a perfect TEN

Ammon turned 10 in January. To celebrate his special day, he chose to have a sleepover again, and he wanted to invite 4 boys. When I went to the store to get invitations, all they had for boys were pirate invitations. So just 4 days before the party, the "pirate" theme was chosen--an inspiration taken from lack of assorted invitations! And it ended up being so much fun! I bought some balloons, a tablecover, pirate loot bags, and some goodies, and the rest of the decorations and games I came up with on my own, so it was an inexpensive party, too!
The first event of the party was sledding. The boys had a great time on the little hill next to our home, with only minimal injuries resulting from it! After sledding for almost 2 hours, they came in for some hot chocolate, and then we started the indoor games. The first pirate game was "Walk the Plank". I made them cross the long 2x4 three times: once normally, once with their eyes closed, and once with their hands tied behind the back. Each time they had a successful crossing without falling off, they received swedish fish.The next game was "pin the patch" on the skeleton pirate. I painted a pirate skull on a poster, cut out patches from different colors of paper (so that each boy had their own color), and attached glue dots on the backs of the patches. Each boy had to wear a black-out sleeping mask as well as a bandana over it so there would be no peaking and no cheating. The boys loved this game and played it several times. The winner of each round received a handful of swedish fish.
The last pirate game we played was a treasure hunt. They were so excited! It was fun watching them run all over the house to retrieve the clues! There was enough clues for the older boys to each read one aloud. I gave them the first clue in a glass bottle.

Clue #1:
Ahoy there Mate! Are you ready to hunt for the treasure chest?
You’ll find the next clue where reading adventures are put to rest.
(bookshelf in boys room)

Clue #2:
ARRRR! Good job finding the next clue!
You’ll need to go where black & white keys are planked for spot #2!
(on the piano)

Clue #3:
Shiver Me Timbers! You’re already on clue number 3!
You’ll find it where dinner will be cooked for you and me!
(in the oven)

Clue #4:
Aye Aye Captain! You’re finding clues galore!
The next one is under a large resting spot on the floor!
(under Kanyon’s bed)

Clue #5:
X Marks the Spot! You’ve almost completed your quest!
Go to where linens are dried to find the treasure chest!
(in the dryer) In the treasure chest, there was a pirate loot bag for each boy containing whistles, notepads, candies, and confetti. The chest also contained several gold and silver wrapped chocolates for the boys to share. For dinner, we ate corndog sailed ships, string cheese swashbuckler swords, goldfish, and ocean blue jell-o. I tried out a new recipe for Ammon's birthday cake, but unfortunately I overcooked it. But I attempted to make up for it by decorating his cake fashioned for a pirate. It wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, since my cake decorating skills are minimal, but Ammon thought it was awesome, and his opinion is what mattered on that day!!
After cake & ice cream, Ammon opened the gifts from his friends, and then the boys played wii for hours and watched the movie "Little Rascals" in the boys' room, and then they giggled and talked and laughed until they finally fell asleep around 11:30. The boys all had a great time at the party, and it was hard for their energy levels to tire! It's a wonder that they ever even fell asleep, since there was seven boys all sleeping in one room!!
My oldest boy is now 10; he's officially hit the age of double digits. I'm sad that he's growing up, but I'm also very proud of him for the young man that he's becoming. When the party was over and the boys were all gone, Ammon told me that he really loved it all and it was the best birthday party ever. When he told me that, I felt like I scored a perfect 10 for his big 10!!! I was glad that all my efforts were appreciated, and that he truly felt special surrounded by his friends on his special day. I love you Ammon and I'm so grateful you're my son!