brooke helped me paint these awesome flags. This game turned into another version of pirate sword fight. Oh well.

Tal wanted a Treasure Chest for his birthday cake this year. I checked out the amazing cakes at Coolest Birthday Cakes to get some ideas. The basic engineering was easy. I frosted it with penuche icing for the color but it was not a fave of the boys. Then I stuffed it with more candy treasure. The boys just ate the ice cream and some candy. Next year I'm just going to frost and decorate a box.

For Tal's family birthday party I made ice cream cone cupcakes. Unfortunately the rainbow colored cones were not very strong and I had blowouts on nearly every one. Thank goodness for cupcake surgery and lots of frosting. The cones were fun and made for easy serving and clean-up but didn't retain their crunch so the flavor was a little off. Still a fun idea.

And now.......

10 Things About Talmage:

1. He still loves for me to rub his back at church, sing him songs at night, and listen to Leah's bedtime stories, even if he thinks he is too big for kisses.
2. He is a Video Game Fanatic. He loves to play Wii and more recently XBox. Whenever he gets a new game he plays and plays until he has it beat. ( Who did he get that from? Hint: Kris) But he is always happy to go back and play old games too. He is even breaking out his cool moves on my new Just Dance 3.
3. His new favorite color is Blue.
4. He is starting to get into reading. He just finished the first Percy Jackson book and is blazing through number 2.
5. Tal is a big tease. He loves to tell jokes, especially ones about butts, underwear or farting. He loves to play with, play tricks on and pester his sisters. My ears are specially tuned to his maniacal "I'm doing something naughty" laugh.
6. He can be a huge help. If you give him a list of chores, Tal will jump right in and get them done. Some mornings he hops out of bed, makes his bed, and is setting the table before I even get my clothes on to make breakfast.
7. He wanted Hawaiian pizza and Shasta orange creme soda for his birthday dinner.
8. He loves his new skateboard and is already begging me to go to the skate park down the street.
9. Tal loves to build and create. Currently he is building a fort in the basement to sleep in tonight. He remains a Lego maniac. He has started writing and illustrating the continuing adventures of "Mega Man" a comic book. They are filled with sound effects and explosions.
10. Tal is bursting with energy and always on the go. When he was little I used to call him "Lightening in a Bottle." Thankfully he is learning to harness some of that energy into basketball, Tae Kwon Do, school and other great activities.

I Love You, Talmage.