*** CURRENT - 2020 - If your interested we're making some REALLY TERRIBLE videos based around food and family over at tyronebcookin.com . Our plan is to get better as we do more. LOL!***
[JULY 2019] THANK YOU for following our journey these last two years as our family served with Mercy Ships! We appreciate your prayers, encouragment, financial support...We are so grateful for you partnering with us! -- We are now back in Alabama trying to transition back into our community. ~ The Barton Family

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Birthdays on The Ship!

One week has passed and I think I have finally recovered from Tytus’ Birthday party. It was the first kids birthday party I had to plan and I wish someone had warned me. Birthdays are a BIG deal here.

Tytus’ actual birthday was on Friday, March 2nd. He received little gifts throughout the day. Our door decorated with balloons and banners. Mr. Fred bought him a Fanta (orange soda) at the cafe. Twice serenaded with the "Happy Birthday" song. Once by Tyrone’s
dining room and galley team, and once by the crew after ringing the Birthday bell. It was so fun to see my son so celebrated he soaked it up! His sweet self loved it so much.


The next day was his party. He invited his class of 5 and Ezra’s class of 7. We had it in the Queen's lounge and it was all things Lego!! I spent the entire week preparing for the party. It is quite difficult planning a themed party in Africa. You either have to order things at least 3 months in advance or you have to DIY everything! I did a combination of both.

The big thing we did was make Lego gummies. I ordered silicone molds from Amazon in October. The hardest part was getting the Jello, gelatin, and corn syrup in Cameroon. Eventually, I gave up searching and paid crew mail prices ( $8/lbs) and my mom sent me 8 boxes of Jello in 4 different colors. It took FOREVER to make, but they were the hit of the party!
Unfortunately, Tyrone had a stomach virus the night before the party. He was sad to miss the festivities but I was sad I wouldn’t have his help. I still had a lot to do. Thankfully we live in a village (aka the ship). My dear friends dropped what they were doing and helped me pull off a great party. At one point there was green frosting all over the bathroom but we all lived. Sandy and Lee-Anne and I were exhausted afterward but 11 kids had a great time and Tytus said: “ My party was epic!”.
The things I learned my first go around was:
  • Birthday parties are big events and the invited kids are just as excited as the birthday boy. 
  • There aren’t a ton of things to do on the ship so every party is a big deal.
  • Don’t do things your not good at. I have never made a piñata but my friend Lisa has made many so she made Tytus the coolest Lego piñata ever!
  • It's better if you can scale the party down -OR- invite ALL the kids, or someone’s feelings will get hurt.  


Overall, it was so fun and I am glad Tytus got to experience the magic of ship Birthdays.

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