Birthday Party

Another boy party tucked under my belt.  It was very fun.

My favorite part was the gifts.  The invitation specifically requested presence not presents but if friends wanted to bring a gift, I asked that it be homemade. 

The first is from Walt.  He made John Isaac a treasure map complete with x-marks the spot and treasure wrapped with gold ribbon.  Walt said, "It's my favorite kind of candy."
The treasure map was unbeknownst to Noah, who made a treasure box. JI would say it has, "fuzzy soft stuff in the bottom.  Noah spent a lot of time and worked hard on this box."  
The most unusual gift was from Gramm.  He made JI a chocolate (Nutella) sandwich.
While waiting for more guests to arrive the boys took turns tossing water balloons.
This year's party was similar to b-day parties in the past.  We had the boys run through an obstacle course.  Mr. Intensity helped shape each element.  Hubby set out 6 cones, and Mr. Intensity corrected him by removing one saying that, "I'm FIVE, we need five cones for this part."
Next the boys climbed a ladder (spotted by another dad) and tossed bean bags into a box.  From there they slithered into the tunnel and crawled up hill to a whiffle bat.  
They were to circle the bat (think: dizzy bat) then run to the next element which was two saw horses.  Mr. Intensity models below the correct way to climb through said horse.
What obstacle course for Mr. Intensity would be complete without bottle caps?!  Below Noah is fishing through the metal bottle caps from this summer to find five plastic milk jug tops.
Then they climbed in the back of the truck to toss water balloons into our recycling bin.
Finally, whap the caution cones with a fun noodle.
Once everyone had exhausted the fun from the obstacle course, we released the pinata.  

Keepin' it real, here on my blog - I'm just going to point out that yes, I am a redneck and yes, that is a washer on my carport.  And a wet/dry vac.  And who knows what else.  I got a new washer this week and the one on the carport is going to a friend.
I took pictures of all the boys whacking the pinatas.  I won't post them all but I will say they all had an intense-testosterone-filled, clinched-teeth kind of look on their face.

The die-hard Montessorian would not appreciate that our pinata whacker is one of our red rods (that's never been painted red.)

My favorite picture of the day is the one below.  The edible candy elements on the cake might look a bit wonky to you.  Let me just testify that Mr. Intensity was very strategic in everything about the cake.  Even the two transformers.  Or should I say, especially the transformers.
And where did they eat this cake?  None other than in the truck.  I'm sure John Isaac led them there.
Happy birthday son!