Taz turns 13! Eek

Taz turned 13 while we were in Oregon. He wanted to go fishing for his birthday, so we took a picnic up in the mountains and caught a few fish.

He wanted a party when we got back to Vegas, so I talked him into having a "death" party to celebrate the death of his childhood and the rise into his teen years.  I totally copied this idea from my bff Toni as she did it for her son a few years ago and I thought it sounded like such a fun idea.  We all know Taz's favorite desserts are:  rice krispie treats and no bake cookies.  So I made some tombstone krispies and stuck them into the no bakes as the dirt around the tombstones.  They turned out cute.

I lined the walkway with tombstones of every guest at the party and their "death dates".  The tombstones had little sayings on them like:  Josh Edleman, no longer a baby...on second thought!

I had the table decorated with black balloons and black table cloth and black plates and cups. 

We had a black sheet draped over the ottoman and Taz was laying on it "dead" as the guest arrived.  Then I gave a eulogy and the guests were allowed to share a favorite memory of Taz as a child.

The night before, I had Talon draw me a giant picture of Taz...

We covered it with balloons filled with whip cream and played "pop the pimple".

Then we played some more "teen" games.  We had a minute to win it tournament with gold presidential dollars as prizes for first, second and third place.

One of the challenges was a gross food challenge where they had a minute to eat everything on their plate.  The worst thing on there was pickled pigs feet.

After the tournament we showed the guest how to play spoons.  Only one boy had ever played spoons!!  So after we did a couple of rounds of that, we moved out to the pool and played suicide spoons where you put the spoons at the bottom of the pool and when someone gets their match, they have to head to the pool.  That was funny!!

Then we had dessert and opened presents. 

Taz has solemly sworn to be a perfect teenager and NEVER give his mother (or dad) any grief.  Yeah right, we'll see how long that lasts!!

That was it, a fun, fun party!  Here are a few extra's that I want included in my blog book, so if you're not interested, you can stop reading now:)

Here was Taz's invite.  It was in a column like it would appear in the newspaper and had a picture of him above it:

On August 15, 2011 at 12:40 p.m., Taz Kiefer Goon succumbed to the dreaded teen years. He is survived in childhood by his sister Cynjyn and two brothers, Talon and Tanner have previously passed on. His parents, Garry and Kim, mourn this occurrence. A memorial service will be held to remember his lost childhood on Friday, August 26th @ 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the Goon home . Anyone wishing to share memories of Taz’s childhood will have the opportunity. A dinner will be served promptly after the services. Wearing black is optional. In lieu of flowers, please bring a birthday gift. RSVP regrets to Kim.
This was his eulogy:

Taz Kiefer Goon was born on August 15, 1998 at 12:40 pm. He was a feisty stubborn child and he proved that right from the get go as he was supposed to be born August 2, but waited 13 long days to arrive. He was born one day after his parents 13th anniversary and made them miss Garth Brooks farewell concert! He was a fussy baby and wasn’t happy until he could start moving on his own. Once he learned to crawl, he never stopped going…and going…and going. From early in his childhood, he wanted to be a bull rider. He loved going to his grandpa’s farm and watching the big black bull. He loved cowboys, but especially bull riders and rodeo clowns who helped distract the bulls after they bucked the cowboys off. He wanted to be a bull rider or clown when he grew up. Taz was a daredevil and would try anything physical. He excelled in any sport he took on and once when he was about 7 or 8 he did a season of wrestling and he came up against a wrestler his age who had been wrestling about 4 years and Taz beat him quickly. This made the boy cry and then later on in the tournament, the boy drew Taz as his opponent and when he saw Taz he started crying even before the match started. Taz loves any sport and wants to try them all. Taz was pretty accident prone and usually always had a scratch or bruise. He has splashed boiling hot soup on his forehead, cut the top of the inside of his mouth with a recorder and fell on the sharp edge of an abacus and has the scar to prove it. Taz had a wonderful childhood and he will be greatly missed. BUT, we look forward to what his teenage years will bring. Is there anyone now that would like to share a memory of Taz and his childhood?