Michael's Birthday

Michael turned 6 this year! (I just really can't believe he's already 6). Since it's an even year, we had a friends birthday party. I asked him what kind of birthday he wanted, and he said Lego Star Wars. Due to family events and commitments and fall break, the best day that worked for the party was smack dab on Michael's birthday. It made for a busy day, but that's okay. 

There aren't a lot of Lego Star Wars specific party favors, so we had to get a little creative. I found these sweet molds on Amazon of Lego bricks and others of Star Wars characters. Brian and I made little candies with the molds, threw some on some cupcakes, 

 Throw in some cupcakes, paint an eyeball pinata to look like the Deathstar, and Ta-Da!

I wanted to come up with a game from each episode in the Lego Star Wars Game. The first game: Free the Naboo pilots. I hid a picture of a pilot with each child's name on in inside our castle. So, they had to find their pilot, and then got to play in the castle until everyone arrived. 

Try as I might, I couldn't come up with anything for Episode II. So we skipped it and went straight to III. They had to get across the hot lava without falling in and burning up. They loved this!

 For Episode IV, we blew up white balloons and drew storm trooper faces on them. We told the kids that the storm troopers had invaded my ship, and they had to defeat them.

They each got a turn trying to hit one with nerf guns.  

 For Episode V, they had to use "the force" to carry Yoda back and forth across the yard in a relay race. It was a little windy, so we allowed them to use one finger to stabilize Yoda in the cup.

 Then, before I could stop them, (there were 13 kids!) they started attacking the "stormtroopers". And I thought, you know what? Why not. They were destroyed within 2 minutes, but they had a blast doing it.

 Lastly, for Episode VI, they had to destroy the Deathstar, once and for all. It was not an easy thing to do.

 I finally just had to toss them candy from the hole they were able to put into it when they knocked it off the string. Brian said I looked like I was feeding chickens and had to take a picture.

 Next, Michael opened his many presents, loving all of them.

 And then we sang Happy Birthday and had treats.

After the kids left, we took Michael out to eat. He wanted to eat at Cafe Rio, and we sure didn't argue!

I can't express enough how much I love this boy. He came crashing into our world and into our hearts, and we have never been the same since. He is smart, inquisitive, and soaks up everything around us. He constantly amazes us with his enthusiasm and zest for life. He is frustratingly independent sometimes, but he has one of the sweetest, kindest hearts. We live for his giggles. We laugh at his antics and creativity. And we melt with his hugs. Mostly, we're grateful and in awe that he is our son.