The Quest for Treasure

This is what it was supposed to look like:

And then it rained. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a little.

For Jonathan's 7th birthday, he wanted to have a Lego birthday party.

Lego Indiana Jones to be exact. It was his first time inviting friends from school. He was SO excited.  We let him choose ten friends.  That's a lot of kids but it seemed reasonable since it's summer and the party would all be outside.  Our yard has plenty of room for energetic kids to run around.

 Pizza.  Treasure hunt.  Cake.  No problem.

  

And of course... it rained.  So we had the party indoors. It wasn't a huge problem.  A little loud and messy, but still fun. (Remember I was a scout leader - nothing phases me.)  I didn't realize how excited the kids would be to see each other.  After being out of school for two months, it was like a class reunion.  High fives all around. They enjoyed their pizza. 

After I cleaned up dinner, I went downstairs and noticed Jonathan wasn't with the other boys.  I found him in his room with the door shut.  Oh no, is he sad?  

Actually no.  He was showing his friend Brianna (whom he talks about ALL the time) the cool map he got for his birthday. His expression is hilarious. I wish I could read his mind. Out of the ten kids, he invited two girls. They fit right in. I love 7- and 8-year-olds.  

The rain stopped just long enough for us to go out for the treasure hunt. I was SO happy.  Jonathan really wanted to go on an Indiana Jones hunt. The kids were intrigued.

Some of the clues were a little soggy.

But they still found the buried treasure!  X marked the muddy spot.  I gave two of the kids shovels, but they wanted to use their hands instead.  The treasure chest was a little soggy too but the treasure was unharmed. Toys and chocolate coins for everyone.  At this point it started raining again so we sent them running for the house. With very muddy shoes and hands. You can picture it, right?

Back in the house, of course we had presents and cake. Jonathan received very generous gifts from his friends. Thank you!  I bet you can guess what he got a lot of... Yup, Legos.  Never too many though.  He was thrilled.  

Jonathan helped me design his cake. It was hard to get a good angle for the picture but all the boys went crazy over it. In this chase scene, Indiana Jones is getting away with the goblet. The bad guys are stuck in the mud. (I think they got a little deeper every time a boy was nearby.)

The cake was yummy and everyone had a good time. Even the girls. 

I think next year we'll make sure that the guest list and the weather forecast match up.

We love you Jonathan!  Happy 7th Birthday!