Zachary's 8th Birthday Party

Zachary is turning 8 years old tomorrow, April 5th. Today he had his friend birthday party. Our kiddos only get a friend birthday party for their 5th and 8th birthdays because they like to get very creative, and have big themes. After age 8, we are thinking every other year might be okay, IF we can make it a little more low key. We'll see how that goes.

These big creative themes are a lot of fun, but also can tucker a mom out, especially if that mom is expecting in a month. =) He really wanted a Zelda party (the Nintendo64 version). I had a lot of learning to do about the game and how to turn it into a birthday party for 9 little boys and 4 girls. Here he is with his Zelda sword cake that he requested. Posing as Link (the main Zelda character).For those not interested in Zelda, this post might be a bit of a bore. But for the sake of recording the happenings here it goes:

There were 8 courses to complete, which if completed they could earn a key to the next place. First up was Kokiri Forest.
Here the kids had drawn a huge chalk spider called Ghoma and then everyone had a chance to bomb Ghoma with the water balloon launcher. I wish I could have caught more pictures of these events, but Jon and I were both so involved with helping the kids that it just didn't happen.
2nd Place: Lon Lon Ranch with Epona
I love the kids drawings of each of the places, Zach's drawing is on the left, mine is the horse on the right. The horse (Epona), Link, and the maps were the only things I drew. Everything else you see is the kids work.
At this place they had to pin the tail on Epona, cowboy style.3rd Place: Gold Skulltula
The kids had to find bugs and snakes and collect them in their pouch.4th Place: Kakariki VillageThe kids were given a map with X's (see below picture) telling them where the golden eggs were hidden. The golden eggs were inside easter eggs, then they had to empty the contents into their pouch and place the eggs back in the hen house before being discovered.5th Place: Dodongo's Cavern
There was a tangled web of red yarn that the kids had to maneuver their bodies through. Then take the "bomb" (bean bag) out of their pouch and hit the target (Dodongo). 6th Place: Lost Woods
Instead of breaking clay pots like in the real game, they had balloons with pennies inside that they had to sit on or step on to break open. Once they had their pennies they could earn their silver coins and the key to the next place.7th Place: Forest TempleAt this station they had an obstacle course to complete. This included: jump roping, flipping on the trampoline, holding a marshmallow on a spoon while weaving through cones, scaling the castle wall, obtaining a sword, then fighting Gannondorf (Jon) to save Princess Zelda (Hailey). Here is a map of what they needed to complete.
8th Place: Hyrule Castle
This is where a certain melody had to be played on the piano that let them enter the castle, which is where the sword cake and presents awaited.
Here is the loot pouch, where they kept all their spoils.And finally, Zachary blowing out his candles.
It was a very fun party. It kept us very busy and kept us on our toes. Hopefully, it fulfilled this little boy's dreams of bringing the game world to a reality. Happy Birthday Zachary!