Water Wars!

We just had possibly the most fun birthday party ever, and I am not exaggerating at all when I write that. Picture twenty 7-8 year-old boys with water guns, shaving cream, water balloons, and a giant grassy park in which to run around and pelt one another, and that describes our afternoon. Boy heaven! Everyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy planning birthday parties, from the invitations to the food to the decorations. This party exceeded all my expectations, and I am certain the birthday boy had the time of his life!

As the boys arrived, we divided them into two teams, giving them either a black bandana or a white bandana to wear. We set up an obstacle course prior to the party, and the first party game was a relay race through the different obstacles. The obstacles were as follows:  1. Run three times around a pool noodle.  2. Over, under, and over the pool noodle hurdles.  3. Run through the rings, football player style.  4. Jump and slide on the shaving cream filled slip 'n slide. The boys had to do all of this while Brad stood in the middle and threw beach balls at them!

the obstacle course

brody is ready

it's a race to the finish

he's airborne!

back to the start to tag a teammate

white team wins!

Next, we had a shaving cream fight. That sounds kind of boring. We had an epic, no holds barred, super messy and gooey shaving cream war! We gave each guest their own can of shaving cream and let them have at it. They loved chasing each other until they realized I was trying to take pictures. Then they all decided to come after me! Let's just say I did not escape unscathed.

Next on the list was a game of capture the flag, water gun style. The boys divided into their teams from the relay race to protect their flag and try to steal the opposing team's. They battled it out with water guns and tubs full of water balloons. SO. MUCH. FUN. They played a couple rounds of this and probably could have kept going had the pizza guy not arrived to serve our dinner!

each team had a battle station w/ water squirters and a place for refills

plus plenty of ammo

For dinner, we served the dudes pizza and watermelon. Easy peasy, and they worked up quite an appetite out there.

Then came the icing on the cake, so to speak. In lieu of cake, Brody requested ice cream, so we set up a build your own ice cream sandwich bar. Homemade brownies, blondies, and chocolate chip bars were made using an ice cream sandwich mold, and I pre-cut ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) into rectangle shapes that fit right in between. We finished them off with all sorts of decorations--sprinkles, gummies, white choc chips, choc chips, and marshmallows. They were a great hit and oh so yummy!

After our sweet treats, we headed back over to the field to break open the pinata. We can always make room for more sweets, right? We kept the game interesting by playing a game of hot potato with the bat. Whoever was holding it when the music stopped got to take a turn hitting the pinata. It didn't take long for it to break open with all those tough little men going after it!

boy pile!

Then we posed for a group shot...

We sent the guests home with water balls and slingshots so they could continue the water party fun at home.

What a fun party! I'm thinking we might have to make this a Smith family tradition. Who's in for Round 2 next summer?!