Ahoy Matey's - Captain Ryan's 5th Birthday

From October 9, 2011 
What a great day we had yesterday at Ryan's 5th Birthday party.   We had the party at the same park as last year right near our building and this year, we had perfect weather, great guests and one very happy birthday boy!  Both Ryan and Dylan (and some of the adults) dressed up for the occasion and it really helped get everyone in the spirit. 

 The party kicked off with all of the kids going on a treasure hunt to find pirate gear - we didn't want Ryan and Dylan to be the only members of the Pirate Crew so I made 5 treasure boxes and maps of the park and each kid had to find their own treasures (a bandanna, a pirate sash, a pirate bracelet, an eye patch and some doubloons).  I think everyone had a blast and by the time they were finished, everyone looked like a pirate!!!

When they completed the treasure hunt, everyone got to pick between a wooden pirate or a wooden pirate ship to make an art project or some chose to run around the park playing "Ryan and the Neverland Pirates"

Another activity at the party was the tattoo station headed up by Uncle Michael - Kat von D better watch out because Michael had lots of repeat customers. The tattoos were a HUGE hit

 I think I am going to have to watch out for Dylan when he is older with that tattoos though because he ended up having a full sleeve of tats by the time the party was over, lol

Next up:  pizza and cake

It was pretty cute - they could have sat anywhere in the whole park and they all ended up sitting right on top of each other.

After some pizza and cake, it was time - time for what always seems to be the most popular part of the party: the pinata.  The pinata was huge and by the time everyone had a few whacks at it, there was still only the slightest dent in the side.   One of my favorite pictures from the party was from pinata time - Jay asked all of the kids who wanted to hit the pinata first and of course everyone rose their hand.  Then he asked, "who is the birthday boy?" - I love how excited the birthday boy is and how loud his brother yelled "It's Ryan's Birthday" - that is Dylan, front and center.

Some (or one) of the bigger "kids" decided to help out too. 

When we finally broke open the pinata, the candy was everywhere and the kids were screaming.   Almost all of them just grabbed whatever they could and ended up with overflowing bags - Ryan filled up his entire pirate hat!!  

We had such a great turn out between Ryan's friends and our families and I feel so lucky that so many people came to share in Ryan's special day.  Thanks so much to everyone for making this day a huge success.
 

Ryan - Happy Birthday!  We love you very much

xoxoxo