Not To Be Left Out

Calen celebrated his fifth birthday in February. He is quite the party planner and usually has his birthday parties planned out six months in advance. This year was no different. Before Jax was even born he had decided he wanted a Knight, Dragon, and Castle party. He has an impressive collection of plastic swords and other knight apparel (do knights have apparel?). Anyway... Here he is the morning of his party.

He also decided he wanted a castle cake. After much researching and discussion it became clear he wanted a "real" castle cake. In the end mommy decided she would make it herself. It only took 17 hours. This was also the event that caused me to go take the pregnancy test. It was positive.

He had a great time with his friends. As we waited for all of our guests to arrive, we played with a castle set. After everyone was ready I told the children that it took a long time to become a knight. Children started out around age 5 or 6 as a page. Then when they were teenagers they became a squire. And finally, after proving themselves worthy they would be knighted.

As pages, the children went on a quest to find the king's treasure that had been stolen by a troll. I left riddles on a "troll footstep" for the children to find. Once they figured out the riddle they went to the location were they found another clue (and a prize). If they were successful in their journey they would become a squire.

After successfully locating the king's treasure, they enjoyed a nice reward (chocolate coins) and became squires. We held a tournament to test their skills.

They jousted

They threw javelins

They tested spearing

They each received a medal for their skills. After working up a hearty appetite, the squires enjoyed a meal of chicken leg, ham and roast beef sandwiches, and some fruit and veggies. After the meal they were informed that the dragon's lair had been found. If they could destroy the dragon then they would become knights. They found the dragon (a pinata) and destroyed it. Although it was quite a feat on the part of everyone's (adults included) part.

After the dragon's demise, we had a knighting ceremony where Danny, the king, knighted the children. Sir Calen opened his gifts and the day was done. Next year, pirates! Yep, he's currently planning his next party. (And Riley's will be flowers)

Jax played the jester.