Will's Spy Party

Will's 8th birthday party was yesterday afternoon. It was a spy party, and it was so much fun! It was a perfect party for a group of 8-year-old boys. 

The invitation:

Spy Agency HQ.

Meet our secret agent in charge of spy training. The name is Bond. Joe Bond. He's a little less famous and a touch more goofy than his brother James, but we think he's pretty spectacular.

Uh-oh. Joe Bond was trying to sneak off with the Super Secret Spy Gear.

Agent 002, Aggressive Griffin, caught him red-handed! 

After the pre-party shenanigans, we got down to business. The boys kept a watchful eye on the front door for secret agents arriving for training. 

Agent 001, Growling Troll, reporting for duty!

The first stop was the Secret Agent Training Center.

New spies were fingerprinted and then given code names.

 

My amazing friend Heather was a huge help throughout the party and was in charge of screening the new spies.

 

Once everyone had clearance, it was on to spy training. 

The trainees were told that after they completed the three steps of spy training, they would receive their super secret spy gear.

Agent Joe Bond, Double Oh Zero, gave instructions for the obstacle course/agility training. 

The boys headed outside for their first training exercise. 

 

Agent Double Oh Zero demonstrated running through the ladder, hopping through the rings, touching the five cones and jumping rope.

Agent Aggressive Griffin had some pretty fancy footwork.

Growling Troll finished the first set of training exercises!

 

Wiggling that stubborn tooth!

The spy trainees all passed the first round of training.

 

And then they moved inside for a memory-boosting exercise. They had 30 seconds to examine 15 items on a tray and then write down everything they remembered. They did an awesome job and passed this step with flying colors.

The final part of spy training was target practice. We had tiny Nerf Jolt guns and foam darts and the spies had to try to hit a pyramid of dixie cups. Super fun!

 

After successfully completing their training, the new spies headed inside to get their super secret spy gear only to discover that it was missing! In its place was this note: 

Henry recognized it instantly as a mirror image, so the boys scrambled to the mirror to read the message: "Find the bald man." Our friend Joel, the bald man, held the next clue to Mission: Find the Missing Spy Gear.

The first code was: Security has been breached! We need you to decode secret message taped under the outside bench. The spies used a cut-out decoder to figure out this message.

 

Message two: Try to make your way through the laser field. This code was a Reverse Alphabet, one of Henry's favorites.

The laser field was set up upstairs in the hallway. 

The spies had to shimmy their way into the playroom to find the next clue.

The next clue was a pigpen cipher: Diffuse the dynamite for clue four.

 The boys were thrilled to tackle the TNT, but Agent Joe Bond was worried that it might explode!

 

The spies found candy AND a clue. The agents worked together to solve the polybius grid cipher.

The message read: Agent Round Belly is in trouble! Decode the instructions she left by the TV. (Agent Round Belly, aka my friend Katy, was in so much trouble that she wasn't even at the party! Her excuse? She and Jaime were getting sweet cuddles from their brand new baby!)

The next clue, a cross code, read: Beware of the black bombs. Can you diffuse them?

 

The agents found a room full of bombs and had to diffuse them to find the next code. They did this by stomping, sitting and jumping on many black balloons!

 

The boys found the final clue! It was in Morse code and read: You stink. Take a bath. They ran upstairs to find the super secret spy gear in a bathtub! MISSION SOLVED!

After all their hard work, these spies deserved some Secret Agent Munchies! 

We kept it simple this year with Hot on the Trail Mix,

Laser Hot Bullets (Cheetos),

Dynamite Fuses (red licorice),

and Poison Fruit (grapes).

Plus cupcakes, of course.

Will requested chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate ganache icing.

 A well-deserved snack.

Double Oh Zero grabbed something a touch stronger.

Agent Aggressive Griffin loves these spy glasses that let you see behind you.

And then it was time to sing to the birthday boy.

8!!!

 The evening ended with presents,

disguises,   

and dart gun fun in the backyard.

Our parties are always a lot of work but they are so much fun and I wouldn't change a thing about them. Gene and I make a pretty good team; I love the planning and he loves the dressing up/acting/executing my plan.

I just adore this boy.

Will's spy party was spectacular!