Secret Agent Party for a REAL Secret Agent

I think Ethan has been planning his secret agent birthday party since about the day after his last birthday.  It makes sense since he has been telling us he is a "real" secret agent for the last few years.  I really do love planning parties for my boys and making their days special; thank goodness for the party planning class I took at college.  However, as the big day got closer I realized that my idea of the party was very different from his, he basically wanted a scene from Mission Impossible complete with mysteries to solve, bad guys chasing the kids down, ziplines to go from house to house...you know the usual birthday party fare.  So we had to make a few compromises...and judging from the reaction of the agents, especially head agent Ethan, Special Mission Age 6 was a success!  

The morning started pretty well with a couple of birthday presents!

Then we met the birthday boy at the school cafeteria for lunch!

I always have fun making cakes for my boys, this year agent P was made from Rice Krispy treats and my first time using fondant.  

After school it was time to party!

When the agents arrived to headquarters they all received their disguises of hats, sunglasses and magnifying glasses.  Then they all had to have a finger scan on the I-pad to ensure that they were real agents.  The app after doing the finger scan also told the kids what mood they were in, and they loved it.  Especially when it said Ethan's mood was "in love."  Later he told us, "it probably said that because I was sitting next to Stella," then he blushed and said, "did I say that out loud?"

Next each agent got to pick 2 papers from the bowls, these would become their secret agent names for the day.  We had some fun ones like "Speedy Tortilla," "Shiny Nacho," "Magical Raccoon," and "Fearless Ninja."  The kids got to write their agent names on name tags and put a finger print on it for verification.

The kids used their magnifying glasses to find pictures in the I-Spy books while we waited for more guests to arrive.

Agent Quinn Grin wanted in on the action.

Once the agents were verified they were informed they were called to the headquarters because they were the best agents in the business and it was time to do some training so they would be ready for a secret mission.  They all have great imaginations at this age, and were so into all of this!  They took their jobs very seriously!

The first part of the training included some target shooting stations.

Then it was time to clear the laser maze!

They had 3 minutes to disassemble 30 bombs and clean up all the evidence.

Little Caden was so into it, I caught him trying to pop the balloon with his teeth, luckily I stopped him before it burst in his mouth...but you can see by the determination on his face he was willing to do anything to make that 3 minute mark.

Our last game was to practice our sneaking skills.

After all the training the agents were ready for their first mission to rescue the birthday loot.

Much to their surprise, the bandit himself was there trying to thwart the mission.  Oh my, they shrieked and freaked out when they saw the bandit!  It put a whole new twist on the party.  The bandit was a little much for the 3 year old guest, at one point Caden ran into the living room and yelled, "I hate this party."

The bandit finally surrendered and they were able to rescue the birthday loot!

For dinner the birthday boy requested a restaurant where they would sing to him.  Texas Roadhouse even had him sit on a saddle.  Yee-haw!

We ended the night with a few more presents and the new 6 year old proclaiming, "this was the best day ever!"

Once we got him to bed, I about collapsed, but it was sure a fun day!  It was so fun to have my mom here!  This was the first time she ever got to celebrate with us on Ethan's birthday!  I couldn't have done it without all of her help!

Just getting Quinn dolled up for the party.

And don't worry, he's already scheming for next year's big bash!

So I think I'll Be Six Now Forever and Ever

When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three

I was hardly me.

When I was Four,

I was not much more.

When I was Five,

I was just alive.

But now I am Six,

I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

I remember my Dad saying this A.A. Milne poem when I was younger.  I think it's a pretty accurate description of our 6 year old Ethan!

There is a big difference between a 5 and a 6 year old.  At age 6 Ethan is an independent little boy that loves going to school.  He's learning to read and write and still has a sharp mind for math and science.  At age 6 I realize there is nothing cuddly and squishy about him anymore.  The other day he got hurt and wanted to sit on my lap, he just doesn't fit like he used to.  At age 6 Ethan is still a social butterfly that loves being around people and action.  At age 6 he is a prankster and mischievous at home.  At school however, it is a different story, he is a strict rule follower.  At age 6 he is sensitive and sweet.  The other night we had a great conversation with him after he couldn't go to sleep because he was so sad about the "naughty" things a little boy was saying on his soccer team.  At age 6 Ethan has great faith that his prayers are heard and answered.  At age 6 Ethan is really patient with his little brothers.  Caden is his favorite playmate, and he can make Quinn laugh better than anyone else.  At age 6 Ethan has an imagination as big as the world, it's very fun to watch his creativity as he plays all the time.  At age 6 Ethan still has killer dance moves.  At age 6 he is starting to be a little self-conscious, refusing to wear his Mickey Mouse shirt to school was the first time I realized he even cared or knew what he was wearing.   

Favorite Food:  Mac n cheese and chocolate milk

Favorite Color:  Blue

Favorite Toy:  Brown Dog

Favorite TV Show:  Wild Kratts

Favorite Movie:  Frozen

Favorite thing to do:  Play with my birthday toys

What do you like to play:  Imaginext toys, probably with my guns, play at the park

What do you want to be when you grow up:  Firefighter

Favorite part of school:  Recess

Favorite thing to learn:  Letter stuff

What's your favorite subject in school:  The spin thing that shows what the weather is.

Who is your favorite person in the whole world:  Ryker

What are you really good at:  playing with Caden, and the minnion game   

Who's your best friend:  Stella

What do you like best about Mom:  "that she went on that trip and Grammy got to come"  Me:  "so what does that mean?"  Ethan:  "it means we like Grammy."  Me:  "Ok, so you like Grammy, but what do you like about mom?"  Ethan:  "Hmmm...that you're so pretty."

Who's your best buddy:  Caden

What do you like best about Daddy:  that he plays with us sometimes

What do you like best about Caden:  he's my brother

What do you like best about Quinn:  that he's so fun

What do like best about yourself:  that I have a birthday.  

Disney World Movie

Coming home from our highly anticipated Disney World trip I can honestly say it exceeded our expectations.  Ethan and Caden were perfect ages to really get into the magic, everything to them was real and amazing.  They loved everything from the slow moving rides to the roller coasters.  If you ask Caden about his trip he will give you an earful...he gets so animated and excited his mouth can't keep up with his brain.  The whole Disney experience was just so fun experiencing it through their eyes.  Quinn liked it too.  He just enjoyed being outside and was able to go on 90% of the rides with us.  By the end of the week he was pointing to things saying, "ride, ride."  When we got in a ride he always wanted his own seat and would pull the little bar down, pointing at things and "wowing" appropriately.  It was pretty cute to watch.

I compiled some of our trip pictures into a little movie.  I'm planning on burning it onto a DVD and I'm sure it will be well watched at our house.

Here it is if anyone wants to see how the Johnsons do Disney!

  

Disney World Trip Memories - Getting There

What a fabulous trip!  We had so much fun experiencing Disney World in the beautiful Florida weather!  It was a bit of a shock to come back to negative temperatures and snow.  On the most part we avoided crazy crowds and long lines, we are big fans of the park at night, when most responsible parents have put their children to bed...no lines at all!  I made the video to help us remember what we did on the trip and I want to use these blog post as a place to record some of the fun memories that were made along the way.

Oh my!  The level of excitement was through the roof the few days leading up to our trip.  By the time we parked the car and rode the shuttle to the airport the boys were out of control.  They were yahooing as we went over every bump on the freeway.  At this point I was feeling like we didn't even need Disney World; they were that entertained by the shuttle.

When we got to the airport we found Grandma Karen and the boys were so excited to see her!  We arrived late that night, but all the boys were up until 1 AM, just too much adrenaline to sleep.  I surprised the boys that night with after Christmas clearance Mickeys to snuggle with and help them have good Disney dreams.

We were loaded!

Day 1 Memories - Magic Kingdom

On our first day we put on our homemade Mickey shirts and headed for the happiest place on earth.

We experienced fun and fear every day.  While in line for Pirates of the Caribbean Caden kept telling himself the pirates weren't real.  As soon as that ride started he huddled into Clark so close he could barely breathe.  As soon as the ride was over he announced, "that wasn't scary at all," hmmmm, we weren't so convinced.  Ethan was excited to ride Space Mountain.  No one remembered to tell him the ride was in the dark.  He came out looking pretty scared but agreed to do it with me again.  They take a picture at some point during the roller coaster, and I will never forget Ethan's face.  I don't have the picture, but his eyes were huge and he looked terrified, it was a classic.  

That afternoon Ethan and Caden were taken by a cast member to join the Country Bears hoedown in the street of Adventureland.  It was pretty cute watching Caden try really hard not to smile as they paraded around.

Both boys favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Caden is exactly 40 inches tall so we were worried he might not measure tall enough for the 40" rides, so we took along his cowboy boots just in case.  Riding roller coasters with Caden is about the funnest thing in the world.  He has no fear and he giggles the whole time.  He likes to hold his arms up for the duration of the ride.  Since he is so little his bum hardly ever touched the seat, but he loved flailing around.

That first night we watched the Wishes firework show.  Before leaving on our trip the boys watched the Disney planning video several times that shows how Tinkerbell flies off of the castle to get the show going.  Caden made the comment that he couldn't wait to go to Disney World and see flowers coming out of Tinkerbell's bum.  Well, that wish came true.  Without knowing it we stood right under the zipline where Tinkerbell comes flying.  Caden sat on Clark's shoulders for the show, he kept sinking in lower and lower until we realized he was pretty much asleep up there with his eyes barely opened.  I loved holding Quinn during the show, when the fireworks were loud he'd nuzzle his little head into my neck and it was my magic moment.

Somehow we lost Quinn's shoe pretty early the first day.  I patted myself on the back for remembering to throw a spare pair of Crocs in my bag.  Later that evening he had a major blowout, and I didn't get a pat on the back for forgetting spare pants.  He ran around pants-less the rest of the night.

Ethan had a big dream to meet the Incredibles.  We did just that at a dance party that first night, but both boys were pretty leery of Mr. Incredible.  In fact, the first couple of days they were a little nervous around most of the characters.

Ethan felt like he was pretty big stuff getting to room with Grandma Karen for the week.  He was feeling pretty mature and special, but then when it came right down to it he was nervous enough to ask Grandma to share a bed with him.

Day 1 was successful enough the boys forgot how ticked they were when we left our hotel that morning that they didn't get a dip in the pool.  It was a good day, but little did we know the fun ahead!  

Day 2 Memories - Magic Kingdom

On Day 2 more dreams came true when the boys finally got to ride Dumbo!

The highlight of the day for sure was doing Enchanted Tales with Belle.  So the boys had been studying Disney park maps for weeks and knew a lot about most of the attractions.  A few weeks before we left I told them about this interactive attraction where they could be part of a play.  Caden decided right then and there that he was going to be the beast and dance with Belle.  Every time the theme song came on while we were at home he wanted to dance with me to practice.
The experience starts out in Belle's childhood kitchen, then moves to her father's invention room where a magic mirror somehow turns into big doors (really cool) and you enter the Beast's castle and are greeted by the wardrobe.  In the wardrobe room a cast members assigns parts for the little play with Belle.  I didn't think he'd really have much of a chance, being so little, to be the beast...but when the lady asked who could roar like a beast he gave a giant roar and was selected for the part.  I was 90% ecstatic that he was chosen since he'd been talking about it so long, and 10% nervous for him.  Caden doesn't like attention and tends to shut down when he realizes there are many eyes on him.  But oh my, he was a perfect little beast.  So shy and cute.  Trying hard to do everything right, trying not to smile too big...and his Beast dancing skills were superb!
For the rest of the day he was on cloud 9 and referred to himself as "Beast."  He still does actually.  It was just so fun seeing a little wish come true.  Ethan had decided beforehand that he wanted to be Chip, but was actually selected to be Felipe (the horse).  He tried to act alright about missing out on being a broken tea cup.

Here is the video from the little play:

A Beast smile!

Both boys loved driving these cars!  Clark and I both ended up with a little whiplash.

 We took a break in the afternoon back at the hotel pool and then came back that night for more.  The park was pretty empty and I really enjoyed the night time ambiance of the place.

All I wanted from the trip was one good family picture...

 Clearly I am the queen of this castle!  Disney should consider using our family on their brochures or something.