Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Birthday Number Nine

Our oldest son is nine years old?!? Where has the time gone?

We had a party with his friends a few days before the actual birth day. We had a Nintendo/Mario theme. The first activity was the classic ice-breaker game where each child wore a headband with a Mario character so they can't see which character it is. The child asks others yes-or-no questions to figure out who is on the headband. They enjoyed it so much, once they guessed, they'd get a new headband from the bag and try again!

We also had an obstacle course, Mario-style. They had to run, jump, and tag coins to complete the track. And fight bubbles!

Going through the dry water hazard

Jumping for a coin

Bubble blizzard

Fighting the bubbles with Goomba balloons!

Inside the house, they did a scavenger hunt with a checklist for little squares hidden throughout the house. Happily, they were more cooperative than competitive. They helped each other find the items, especially one that was so hard to find, even the adult who hid it couldn't find it!

Scavenger Hunt checklist

Can you find the Mummy-me?

We did let them play games for twenty minutes or so before the pizza came. We also let them try out the ultra-light quadcopter Millennium Falcon that my son received by mail early in the week.

Ready to launch the Falcon

One more try for the Death Star

After pizza, we had cupcakes decorated like Mario mushrooms. They were yummy and easy to make.

Red fondant and mini-marshmallows make a good mushroom!

Eating them was even more fun.

Ready to blow out the candle

The final activity was Nintendo trivia with the kids versus the parents. Luckily, the parents had two ringers who had grown up playing the NES, etc., so they odds were much more even.

Consulting on an answer

More consulting

We had a grand time.

On his actual birthday, we had our traditional "presents at breakfast." He was delighted with his Nerf crossbow with extra bolts. Also, he received his favorite snack, Cheetos. At dinnertime, we had a luscious homemade cake. For dessert, of course. We wouldn't eat it for our main meal. At least, we wouldn't admit it!

A fabulous cake

A fabulous boy to match!

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