Cap'n Dylan Turns 3!

I decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and make Dylan's birthday party theme be pirates.  I really tried to keep it simple but, of course, I went overboard.  I was having way too much fun.  The burned message-in-a-bottle invitations (address and phone number redacted):

Autrey was more than happy to help drink all the root beer:

I found instructions to make this pirate ship cake on Pinterest and I thought it didn't look too difficult.  It was a comedy of errors.  The cake was too moist and kept falling apart, despite kabob skewers, and the crumbs made it difficult to frost (since I didn't freeze it).  We reinforced the entire exterior with graham crackers (which made it so I couldn't use the 3 Pirouette sticks as cannons coming out the side with the candles coming out the end for Dylan to blow out) and plastered it with way too much frosting, but after 2 hours it looked alright with the sails, little pirate figures, and fish...

 ...until 2:30am, when disaster struck.  I watched as the graham crackers gave away and we had ourselves a shipwreck.  I was deliriously tired, so I laughed instead of freaking out.  I ended up putting an Oreo on it and telling the kids that pirates attacked the ship with a massive cannonball.  Little boys don't care either way.  And though the moist cake was structurally unsound, it tasted awesome. 

 And the pirate feast:

 Pirate ship sandwiches and apple snacks,

 shark tooth Doritos, Swedish Fish and Goldfish,

 peg leg pretzels and carrots, cannonball grapes and meatballs, Treasure Island pineapple, and ocean water punch.

 I started out with a game, "Teasure, Treasure, Who Has the Treasure?" Even though some of the kids play Button, Button at the library each week during storytime it went way over the kids' heads.  Oops.  Then we went on a Treasure Hunt.  They -

1. Went to the front yard to walk the plank to earn a bandana

2. Went to the green recliner to learn to talk like a pirate to earn an eye patch

3. Climbed up the backyard playhouse to throw a cannonball off the 'ship' (argh, I forgot to take a picture of the huge "Happy Birthday Cap'n Dylan" sail my mom made) to earn a treasure necklace

4. Went to the kitchen to choose a tattoo and have it put on

5. Sat down on the rug while I read the cute book "How I Became a Pirate" (because the pirates end up burying treasure in the boy's backyard) to earn a compass ring

6. Went to the Pirate Ghosts in the front yard to sword fight with a pirate (read: Autrey) to earn their treasure bag, as shown here:

  7. Went to the garden and dug for buried treasure (coins and toys)

Pirate friends: Tommy and Tyler Duke, Rock Anderson, Koen Blue, Luke Jackman, Brayden Connelly, Calvin Nordstrom, Max Neal, Joshua West, and Matthew Brandenburgh 

 

 We sang and ate some cake:

 Opened presents and played:

It was a fun party, but I learned a valuable lesson: THEY'RE 3, WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS.  LESS IS MORE.  I tried way too hard and wore myself out attempting to make it super fun when they would have been just as happy dressing up doing their own thing.  I hope I remember this next year.  3 years has flown by.  I sure love my big boy!  Happy birthday, Dylan!