This was the first year Eli requested a "friend" party and he insisted on a Pirate party :-)
Mommy made the invitations and Daddy was in charge of the Pirate flags and Treasure Hunt!
Our birthday boy had THE BEST time!!!!
He had six of his buddies there {Cooper, Jackson, Marcus, Ava, Evi, and Kinzie} plus the big girls and little siblings. It is safe to say that all of the pirate crews had an AWESOME time!!!
The treasure hunt was fun for everyone and I think G had as much fun as the kiddos!
It began by giving Eli and his buddies their pirate buckets with their maps, eye patches and head sashes {that G talked me into making ~ they didn't turn out too bad!}
The big girls {Alli's crew: Emma, Alaina, Lizzy and Taylor}
had the job of tossing cannon balls {water balloons} at anyone who dared to enter Croc Swamp.
These girls took their job very seriously and had tons of fun!!!
First step of the treasure hunt, after getting on their pirate gear, was collecting 5 sea shells and then heading to the "Jolly Roger" which they had to "heave ho" into the raging sea ;-)
G was having so much fun leading the little pirates through the sea!
Next, the pirate crew had to "walk the plank"
Funny story about the "plank" ~ we found this piece of driftwood a couple weeks ago and Eli referred to it as a plank, giving us the fun idea of using it for his party. We tied it up to keep it on our beach and our kiddos have been having a blast playing on it out there, so we knew it would be a hit at the party!
After everyone in the crew walked the plank, they had to find the buried treasure, marked with an X.
Captain Eli took them right to it ;-)
G actually buried the treasure chest and set out little shovels.
Eli's crew had so much fun digging for the treasure for a good 15 minutes before Alli's crew
began hovering. You could just hear the big girls' thoughts: "step aside, we got this"
but they did a great job of letting Eli's crew get the treasure out on their own.
Of course, everyone, big and little, had fun grabbing treasure out of the chest.
There were ring pops, gold dablooms, chocolate coins, necklaces, and beach balls for all.
After the treasure hunt, the kiddos had fun playing on the beach and in the water.
G took folks out in the boat to explore while I stayed on the beach and gave rides in the Jolly Roger.
Eventually, Eli was ready to eat cake and open presents.
The cake was supposed to be in the shape of a pirate ship, but it broke so the night before the party,
we quickly made another cake and just decorated it with the skull and crossbones, which Eli referred to as
"the coolest cake ever!" I LOVE his joy!!!
The party was a HUGE success and our sweet boy was so happy to have his buddies there with him!
We could not have asked for a better day for our little Pirate!
