13 Year Old Birthday Parties!!

It's a sad thing when themed birthday parties are not cool anymore!  Or maybe it can be seen as a relief too huh?  No more spider man or Lego or dinosaur party themes.  In some ways having a theme makes everything easier because you know just how to decorate, what favors to buy and what to put on the cake! Life has been busy around here, which is why I haven't been able to blog about the recent happenings. We just returned from a once in a lifetime (for us anyhow) Alaskan cruise and I will do a post on our adventures from that soon. There was no wi fi or cell phone coverage which was a nice change.   

But another recent event around here was my oldest son turned 13!!  We have a teenager in the house!!  I think I am ready.  Luckily he is very easy going and ready to tackle new adventures that life brings his way.  When he asked to have a birthday party I was excited because last year he didn't even want one. He had some specifics in mind this year though.  "Nothing on the cake mom, just chocolate", were my instructions.  "Just gift cards to sports or outdoors stores" was the request when I asked what he wanted for a gift.  And a movie at the theater, food, and wii was in his plan for the party, but he also let me add in a scavenger hunt of my own creation. 

When my daughter started to hang streamer the morning of the party, Andrew (birthday boy) asked, "We don't really have to have those, do we?"  I said that we could take them down if he wanted, but being the easy going guy that he is, he said, "That's ok, but just do a few!"

The party was a smashing success and the boys even loved the door to door scavenger hunt!  (picture of the list is below).  We saw Mall cop 2 in the theater, which was a very clean and funny/silly movie...perfect for 13 year old boys.  We ate pizza, salad and buffalo chicken strips (recipe below).  Next of course, the cake and ice cream.  Then, they played wii for 45 minutes or so.  

So I think the moral of my story is that teenagers like it simple and relaxed but still like to do things that push them a bit out of their comfort zone...like a scavenger hunt.  And they like lots of food!!

Here is the paper that I made out for the scavenger hunt.  I divided them up into two teams of 3 and then sent them in different directions.  It was a race to see which team would come back first:

I really love buffalo chicken wings but sometimes it is nice not to have to eat around the bones, especially if you are a teenager and you inhale your food...

Buffalo chicken strips recipe:

10 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into strips
3/4 C. Flour
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 C. melted butter
1/2 C. Franks red hot pepper sauce

1. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken strips, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the strips on the baking sheet, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Combine the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the strips over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

Enjoy!!