"Star Wars Theme"

by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra

(no lyrics)

I hope you all like my "blog soundtrack." It is in dedication to Spencer. :)

On August 9th we had his birthday party here at the house. He turned 7 years old. It was a BLAST, but was SO worth it and he LOVED it! He had 7 kids who came. 2 cousins, one from each side, and then 5 boys from the ward. A few of the kids he invited were not "usual friends" of his, just kids from his primary class and it was really fun to have them come because I think it made them better acquainted with eachother. Spencer has been wanting to be better friends with them so it was a great opportunity to get to know them better and vice versa.

So all the kids showed up and we had them put their presents in a laundry basket in the kitchen. They were each told to bring their lightsabers so they played with those for a while. Then they came into the family room and we played a little game where I stuck tape to their back that said a Star Wars character and they had to ask the other kids yes-or-no questions to figure out who they were. Then we introduced all the kids to my nephew James. James went on to tell them that he's Spencer's cousin but there's one thing that Spencer doesn't know about him: that he is a real Jedi! :) The kids thought that was pretty cool and throughout the whole party kept asking him questions about being a Jedi and if he can force things, etc. Spencer kept changing his mind about whether or not he believed us that James was a Jedi, but a few nights later up at my parents house James did a flip and some other acrobatic type things on the lawn and that definitely convinced Spencer! :)

Next we had the kids go outside and play "Pin the buttons on Darth Vader" on the garage door. Here are a few pictures:

Here's Caleb sticking his "buttons on." I liked that we got Spencer's cute face in this picture.
Even my brother Jeff participated! :) He got to be there for the whole party because he brought his son John. It was really great cause Jeff and his family live in Kansas and it just so happened that they'd be here on the weekend we were having the party. John is Spencer's age so it worked out perfectly. It was great to have them here. I love you Jeff!

After that we all headed back inside to open presents. But OH NO...when we went into the kitchen, the presents were GONE! The laundry basket that had once been filled with presents was now full of balloons (or what looked like balloons...we were soon to find their true identity). On the front of the basket there was a picture of Darth Vader. Upon removing the picture we discovered a note on the back. It read:

The presents I've stolen as you can see
If you want to find them you first must find me.
By the powers of the Dark Side they are concealed
You must use the Force to make them revealed.
These Wookie made orbs from the planet Kashyyk
You must destroy to find what you seek.

The kids proceeded to take their "orbs" into the family room where they tried every means possible to "destroy" them (aka sitting on them, bouncing on them, stepping on them, jumpping on them, etc.) until they were all popped. Inside each "orb" was a puzzle piece when put together made a larger picture of Darth Vader. We taped the pieces together and turned it over to reveal another message! It said:

Now you must travel down below,
But beware of the red crossfires of your foe.
Touching the web is what you must avoid.
Your next clue is hidden within an asteroid.
Each asteroid will hold a special surprise,
But whoever finds the clue will get a big prize!

The kids ran downstairs to find the entertainment room engulfed in a "web" of laser beams (aka red yarn strung across the room). They had to make their way through the yarn attempting not to touch it to find the asteroids (aka balls of aluminum foil) that were hidden all over the room. Within each "asteroid" was some candy and one of them held a clue. The next clue read:

Turn around 5 times and walk backwards if you are able,
Then take a seat around the party table.
It’s time to relax and enjoy a birthday treat
So sit down, eat up, and stay off of your feet.

We all went upstairs and I dished up the cake. They all thought the cake was awesome! :)

I worked really hard on the cake and I think it turned out pretty well! I found some pictures on the internet and just did it all from scratch. I looked all over for a cake mold in the shape of Darth Vader or at least SOMETHING Star Wars themed but there was nothing to be found except online and there they cost like $20.00 or more and there was no guarantee I'd get it in time. So I had to just do it myself! I just did it in a 9x13 inch cake pan and then cut the cake into the shape of Darth Vader. I cut out the top triangular part and then used the scraps to make the bottom part. Then I just used frosting to do the rest. The little stars all over were a little difficult but I thought it ended up looking pretty cute. I had to build up the frosting for dimension in areas so it was sure a rich cake, but I was pretty dang proud of myself for how it turned out!

After they had all finished their cake I "discovered" another Darth Vader picture with a clue on it under the cake plate! It said:

Next you must go to where the cars park
to find an R2D2 lookalike out there in the dark
Destroy him with all your Lightsaber hits
To open him up and uncover his secrets.

Out in the garage the kids found this pinata! Check it out!




Mike spent hours upon hours and nights on end working on this pinata. He made it all himself, starting with a balloon, some cardboard, paper, newspaper, a little flower and water! Spencer was soooo thrilled with it and just thinks Mike is the COOLEST EVER! I agree. :)

We took the pinata down in the the salon room and the kids took swings at it with their lightsabers. There was so much candy in it, and also, (who would've guessed?) another clue! It said:

You must learn what you can from your Jedi friend
If you hope to end up defeating me in the end
Learn using Lightsabers and the power of The Force
Then make your way through the Jedi Training Course.

Next everyone grabbed their lightsabers and headed outside. Out on the lawn we had set up a huge "Jedi Training Course" complete with a tunnel and a Darth Vader target! But first they were to learn from their "Jedi Master." James took them over into a corner of the yard where he taught them all the moves to use on their opponent. He did an awesome job with acting the part and using all the right language, etc. It was awesome. The routine they did went like this:
Activate!
Cut to the right shoulder,
Left leg,
Left shoulder,
Duck,
Now to the right leg,
Left shoulder again,
Now cut to the head!
Deactivate.
James made it sound cooler than that, but that was about how it went. :) All the kids were into it and having a ball, but no one was into it quite like my nephew John! He was yelling out the commands right after James did and was taking it so seriously! It was so great! After they completed that it was time to do the training course.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the course which I am totally mad about but you'll just have to try to imagine it with me. First the kids walked across a balance beam (seen in some of the "training" pictures above). Then they hopped through a set of rings set up sortof like the tires on an obstacle course. Next they ran in a circle around these foam things (Spencer insisted upon that part...) then ran as fast as they could and made a big jump or leap over a net. The net had a bar on the top so did not bend under their weight and the top of it could barely be stepped over without hitting them between the legs so they really had to jump to get over it! Next they crawled through a blue tunnel (thanks to my sister Kristy) and then had to jump into a hoop and go down through it, then summersault through another hoop! After that they grabbed 3 water balloons, stepped up on some stairs and had to attempt to through their water balloons through another hoop and hit the picture of Darth Vader on the other side! The kids were timed and the fastest one got a special prize. Each of the kids got a gold medal after they completed the training course. While they went through the course the Star Wars theme song was playing. It really added to the mood.

As James was passing out the last of the medals, the music changed to the Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme)...The kids turned around to see Darth Vader in all his glory walking through the gate into the yard! AHH! :) James told the kids to hurry and get their lightsabers and ACTIVATE! Next each kid got the chance to fight Darth Vader with the moves they had learned in training. It was really fun to see each kid in their element fighting Darth Vader with a little of their own flair added in! :) You could hear Darth Vader breathing. It was pretty creepy! :)

The best was when my nephew John got to fight Vader because he took no regard to what he had just learned in training and just WENT AT HIM with all he had! After each kid had fought him James stood with the kids all together. He told them all to ACTIVATE their lightsabers. Then he said something to the affect of "When we stand together the Force is so strong." Then looking at Darth Vader, "I suggest you leave." Then Darth Vader ran towards the fence. With the encouragement of my brother saying, "JOHN, GET HIM" John proceeded to chase him down whacking him with his light saber and all the other kids followed suit. Vader was pretty lucky he got out of the gate without any of the kids on his tail!

After Darth Vader took off the kids ran back inside and (low and behold) there were all the presents in a laundry basket in the middle of the family room! Spencer opened all his presents and wished each kid something special. He loved all his gifts (I think ALL of them were Star Wars themed) but surprisingly enough, I think his very favorite present was this little Star Wars tie fighter that his cousin Brennan made him out of Perler Beads. :)

All in all it was a complete success! I stressed and fretted over this party for so long, mostly I'm just glad it's over! But I want to give a big thanks to everyone who helped me out to make this party awesome namely my sister Kristy for letting me borrow props, my parents for doing the same, my sister Stephanie for giving me awesome ideas, James for being such a great Jedi Knight, and especially thank you to Darth Vader for making this party unforgettable! :)