Happy Birthday Bo! Minecraft Style!!

After a week of DIY craft projects and an entire bottle of Elmer's glue, Bo's Minecraft party turned out really great. 

 

Goody Bags - green baggies with Creeper faces made out of black constrution paper

 

 

Creeper balloons - black electrical tape on green helium balloons

 

 

 

The Party:  We started the party with a game of  "Pass The TNT".  (I made the TNT out of a tea box which I wrapped in red construction paper and then taped on the Minecraft TNT logo which I printed off the minecraft papercraft website)  We played the game like Hot Potato where the kids sat in a cirlce and passed the TNT around while music played.  Whoever was holding the TNTwhen the music stopped "blew up" and was out.  The last child left was the winner.  It was a good ice breaker. 

 

 

Next we went out into the garage to bust the Ghast pinata which I made out of a cardboard moving box and tons of tissue paper.

 

  

The boys wore a large Steve head instead of a blindfold.

 

We lined all the kids up shortest to tallest in hopes of everyone getting a chance to kill the Ghast.  The last thing I wanted was for the first child up to smash it to shreds, when in all actuality it was almost impossible to "kill".  We could have recoreded this for a moving box comercial.  These things are invincible! 

But it did FINALLY break.

 

We then came back inside for cake and Creeper Juice (sprite).  We also had water and juice but I did not do anything cute with them. 

 

 

For his cake, he really wanted the cake from in the game.  It is all square and pixilated like everything else in Minecraft

but it made a really simple and cute cake.  Safeway did a great job recreating the main part of the cake and then I added the red squares with edible Sugar Sheets I bought at Walmart. 

 

He also wanted torches for his candles but he just got candles. 

 

 

 He huffed
 

and puffed
 

 

and huffed
 

and puffed!  And blew the candles out. 
 

After everyone's sugar high, we moved into the living room to open presents.  I still have no idea who gave him what or what he even got for that matter because it was a huddled frenzied of hyped up 7 year olds on minecraft crack.  They couldn't get close enough and at one point I swear all 12 of them had their hands in the mix.  It's amazing no one got hurt. 

 

Even Max pushed his way in to see all the excitement. 

 

My plan was for Bo to open his gifts from the family AFTER the party but that wasn't happening.  He wanted them NOW.  This is his stack from me and Daddy.  They are wrapped in Minecraft diamond paper (got extra "cool mom" points for that).

 

We gave him a metallic blue wireless xbox controller, a green bay packers poster, and 2 fly wheels.  He was happy, as was Max.  (Love how excited he gets for everyone else) 

 

And then we kicked everyone outside to run off the cake, creeper juice and 10 lbs of pinata candy. 

It was a great party.  All of the kids were super well behaved and seemed to have a blast.  Our house on the other hand looked like a Minecraft bomb exploded . . . 

but it was worth it!  Happy Birthday Bo Bo! 

Wrestling

We have been wrestling with Bo for three years to get him into a sport.  At 3 it was hours of screaming fits at swim lessons.  At 4 he thought he wanted to play soccer but wouldn't go out onto the field.  We made the commitment so we went to every practice and game and just sat there.  Brutal.  At 5 he dabbled in wrestling for the first time but was too shy to wrestle anyone other than Daddy.  So now at 6, almost 7, we didn't give him a choice.  Or Sam.  They were going to wrestle.  No ifs, ands, or buts. 

 

Don't get me wrong, if they honestly don't like it, we won't force them to continue, but we WILL force them to give it a shot.  And not just one day or two days, but an entire season.  They wrestle at home constantly so we know its in their blood. 

 

The biggest problem was breaking the cycle of sports anxiety and of doing something new.  We bought them new wrestling shoes (even Max), some shiny new shorts and talked it up for weeks.  Daddy made it a point to roll around the living room floor with them in the evenings, teaching them moves and getting them familiar with the lingo.  Plus to top it all off, Daddy told them they would be in the same group and that he was going to be one of their coaches.  Score!

 

Things were looking up.  They were getting excited.  

 

And then the first day of practice rolled around and the screaming fits of hysteria started.  Sam was a slobbering disaster.  Bo was just mean.  I kept trying to reassure them but everything I said seemed to make things worse until it finally dawned on me that Sam thought he was going to have to wrestle another kid for real that night.  I felt horrible.  Hell, I would be freaked out too if I thought I was going to be thrown into a match blind.  No way!  Where's the door and don't bother coming after me. 

 

I went on to explain to him that they were just going to play games the first night and learn how wrestling is fun.  Light switch.  Tears stopped.  Frown was quickly replaced with a smile and a gazillion questions.  He was on board.

 

Bo, on the other hand, was still being mean.  Screaming at me turrets style.

Mommy is mean!

Mommy is stupid! 

I hate wrestling!

Wrestling is stupid!

I don't want to goooooooo!!!!!

 

Sorry dude, you are going.  You are not going to change my mind. 

 

He eventually gave in and embraced it.  Both boys were finally excited and ready to go.  I was ready for a nap. 

  

We are now on week 2 and they are doing great.  Here are a few pics from tonight.

 

 Max checking Sam's shoes

Watching Daddy mop the mats before practice

 

Waiting for practice to start

 

  Watching & learning
 

 

 

Wrestling stance

Bo's double leg takedown

Max watching the half nelson

Snow Tunnel

Wes and Sam made the coolest snow tunnel in the snow burm across the street.  They dug and dug until they finally had "their headquarters."  The boys have played in it almost every day since.

 

Making A List & Checking It Twice