Xander's Spy Birthday Party

Xander aspires to be a spy someday.  Months ago, he told me that he wanted a Spy Birthday party.  Ben jumped on the bandwagon and helped make this birthday party something to remember.

THE INVITATION

Ben was the mastermind behind the creative invitations. We put the invitation in a manila envelope labeled, " Agent (and then the child's name)".  On the backside, we put "TOP SECRET".



Inside was a minature file folder labeled, "Top Secret" with papers in the file.  When you opened it, it had the details of the birthday party, a satelite map of the location, and a DVD explaining the mission.

The DVD. . .

Here's what was on the DVD.

THE SPY TEAM

We had each of the family members help out during the party.  They were great assets to the mission.

Agent CJ-Code name, Elizabeth
Agent Zoey-Code name, Peanuts
Agent Mia-Code name, Mean Mia
Agent Mom-Code name, Ragin' Asian'
Agent Dad-Code name, Big DADDY B

The day of his party arrived and Xander was thrilled as ever.  I'll take you through all of our activites.

SPY CHECK IN

As the kids arrived, they checked in at the table.  They had to be fingerprinted and they needed to come up with a code name.  As we all know, a spy's real identification is vital to protect.

SPY HEADQUARTERS

After checking in, they were escorted inside the spy headquarters where they received instruction from, Commander X.  Commander X told them that they needed to do some spy training in order to be prepared for their first mission.  You can watch the video clip that the kids watched.

SPY TRAINING

The spys had to undergo intense training at the impossible obstacle course.  They were timed for efficiency.  The first thing they had to do was to put on a disguise, run around the cones, do 10 power jumps on the trampoline, throw tennis balls into the target can, scale over a table, jump over 3 boxes, hold a giant object while balancing on tiles, and finally sliding down the slide.

THE MISSION

After completing the spy training, they received further information from Commander X.

THE LAZER

Each agent had to pass through the deadly lazer zone.  Once everyone had completed the task, they received their first clue, which was a fingerprint.

THE NEXT TASK

The kids brought back the clue and Agent Dad talked and interacted with Commander X.  He helped scan the fingerprint.  While the fingerprint was scanning, they received instruction for the next task.

LOCATE AND DEACTIVATE THE REAL BOMB

The warehouse held the next clue.  Inside, it was filled with decoy bombs.  Their task was to locate the real bomb and to deactivate it safely away from civilians. All Agent Dad told them was that one of the bombs was different than the others. He didn't tell them how it was different.



Once they located the real bomb (a black balloon filled with red star confetti), they had to safely deactivate it.



The other agents loved that it was filled with red stars and collected them, which was great because it was less clean up for me!  They received their next clue which was a footprint.

THE LAST TASK

They brought the footprint back and Commander X.  Agent Dad and Commander X talked back and forth once again.  Agent Dad told them that they needed to break into the vault and find the secret message and code.

THE VAULT

I just used the idea of the punch board, where there is a plastic cup that you stick through the hole that has tissue paper on the top.  The kids had to break through the vault to find the secret code and message.  After finding it, they had to break the code.  The message read, "The bad guy is in the room."



When the kids read that, they started looking at each other, trying to figure out who it was!

AND THE BAD GUY IS. . .

The agents came back and found out who the bad guy was.  They also received instruction where they had to use the truth serum to get the bad guy to tell them where he hid the secret stuff.

INTERROGATION TOOLS

Ben has a poker set that comes in this very cool case, we emptied it out and filled it with. . .

Truth Serum (aka Silly String)!

THE BAD GUY IS GOING DOWN!

After handcuffing Agent Dad, the rogue agent.  They got their truth serum ready to work its magic!



They showed no mercy!



They got Agent Dad to talk and he told them where he hid the secret stuff.

THE SECRET STUFF. .



All the agents received a spy bag with their name on it.  Inside were spy gadgets like handcuffs, black sunglasses (because that is why spys wear), and candy.

THE INCREDIBLE SPY TEAM

With the mission accomplished, it was time to eat!  We feed them lunch and then sang, "Happy Birthday" to Agent Xander.

I made cupcakes with a magnifying glass on top that they could take home.



We had such a great time with all of the agents!  They were super fun and Xander had a blast solving the case with all of his friends!





THE REAL THING

Xander got some spy gear for his birthday and now, he is the real thing!



We didn't have his party on his actual birthday.  This is what agent Xander looked like on his birthday.



He wanted to make a treat for his birthday and it ended up being a jack o lantern.  We stuck candles in it and it was his "cake".  This boy loves Halloween-runs in the family I guess!

He loves his Hulk pjs so much that when he is in them, he growls like the hulk and talks in a deep voice.  Ben found him still up past his bedtime and told him to go to sleep.  In a deep voice Xander says, "HULK GOES TO BED AT NINE!"

I love this boy and can't believe he is going to first grade!  Watch out world, here comes Xander the Hulk, or I mean Xander the spy!  Whatever he decides, he'll be great at it!

Mia's Camp Themed Party

Mia wanted a sleepover for her birthday.  When it comes to sleepovers, I've learned from past experience, that I shouldn't focus so much on the number (the more the merrier?) but more the  "who" I'm inviting.

Mia has two very good friends, who are very good girls, which makes things so much easier.  Also, the fact that there were only 3 of them made things easier in some ways.  Ben tells me it doesn't matter how many kids I have, I will work just as hard!  It's true!

THE INVITATION

I did a horrible job photoshopping Mia in this picture but I thought, "Hey, they're kids!" and wrote the information on the backside and mailed the picture like a postcard.

CAMP SIGN

I had CJ design the "Camp Mia" sign which we hung on the door.

CAMP SCHEDULE

Inside our house, I wrote the camp schedule on a white board.  

Nametags. . .

My oldest daughter was delighted when I told her that she could be a "camp counselor".  We had her make herself a name tag and she greeted the girls as they arrived.  She checked them into their tent where they unloaded their backpacks and sleeping bags.

Park Ranger Rules. . .

Then, they went and made their own name tags.  I then had them come to the carpet and sit and listen to the park ranger, who was Xander.  He told them the camp rules about keeping the fire only in designated areas, that they shouldn't worry about bears and to have fun!

We then went over the schedule.

CAMP GOODIE BAGS

I found these cute pink drawstring bags, that can be worn like a backpack at the dollar store.  I filled them with all sorts of things.

Goodie Bag Contents. . .

Flashlight

Waterbottle

Sun Visor

Sunglasses

Foam Picture Frame

Notepad and pencil

Lip Gloss

Candy

Pillow

CAMP ACTIVITIES

2.  The first activity we did was making our camp t-shirts.  I bought the shirts at the dollar store-score!

3.  For snack time, we made edible dirt.

4.  The girl's bejeweled their waterbottles and decorated their frames and visors.

Pillows. . .

You can see my previous post on how to make the tie pillows.  The girls just had to tie around the edges.  As they did that I had CJ, teach them camp songs.  This was perfect for her because she had just gotten back from Girl's Camp and has been singing camp songs for days.

CAMPFIRE

The girl's helped Ben make the fire and they roasted hotdogs for their dinner and marshmellows for smores.  One of the girls had never cooked a hotdog on the fire and was so amazed that you could actually do that!

CAMP CUPCAKES

Ben had this great idea on how to make the cupcakes with a campfire topper.

How to make them. . .

1.  Make the cupcakes

2.  Frosting-We made this yummy chocolate buttercream frosting

3.  Frost the cupcakes

4.  Take pretzel rods and break them in half.  Dipping the tip in melted chocolate.

5.  Using fruit roll ups, mold it into flames.

6. Place the dipped pretzels in a circle and place the flames on top.

Ben also thought of a super creative idea when we sang "Happy Birthday" to Mia.  We took off the fruit roll up flame and replaced it with a candle so it looked like the campfire was really on fire!

When it got dark, we projected a movie on the side of our house and the girls enjoyed watching the movie outside and eating their treats from their bags.  After the movie, I had some leftover sparkles that I let them use.  

We finally got ready for bed and all slept in the tent!  Including me!

In the morning, we had pancakes for breakfast and then it was time to check out of "Camp Mia".  I was ready to "check out" by then too!

I can't believe that Mia is 8 and that she will get to be baptized soon-September 8th!

Hungary and Italy

We left for Budapest on Thursday and arrived Friday morning.  We had traveled all night from Salt Lake City to Chicago to Germany and then finally to Budapest.  I had a hard time adjusting to the time change because morning in Budapest is in the middle of the night in the U.S.  Luckily, Ben decided that he could use a nap too, so after walking around a little, we took a nap which helped me immensely.



We walked around the area and found a bank to get some Hungarian money.  We also had our first   Hungarian meal.  It was so delicious and I loved hearing Ben speak Hungarian. Even after 16years, he did really well.  Many of the Hungarians complimented him at how well he spoke.



We were in Budapest for 4 days.  One of the days, Ben took me to the Castle District.  Picture it like Fisherman's wharf in San Francisco, a tourist trap, but nonetheless, super fun to see.  We had great views of the city.



We also hit the museum while we were there which was very interesting to see.



I'm glad I brought my 5D, my biggest and heaviest camera.  It was a pain to carry around but the pictures I captured made it worth it.  Sometimes, you have to sacrifice comfort in order to get the what you want in a photo.



There were several bridges that we crossed across the Danube.  Buda is on one side of the Danube and Pest is on the other.  The chain bridge is the most famous bridge.



We didn't tour the parliment building but took some pretty neat pictures of it during the day and night.  It was neat to see it in real life because I've only seen it in the movies.  If a movie takes place in Budapest, the parliment building is what they show.



We took the public transportation everywhere.  Cable car, buses, trains, and subways.  On Sunday we made it to church and I was able to meet one of the members that was there when Ben served and also a sister missionary, with whom he served with in one area.  She is actually from Hungary.



Klara, the older one was hilarious.  I didn't understand a word she said, but I could tell from the conversation that she was cracking jokes.  I asked Ben later what she was saying and she told him that I was pretty and called me Mulan.  He told her to not let me go to war.



On another day, we went to Hero Square where they honor their heroes.  One thing I noticed while in Hungary is there is never a shortage of statues.



On our last day, we decided to take a trip to Esztergom which is home to the largest basilica in Hungary.  We got to go inside and even checked out the crypt in the basement.  I enjoyed our time in Budapest and it was fun to share it with Ben.



Our next stop was Venice, Italy.  We flew from Budapest to Italy. Throughout our entire trip we stopped in Frankfurt, Germany three times.  And on two legs of our trip, that is where our luggage didn't make it on the same flight as us.  When we got to Venice, Ben's luggage did not arrive.  We thought we were so smart by packing a change of clothes in his carry on, but forgot to get important things like toothbrushes and contact cases.  The luggage ended up arriving the next day.  Phew! We thought because we were only staying 1 day in Venice.



We took the train into the city.  My entire day in Venice was so much fun.  It felt like a part of Disneyland, like they have frontier town.  I loved wandering around and getting lost.





I also loved how instead of parking their cars, they parked their boats!





We wandered all the way to St Mark's Square.  We rode the elevator to the top of the clock tower and had splendid view of the city.







We ended up taking the water taxi up the canal and was able to see the city while on the water.



We passed the famous Rialto bridge which is lined with many vendors trying to sell their products.  We found some great Italian ties there.



Ben was in love with the pizza in Italy.  It's funny how much more we ate while we were in Italy versus Hungary.  The food was just so good!  They also have these yummy slushes that we had almost daily.  It was very hot while we were there.  We also ran into some Mormon missionaries while we were there.



After spending a day in Venice, we took a train to Florence.  We walked several miles from the train station to the hotel.  We walked more because we were trying to find our way.  After we found our hotel, we dropped our luggage off and wandered around the city.  Within a couple of hours, we saw most of the highlights of the city.



We went inside the famous Duomo and the next day we had tickets to the Accademia which was Europe's first school of drawing.  We saw Michelangelo statues and his most famous one, David.  It was so amazing to say the least.



In the Piazza Signoria  they have a replica of the statue David as well as many other statues.  We enjoyed the art in Florence and had gelato everyday.  It's one of a kind and so delicious.

I'm so glad Ben and I had the opportunity to go to Europe.  I finally have a stamp in my passport!  We are so grateful for Ben's parents who watched our kids the entire time!