I suppose I count it a victory that for the first 8 years of Joshua's life, I have gotten away with having a nice, small party at our house to celebrate his birthday. This year, he has been begging us for a party with his friends, and he wanted to have a Nerf War. Thankfully, we were able to turn the church gym into a Nerf War Zone for Josh and his friends.
I had absolutely no clue how to go about this- so I did what all Moms would do in this situation and consulted the all knowing Pinterest. Thankfully, Josh was not the first nearly 9 year old who was interested in a Nerf war. And so I began spray painting every stray cardboard box I could find and started stockpiling Nerf darts as though we were on the verge of Armageddon.
We found eyewear that we gave each of the kids so that no one would have the proverbial "you'll shoot your eye out" experience. Luckily no one had eye issues, but we had two dart marks on cheeks from a stray bullet. Nothing requiring 911 though, which seemed to be a win.
It didn't take the kids long to get going. And once they did, they battled hard for a solid hour before we took a break for snacks and cake. And then they were right back into the battle again. All of the parents enjoyed watching them all having fun together.
This was all of the boys behind their fort. They all took our boxes and arranged them into a fort for the boys and one for the girls.
I was so grateful for so many people who helped to make this possible. My mom and Jason's mom were so helpful- cleaning up and packaging leftover food so that we could get it back home from the church. And I can't say enough about the other parents at the party who helped to clean up, break down tables and chairs and even mopped the floor for us. It was so above the call of duty, but was so appreciated.
I think Joshua had a very special friend party...and now we are done with that until he turns 16, right? We will gather with family this coming Sunday on his real birthday, so we are looking foward to that as well. Much to celebrate with our almost 9 year old. I will spare you the sap until Sunday...but I make no promises about how thick it might get at that point.
