Star Wars Party!

Today was the big party day. I'm so glad that we decided to do it early in the day. I got up, got ready, then cleaned the house while Ian took the boys to get a donut. When they came home it was basically time to party. Here's how the timeline was a supposed to play out. Actual timeline differed. The games didn't take as long as I had planned for them and we were basically done by 11:30ish, but that was ok. Weston had a great time and I think the other kids did too.

10-10:15am- Gather, play in Weston's room, eat snacks.
This actually more or less happened. I was impressed that everyone was mostly on time, especially considering they came from Lehi, Ogden, Saratoga Springs, and Midvale.

Davin was a fan of the popcorn and M&M's we had for snack. Makenzie, on the other hand loaded up her plate with M&M's while telling Natalie that she didn't want any popcorn because it isn't really healthy. Funny kids.
10:15- 10:25- Play Light, Light, Saber.
This game is just like duck, duck, goose. For some reason the kids didn't really get it. They also couldn't seem to form a circle in the middle of the room, so there wasn't much room for running around the outside of the circle.

10:25-10:35- Play "Restore Order to the Galaxy" game.
I bought this game at the party store. I didn't blindfold the kids because I thought they were too little. They weren't. I should have used a blindfold. I did spin them before their turn and I think they still liked blowing up rebel star ships with their stickers.
10:35-10:45- Play musical chairs.
This was supposed to be a non-competitive version, but I didn't get it quite right. We put a picture of a different Star Wars character on each chair, then I picked one out of the hat and whoever was sitting on it was supposed to get a little prize and then be out, but alas, I forgot to get little prizes for this, so we ended up doing it more like traditional musical chairs with taking away a chair each time. It was ok. The kids had fun marching around the chairs like storm troopers to the Star Wars theme music.

10:45-11:10- Destroy the Death Star (pinata)
This was a big success. We had everyone put on their jackets and go outside to do the pinata. They loved hitting it with the lightsaber. It took about 4 rounds through the line before we finally let the kids just rip it apart with their hands. Darn indestructible Death Star.

Weston taking his best shot. He seriously could hardly wait in the line for his next turn. So much fun.
Davin took a turn near the end too. He barely nudged it, but he felt special.
In hindsight filling the pinata with individual bags of mini cookies wasn't such a great idea. The fruit snacks survived the beating just fine. Chips Ahoy, not so much.
11:10-11:30- Open presents.
Of course this was one of Weston's favorite parts of the party. He got some fun new things from his friends. He has already beat me once at Connect 4.
11:30-11:45- Do cake.
The lightsaber cake was a little bit of a process, but I was very pleased with how it turned out. It was my first attempt at a shaped cake and I think I'm glad I started with such an easy shape. At least Weston knew what it was and thought it was cool.
My friend, Natalie, was kind enough to share her cake with Davin. Mmmm.
11:45-12:00- Play in Weston's room. Say goodbye. May the force be with you!
We had a good time visiting with friends while Weston played with his new things in his room with the kids. He has some cute little friends. I am so glad that they were all able to come. We ended up with 9 kids (including Weston and Davin) and 8 adults (including us). It was a full house, but a big success.

Ian and Christian hanging out post-pinata.
One of many lightsaber duels, which we tried to confine to the bedroom. It looks like a close one between Lincoln and Kyler.
Weston with some of his friends. (Claire, Weston, Lincoln, and Bryce)
I am oh so glad that the party is now over, but I'm also oh so glad that we did it. Weston had a blast. And it was actually kind of fun making the pinata and the cake. I wish we had gotten a picture of all the kids together. I also wish that the games had gone a little more according to plan, but really no major complaints. A huge thanks to Tara and Natalie for helping corral and feed kids, and for taking pictures. :) I'm sure glad that Davin doesn't require as much fanfare for his birthday. I am going to go lay down on the couch now. For the rest of the weekend.