Paintball Party Bus!

Paintball Party Bus? You read that correctly.  A party bus!  LOL!  Originally, I had planned to have a chauffeur pick up the cool teenager and all of his friends in a HUMMER LIMO. I was so excited about it. As the party was nearing, Ty was asking for details and since the party was NOT a surprise, I shared that detail with him. He IMMEDIATELY shut it down. I was shocked, but he saved me an INSANE amount of money, so... I'll take it. How else would Darren and I transport (18) boys, 45 minutes away? We didn't want to inconvenience each of the boy's parents.  Plus, the party time was early and parents would still going to be at work.  

SO......... drum roll.... we went from a Hummer LIMO to an ENTERPRISE RENTAL VAN.  [Insert the crying emoji here]. Truthfully.... it was actually a really nice van. A tad nerdy on the outside, but definitely swag on the inside.  

Lilah was obsessed with this thing.  She even asked if she could sleep in it that night.  Oh me!

YES!!! I decorated it.  I teetered on the idea because this is a CRITICAL age and I do NOT desire to humiliate my child teen. BUT... come on.  A party bus is NOT a party bus WITHOUT decorations. [Insert laughing emoji here].  

Thank you FIVE BELOW for the adorable balloons! One balloon read, "Party Don't Stop Here!" And that balloon was RIGHT!  The party was heading to Riner, VA to play paintball at WolfsRidge Paintball.

AND being the boys were going to be picked up from school, by us, hadn't eaten since 12:30 p.m., and weren't going to eat dinner until about 7:00 p.m., I had a decorative, snack bag waiting on them.

The snack had TONS to do with the game "FortNite".  I desired for the snack to be fun, but you know me... also HEALTHY. So the snack bag was BOTH-AND. I bought royal blue bags, yellow balloons, balloon sticks, and printed a tag that read "DROP!"  It was supposed to represent a defender, parachuting down from the sky, with all his LOOT in tow.

I am generously sharing this free printable with you.  Click here to print!

I completely came up with this idea on my own.  Below is the list of items that I put into the bag along a description of what each item was supposed to represent.  

I sent the boys a text message, 5 minutes before school let out, that read:

"Good afternoon boys!!! Your battle bus driver will be there shortly.  Please behave like respectful defenders until he arrives.  When you enter the battle bus, you will see a snack bag waiting for you! I have associated each snack item to a fortnite term or "loot".  Enjoy feasting and fuel up to prepare for battle.  Please keep your battle bus clean.  Use your blue bags to store your trash.  See you soon. Signing off, Sergeant Kristin!"

Slim Jims or Missles

Pixy Stix or Gun Powder

Mini Pretzel Sticks or TNT/DYNOMITE

Bazooka Gum or Bazooka Guns

Halo Cuties or Halo Guna

Planters Peanuts or Ammo

Gushers or Cannon Balls

String Cheese or Rescue Rope

I adhered the balloon to the stick and then taped the stick to the bag!

I also inserted the party itinerary into the bag because I am not sure each boy saw it to begin with.  

Each bag was placed, in a seat, on the party bus.

I truly am not trying to toot my own horn, but COME ON... this is pretty dang fun/cool.

The best part... I went to the paintball facility 2-hours in advance to decorate, so poor Darren had to drive the battle bus and arrive, to the school, with it all decked out in birthday decor. He had to drive that thing with (18) wild and crazy boys.

Thank you to Christina Pierce for taking the photos for me, as the boys entered the bus from school.  

These are the days to remember.  So much fun! So many good times and laughs are made on a bus filled with your best friends.  

If you are dying to see more, enjoy the youtube video below.

Oh by the way, I recorded a little bit of my drive to Wolf's Paintball.  I know... bad girl, but  the drive was so gorgeous I wanted a memory of it.