Nine!

The Birthday/Anniversary/Holiday rush is finally over in our family. Isaac's birthday tops off all these events. After adamantly explaining that themed birthday parties are for little kids, and after me trying to persuade how much fun they can be, we both came to an agreement to have a Backwards Birthday Party. The invitations were written backwards and the guests were told to dress as backwards as they could. And instead of having a party in the day, we had a party at night.

The decorating was super easy to do. (Thanks Coop for noticing all the small details!) We blew up a bunch of balloons, tied strings on them and hung them upside down from the ceiling. Then we turned everything in our house upside down or backwards. Pictures were turned upside down, the chairs went on top of the table, we put a tablecloth under the table (where they ate), and everyone was given a name tag with their name written backwards (we had to call them by that name all night long). We started by opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. We sang Happy Birthday Backwards (You To Birthday Happy) and the cake was turned upside down (the easiest cake I've ever made) The kids had to pair up, sit behind one another, and feed their cake to each other. After that the boys raced in a backwards obstacle course where you had to run backwards, do tricks on your back on the tramp, crabwalk, jump backwards, etc. By then it was time to eat dinner. We ate pizza in cups and drank 7-Downs (7-Ups turned upside down with a straw stuck through the bottom). After dinner we finished up with our games. We first had a treasure hunt where the clues were written backwards, then we played Sardines (Hide and Go Seek backwards), then we played Limbo backwards (the kids had to jump over the stick as it got higher). This was hilarious. The boys loved this and took it very seriously. Here's a few pics for your enjoyment...

After that the boys ran around like crazies and then watched a movie (Diary of a Wimpy Kid- I really pushed for Freaky Friday or Big to keep with the theme, but apparently those weren't cool movies). While they watched the movie I had them make backwards pinatas (balloons with candy taped on the outside). And then finally before they went home I revealed the winner of the "guess how much candy is in the jar" contest. But instead of having the winner be the one closest to the right amount, it was the person the farthest away from how much candy was in the jar. This was a pretty fun party. The boys really got into it by talking backwards. They'd say good bye for hello, stop for go, slower for faster, etc.

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!! I love you, love you, love you!!!