Huzzah!

It was pirate weekend at the Renaissance Festival!

We're starting to run low on pirate costumes that actually fit most of the kids (and it was crazy hot, so I had no interest in wearing a double layer of long skirts.)

The atmosphere was great.

Bug got called up on the stage at the magician/comedy show. As fun as it is to get to participate in a show, I think the best part of being chosen for this was that he was not sitting on the haybales during that time. Apparently the rest of us had been sitting there long enough for some little creatures to find us and we suffered the consequences with mite bites--dozens and dozens of mite bites. It was traumatic and I honestly don't know when I'll have a desire to go back to a Ren Fest again. Or sit on a bale of hay.

But, at the time, we didn't know any of this yet, so we were still having fun.

We watched the joust. Here's our knight.

We cheered him on enthusiastically, but sadly, he didn't make it. There was actually only a little jousting before it turned into hand-to-hand combat.

We had a good time, ate a lot of good food, got really hot, tired, and itchy. We stopped at a couple produce stands on the way home and got 3 for $1 avocados and a few end of the season peaches. Honestly, because of the itchy bug bites, I'd probably have to say the day was a wash. I'm just really glad we got those avocados.

Father's Day Pirate

What better way to celebrate the pirate father in our lives than a pirate festival?

Daddy-o had recently added new boots and a coat to his pirate costume, so he was ready.

 (Except it was crazy hot that day, so the coat didn't make it to the actual festival.)

These two were able to come up with something to dress up in, as well.

And then we joined all the other pirates who descended on Vallejo for the weekend.  

The kids had fun participating in pirate activities and each earned the rank of captain. 

Attacking the enemy. 

(Getting a little help.) 

Swabbing the deck. 

They had the biggest turkey legs we'd ever seen.

Never mind that you could probably buy a whole flock of turkeys for what they cost.

A little ship-to-shore battle.

Polly

And someone who didn't want to swab the deck when it was their turn.

It was a fun afternoon with our favorite pirate.

Arrr, We Be Having a Birthday!

It's the birthday boy! (And this is as good of a picture as I managed to get--haha!)

It was birthday stuff all day long. We had the traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then I got to go into his class at lunch to read them a book and be part of the birthday dance party. This is Bug's signature move, which he learned from one of Bean's classmates back when he was in preschool, so it's kind of a classic now.

He didn't really want to go to school for his birthday, but I finally talked him into it for all the fun birthday stuff they do (plus, I had to take Bean to two different appointments and shop for a last minute present, so I needed him gone for the day.)

Then, after a gniocchi dinner, it was present time. Peanut was entranced by this part. Actually, the whole birthday thing has been exciting for him. It's only been the last year or so that he's really gotten it, so now, when it's one of the kids' birthdays, he spends a lot of time talking about his own birthday. He's been planning his next party since Bean's birthday at the beginning of the summer.

And of course, he got Legos, which he wanted to start building immediately. He also got the footy jammies he has been begging for. It's actually pretty difficult to find these in his size, especially since I have issues with the chemicals they put on most kids sleepwear, so he got a small adult size, which means he gets to wear them for years!

Pumpkin pie time for the new 9 year old!

It's nice to have something besides cake, especially on years when his party is after the actual birthday, so I'd have to make two cakes. And this year, that was how it worked out. 

Which meant four days later, we got to embark on an adventure of the dangerous seas variety. I've been so excited to do a pirate party for one of my kids and Bug decided this was the year. So I got to make a treasure map and plan all types of dangers for the crew.

Our gang of pirates--don't they look fearsome?

Their first challenge was to survive the walking of the plank in the Sea of Disaster. Amazingly, no one went in the water, by choice or accident (and it was a unseasonably warm evening).

(We let the littlest pirate get a helping hand, or two.) 

Then, it was on to the Tavern for some sardines. It was amazingly difficult to get these kids to try them, but after a couple had finally put some in their mouth, most of them ended up taking a taste.

And I think they mostly decided that they looked grosser than they tasted.

Their map then took them to the Queen's ship where they had to disarm it by stealing all the cannon balls, and through the Straits of Medusa where they had to capture the sea serpents. Finnally, they went to Blackbeard's Hideout where their last task was to decipher his ancient message that revealed the hiding spot of the missing portion of the map.

They were digging for treasure in no time! I think they all had fun with this, even if it was a lot muddier and darker than we'd planned for. The rain has refused to quit this last week.

Everyone came back inside to eat dinner and have some cake and ice cream.

I love how this cake turned out. It wasn't too hard to peice together from a 9x13 cake and the decorating details were really fun. Most of it was done with melted chocolate in a baggie. ;eftover Halloween candy took care of the cannon balls and treasure chest, and I found some old fashioned licorice for the cannons on the side of the ship.

I did lose a couple rails on the top because I'd made them too thin, but it gave it the look of a ship that has been through battle, as every good pirate ship should have.

9 years--that's a lot of candles. And a lot of years we've had with our Bug. He's not feeling very little and Bug-like anymore, and we miss that, but it's also pretty awesome watching him grow up. He's such a smart, creative, thoughtful, fun person. He still comes up with inventions non-stop, constantly problem solving, and his teachers tell me how much all the other kids admire him and look to him for help with anything they're struggling with. He's a good friend and apparently very patient with everyone (except the 4 people who live in his house, but I suppose none of us are terribly patient with him, either, so that's something for all of us to work on.) We're pretty lucky to have him.

I'd planned on letting the kids make pirate flags, but it was getting late and I thought everyone was kind of done, until Bug and Peanut came asking about the craft and then all the kids drifted in and  wanted to make their flag.

I wish I'd gotten pictures of all of them when they'd finished because they came up with some great designs--fierce, tattered, war-torn flags any pirate would be proud to fly under.

And that ends our birthdays for 2015. We have so much fun celebrating these kids with friends.

Partying It Up

We had 2 days of Halloween celebrations this year, starting with the church Trunk-or-Treat Friday night. Games, hot dogs and chili, costumes and prizes--

these kids had fun doing it all. Bug won for funniest costume in his age group for his pineapple costume (which he came up with and designed and helped me make), and Bean won for best homemade for her interpretation of Snow White from Once Upon a Time.

The kids are starting to make friends in our new ward. I think eventually we'll stop thinking of it as their ward and it will become ours, but it's probably going to take some time.

Peanut had a lot of fun doing all the games. And he was very happy with his pumpkin costume. I had a hard time finding one in his size, and the one we finally got was not the oversized, plump pumpkin I was hoping for, but he was satisfied with it. I think next year I'll put the costume focus on him since so far, he's had mostly hand-me-down costumes.

The kids helped me make some cupcakes for the cake walk--

I thought these were so cute!

Then, Saturday afternoon, we finally got around to carving pumpkins.

I tried to talk the kids into only getting one this year and each designing part of the face, but Bug and Bean weren't happy with that, so we got two to share, which considering we didn't start until a little while before dinner, was more than enough.

Peanut wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty.

Beans' tortuous pumpkin carving outcome--fun, but oh, the process to get there! We will not be doing Halloween afternoon carving again.

Bug and Daddy-o's traditional face (which was accomplished with a lot less drama.)

And now, my little huntress. I love how her costume turned out and it was mostly pieced together from things we already had.

Bug, the pineapple. I have no idea where he came up with this idea, but once I talked him down from his original idea of a quilted, stuffed top, we had a lot of fun making this one.

Peanut's pumpkin, which I already explained. That is supposedly a 4T, which is the size he wears, and it technically fit, sort of. At least he was happy. 

My little gang!

I actually got a costume this year, too--something that I can wear with Daddy-o's pirate costume, and to the Renaissance Festival when we go there.

And they're ready for trick-or-treating. Because the bucket of candy from the night before wasn't enough. They all did really well walking around a couple of streets this year. Peanut is almost ready to do the whole night. Even though I don't love the candy overload, I do love getting to walk through the neighborhood and run into friends and chat with neighbors. Wish we could do Halloween more often, without the candy.