Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Yo-Ho Yo-Ho a Pirate's Life for Me!

This is one thing I LOVE about having kids....their birthday! We spent a wonderful Labor Day celebrating Max's 6th birthday. This day had been anticipated by our family for weeks (maybe even months) and so everyone was excited when the day finally came.
We always start the morning with the presents from Mom and Dad. This year though, Mitchel even bought Max a present...a Scoobydo movie. Max got his first big kid bike and helmet. (a little nervous about it).
But this was the gift of the YEAR. All that Max has asked for over the last several weeks is "Lego Clones." When he started asking for them, I had no idea what he was talking about so I had him point them out to me at Target. Wouldn't you know, they only cost $10. Don't you love it when the one thing your kid dreams of is something that you can actually afford! So getting these for his birthday was like a dream come true! He couldn't have been happier (and I was the best Mom ever!)
We decided to have a pirate themed party (because they have that sort of stuff at the dollar store!) Max has quite a few little friends his age in the neighborhood, so this year I let him have a friend party (his first).
Mike really got into this party and made this awesome pirate flag you see here. I never knew Mike was so creative! One nice thing about Mike's job at Diamond Rental, is he can get some stuff for personal use. So we rented a bounce house for the kids to play in. There was a lot of flipping, crashing, bouncing, jumping, and wrestling (with some tears to go with it), but it was also a lot of fun.
One of the highlights of the party was the "Treasure Hunt." Again, Mike really got into this and made a pirate map for the kids to follow. When I asked Max later what was his favorite part of the party, he said, "The treasure map!" So it must have been a hit!

Later that night, we had a family party and barbecue too. All of the members of mine and Mike's family were there to enjoy the great labor day weather with good food and good company. Max loved ever minute of it and loved having all of his cousins over. We did some more bouncing and treasure hunting and opened lots of fun presents. Thanks everyone for loving Max so much! We hope you all had fun too. That night the kids were WORN OUT and so were Mom and Dad! It's a lot of work to pull off a 6 year old's birthday, but the smiles are well worth it!!

Happy Birthday Max! We love you more than you could know!

7 comments:

Emily said...

Don't tell Owen about this! I'll never hear the end of it...my idea of his birthday party was to take 3 or 4 friends to McDonald's and a movie! Sounds like a fun-filled day for the whole family!

Laurie D. said...

It looks like you guys had a great time. And kudos to Mike on all the great party props! I'm gearing up for two birthdays next month. Not sure if I'm going to do parties or not though. We'll see how much energy I have after this week is over.

Pat Harker said...

Hey Meredith, it was so much fun. You and Mike did a wonderful job on the planning and preparation for Max's family party. We love the get-to-gethers with your family; they are all so great. I can't believe that Max is 6 years old already. He's such a great kid (as are all my grandchildren - I'm not the least bit prejudiced, am I) and we are proud of you all. Love ya all, Mom

Kari said...

Thanks for the message on fb. We feel bad missing out on all the family gatherings. Nice work on the pirate party! Wow! Hope he had a good one. Did you get the bday card we sent?

Tracy said...

Ah Max. Just thinking about him or even saying his name aloud makes my heart shine. Such a love... except for when he isn't -- which is rare! Yo ho, Yo ho looking forward to floating along on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride soon with you and all of your little pirates!

Steve & Brenda said...

The pirate party for Max was awesome and we had a great time being there with him. We were amazed at your creativity and the festive atmosphere. Thanks for having us over mateys!

Stephanie said...

What a HAPPY birthday it was! Loved the pirate theme, the hot dogs and potato salad, the chocolate cake, the weather, the company, and especially-MAX! What a great little boy he is. SIX is WONDERFUL!
Grandma M.