Alex's Star Wars Birthday

Alex had a super cool Star Wars birthday party last Saturday. He invited several friends from church and school and was so excited when his cousins from Columbus also came for his party. As everyone arrived, they were adorned with a Jedi cloak (I made 10 really simple Jedi cloaks the week before). We played several games including--- 1- Pin the Light Saber on Darth Vader; 2- Light Saber Toss game (like hot potato); 3- Jedi, Jedi, Darth Vader (duck, duck, goose); 4- Use the Force game (keep your balloon off the ground the longest); 5- Darth Vader's Secret Treasure Mission Game in which I told the kids, "Darth Vader has stolen a secret treasure and hidden it all over the galaxy (our backyard). It is up to the Jedi's to save the day and find the treasure! But be careful - A Sith Lord might find you and stop you!" Spencer ran around in the backyard with his black cloak and tried to stop the kids from finding the treasure. They loved it! I think it was everyone's favorite game.

For lunch, we served "alien face" pizza, light saber sticks (pretzel sticks), moon rocks (grapes) and Yoda soda (lemon-lime soda tinted with green food coloring). We also had really fun cupcakes decorated with C3P0, R2D2 and Darth Vader rings. I think the kids had a really fun time. I hope it will be a special memory for Alex.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the party. Jessica was my assistant during the party. She helped keep the kids in order and explained some of the games during the party. Spencer really enjoyed chasing the kids around while they were finding the treasure. Joshua drew the Darth Vader poster. And the night before the party, Kim helped me decorate, color the Darth Vader poster, frost cupcakes and get the "treasure" ready for the party (candy wrapped in foil).I couldn't have done it without any of you. Thank you, thank you!

On Monday, I took some cupcakes to Alex's school for his birthday. I was going to make them on Sunday night but fell victim to a really bad migraine around 9pm. I'm so grateful Kim was here! She really saved me and spent several hours making 30 cupcakes for Alex's class. THANK YOU SO MUCH KIMMIE! Every time she comes to visit, she always saves me. Last time she helped me when I hurt my foot last June!

We had a family party for Alex on Monday night. Jessica, Josh and I made Alex's favorite dinner. He wanted breakfast for dinner which included pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage and bacon, but he mostly just wanted the sausage. He loves sausage!! Then he opened presents -- We gave him a new Nintendo DS, just like Spencer and Jessica have -- and he also got several games to go with it ("Ultimate Spiderman" from us and "Mario Cart" from Grandpa and Grandma Wiliams). When he opened the box that contained the game system, it was empty. He didn't say anything, just gave a confused look that said - "What's going on here?" I joked with him and said, "Just kidding. I guess you don't get a DS after all! You'll have to wait until Christmas!" He looked back and forth at Josh and I for a minute trying to figure things out, and then said, "You're just kidding, aren't you?" We didn't tease him for long and assured him it was in a different room where it was charging so he could use it right away. He thought it was a funny joke even though he was a little confused for a moment. Besides the DS and games, he also got some Spiderman action figures and a Darth Vader costume from Grandpa and Grandma Dyal to wear at his Star Wars party. It was a fun birthday weekend for Alexander! One I know he'll always remember.

Thanks to those that remembered his birthday with phone calls and presents! It really made his birthday a lot more special.