ARRRGH! Sebi's PARRRTY!

Last Saturday, Sebastian turned 4. I know, it's absolutely impossible, but it happened anyway. Having seen several of his siblings' birthday parties, he's been planning his for months. Thankfully, he wanted a pirate party, which we could do, because we'd done it before.

Hence, we drank a lot of root beer and sent out invitations in the bottles.
We brought out all the old pirate paraphenalia.
We decorated the living room and dining room with the great set of treasure chests bought by Grandpa last year in Eureka and table settings donated to the cause by the Isaaks.
We made paper boats (the kids decorated them, and then bombed them, at left, in the pool, with walnut 'cannons').
Will set up cups to shoot down with rubber band guns (a very popular game).
We blew up a lot of black balloons (the checkout lady thought it was a fiftieth birthday celebration, and I didn't have the heart to tell her that no, they were just more cannon balls. the kids jumped around on the trampoline sitting on them and trying to pop them so they could find the treasure map).
Rob set up a treasure hunt. He says it is a great comfort to him that we live in a place where we can have a treasure hunt. I have absolute faith that he could come up with a treasure hunt no matter where we lived.
And I made a cake. I didn't do the same time-intensive pirate boat thing I had made for Will's. I don't have the energy for it; the cake was pretty dense in order to carve it up and still hold the quarter deck last time; it was tough to cut pieces of roughly the same size; finally, why should Sebi's party just be a re-run? Something should be different, right? So we made a white cake with the jolly roger on it.

The kids were way, way into the party. And why not, since everything was about bombs or cannons or guns or explosions?

The highlight was, of course, the treasure hunt, where Rob had them chasing all over our street, finding the mailbox, the tree with the face in it, etc. He and Maddie had hidden the treasure chest (at left) under our neighbors' bridge over the irrigation ditch. When the group got there, Rob said "What do you see?!" and they all shouted "A SNAKE!!"

Indeed, there was a long skinny garter snake, about 2 feet long, hanging out under the bridge. Sebi couldn't get over it. For days afterward, he's been talking about how Papa and Maddie hid the treasure in the "snake palace", and he's convinced that there were several down there, like something from Indiana Jones.
They brought the treasure back to our house and found their treat bags inside.
Then they were ready to come in and warm up with lunch and cake and presents and general mayhem.

It was a good party, and the right number of kids for a four year old. It still wore me out completely. Sebastian has already started planning next year's party, and I just have to zone out and pretend I can't hear it.
His aunts came by and gave him a Cars the Movie fleece blanket, which he has already bonded with so much that he couldn't sleep on Tuesday when it got left at preschool from show and tell; and a Cars the Movie art set, which he loves and which pointed out that I've never let him watercolor before, because he didn't know how it worked (is this possible? I'm afraid so; he also got Play Doh because I'm not really into it, and all my kids are. I'll try to do better.).

He is such a wonderful, pleasant, patient, affectionate, smart and kind boy. He still offers to get me water whenever I don't look well (a leftover from morning sickness). He's a great companion wherever we go, the library or the store or Rob's office. And I missed him so much last night when Rob and I got away that today I took him to lunch at the park. I hope he stays as marvelous as he is at four!