We had his party at the YMCA that i about 15 minutes from our house. We have a membership there so we got a discounted rate for use of their party package. We got the use of the pool, the gym, and a community room for 2 hours. Marc's neighbor friend Spencer was not feeling good, but he stopped by to give him the gift he got for Marc.
The theme for Marc's birthday party was pirates. I found most of the decorations at the dollar store, including cute little pirate hats that we gave to each of the kids....including Samantha. She was the cutest little pirate EVER!
The first thing we did when the party started was to go swimming. The YMCA requires that a parent be present, either in the pool or on deck, while their minor child is in the pool. So we started there in case any of the parents wanted to leave after the pool. I was pleased that 2 parents swam with us and all the parents stuck around for the whole party. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the parents' of Marc's friends.
Marc has really taken to wearing his goggles that I bought at the dollar store. :)
After the kids came back to the room, they ran around the big, open area. (I wish I had half their energy). After running around, it was time for the pinata fun!! We brought one of lighter bats because we didn't want a heavy one and have the pinata break before each child had a turn to hit it. 
Well, after about 30 or so hits, I went and asked for a heavy bat. Each child used that once, and it still wasn't showing signs of breaking so daddy gave it a really hard whack...and it FINALLY broke!......
and then there was mass hysteria of the kids trying to grab up as many toys and pieces of candy as possible.
After some pinata fun, it was time for cake and ice cream. :) And sitting at the head of the table....our Pirate of Honor...Marc III! :) He made the most handsome pirate ever!
Marc picked out the pirates theme for his party. When we went to look at cakes, the only pirate cake was from Pirates of the Caribbean. We didn't really like it so we looked through the book and Marc found a Scooby-Doo cake he liked. That same day he told us that he wanted Scooby-Doo figurines to be added to his Christmas list. Well, as Daddy was looking around for Scooby-Doo figurines, he found a Scooby & Shaggy pirates set. So we bought that set and had them replace the other toy with the Scooby toys. This was the final look. I was super excited about it, it was so cute!!
Making a wish and blowing out his candles.
Samantha enjoyed eating the cake and ice cream.
Our room was so big that there was plenty of room for the 5 kids to run around and play tag. It was so fun to watch Marc interact with his friends.
Uncle Jeff lifted Samantha up and let her play with the empty pinata. She had fun making it swing away from her and then catching it as it swung back to her. She giggled every time! :)
After some cake & ice cream and running around it was time for gift-opening.Marc and his friend Nathan from kindergarten
Marc and his "girlfriend" Kateri from kindergarten
Marc and his friend Sarah from kindergarten
Marc and his friend Jared from my preschool and childcare
Time flew by at the party and when we hit our 2 hour limit, there were still presents from us, Uncle Jeff, and Grandma that hadn't been opened yet. So, my Mom and Jeff came back to our house, with a pizza stop on the way, for dinner, gift opening, and some fun family time.Marc was very excited when he opened the Nerf dart gun that Uncle Jeff got him. (pray for all of us and our breakable things. ;) )
We saved the best (at least I thought so) for last. When Samantha was born we gave Marc a Leapster game system. It was awesome to have a hand-held video game system that we could take wherever we needed. An added bonus was that they were "educational" games. Well, our little boy is too smart for his own good. ;) the Leapster games are rated up to approximately 1-2 grade. Well, he is about at that level, so he has outgrown the Leapster games. So, we decided it was time for him to get a "big boy" game system, a Nintendo DS. When you look at the picture below, he doesn't look very excited to have gotten the DS. This was about 7 hours into non-stop activity and the poor boy was exhausted! He really was excited. the first thing he asked me when he got up Sunday morning was "Mom, can I please play my DS?!" (I like playing it too. ;) )
He looked so grown-up sitting next to me playing his video game. :( :)
Daddy got Marc some light sabers that make all the noises and lights that flicker when you fight with them. I am not sire who liked them better, Daddy, Uncle Jeff, or Marc. ;)
It was a very fun party, I think our most successful to date. It wasn't a whole lot of work for me, it didn't cost a ton of money, and most of all, I think Marc had a blast!!
