Arrrrgh, Matey!

I took the big boys to their friends Josh's birthday party on Sunday. It was on a Pirate Cruise out of Plymouth harbor. The boys had an absolute blast on board! They shot pressurized water out of cannons at the enemy pirate ship, cackled at the evil pirate's seaweed "snot", secured the pirate treasure and dragged it on board, enjoyed some Pirate's Brew and cupcakes, caught a lobster and a bunch of crabs and generally had a ball yelling "Arrgh, matey!" and "You smell like a dead fish!"

The best part was when the Pirate Captain asked for a volunteer to go over to the bad pirate ship in exchange for the treasure. Colin bravely stuck his hand up high and got chosen as the hostage. Everyone clapped and cheered for him, but as his captain proceeded to explain that he would not be able to come back, and that he was making a sacrifice for his mateys... Colin's smile started to fade. He tried to keep a stiff upper lip, but eventually his eyes filled with tears and his lip started to tremble... he really thought he was going to be sent over to the enemy ship by himself! Once he was sufficiently consoled, he was able to laugh at the whole thing, but for a moment he had a look of sheer terror on his face. This made the crowd roar even louder with glee! Almost as much as when Liam started dancing and shaking his backside under the limbo stick! We also enjoyed a very civilized lunch out replete with pirate swords, compasses, hooks and a bevy of "real gold and jewels" treasure. What a fun birthday party and what a great way to tire them out--they slept all the way home!