Star Wars Day

May 4 - Did you know that May 4th is National Star Wars Day?  Well, it is!  I remember last year seeing some people post about it on Facebook and thinking that it would be fun to celebrate it at our house since Logan loves Star Wars so much.  But, of course when it came around, I was totally unprepared!  I had forgotten until I saw the same posts on Facebook again!  There was a little bit of time until Logan got home from school so the girls and I decided to surprise him.   Nothing fancy, but just a little something to mark the day for our Star Wars junkie! 

  Rylee got out all Logan's action figures and set them up on the dining room table.  She loves to make set-ups and thought this job was so fun!  She was really excited to surprise Logan.

And we hung up a couple signs....  Rylee wrote the first one.  It says "May the 4th Be With You".  Mine is in the middle and Avery's is on the far side... 

Rylee also made this drawing of her and Logan as Luke and Leia.  I love her drawings!  

Then we mixed up some cookie dough, but Logan got home before we made the cookies so he got to help.  When he came home from school, we were still finishing the signs so we locked him out for a bit and he was so confused!  I thought he would be so excited for our celebration, but at first, he was just bothered that the girls had been into his Star Wars stuff.  He eventually got a little more excited, but it wasn't quite the reaction I was hoping for.  Oh well!  Then we made some Star Wars cookies together! 

I bought these cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma for Logan's birthday last year, but the dough was kind of complicated and it didn't work when I made it and frosting these shapes was far too hard to get done with all the other party plans.  I had big ideas that I would use them another time, but I never had the motivation to give it a try again.  Making cookies is something that I have a little mom guilt over...  I am just not good at it and I don't love the mess!  And they never turn out!  Anyway, I found this recipe on a blog awhile ago and she used these cookie cutters and they turned out great without the stress of frosting them!  And...  they are CHOCOLATE , so its a win-win!  Anyway, they were super easy and the kids loved making the Star Wars characters - Yoda, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a Storm trooper.   The girls also threw in a couple girly cookies, like butterflies and hearts.

The kids with their finished cookies!  I can never get a picture I like of all of them together, so here are a few of the best of each of them. 

Maybe next year our celebration will be a little more put together!  Happy National Star Wars Day!  May the FOUR-th be with you!

First Gift of Christmas

Dec 1 - This year to start something fun, we made a countdown chain to Christmas. It wasn't just a countdown though. Each day had a special activity to do - sometimes it was a service project, sometimes it was something fun, sometimes it was something to help keep us focused on the real meaning of Christmas. A lot of them were things we do anyway, like read Christmas books or watch movies or go look at lights. We had a lot of fun with it. There were a few days when our project or activity didn't really get done... For instance, there was never any snow, so the build a snowman one wasn't happening! And for awhile we I was working on my fundraiser so much that a few of the items got overlooked. I wish I would have kept a better list of what we did do. We had a lot of fun doing it and I am excited to do it again next year! The kids loved picking off the chain and reading what we were going to do that day.

The first day on the chain was to open the first gift of Christmas! The kids were SO excited to get to open a present so early! The reason we did this is because when we were in Disneyland, we found a Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar and I knew Logan would LOVE it! But, I didn't want to have him have to wait until Christmas. So, we gave it to him early and gave the girls something small to open, too. We explained to Logan that he wouldn't get as much from Mom and Dad for Christmas since his BIG gift was this one, but he was fine with that. Especially once he opened it!
Logan and his giftHe was SO excited when he saw what it was! My kids LOVE those chocolate advent calendars you can buy at Christmas to count down, but he thought this was SO much better! He came home from school every day and got his chores done so fast so he could open that day's box. It was great!
Rylee got a new Princess bookAvery opening her present
Avery got a cute new Christmas book about gingerbread men.

YEAH!!! I LOVE December! And I LOVE Christmas and the big countdown! I think I am worse than my kids. There are so many fun things to do and so much time with the family. It is my favorite month of the year!

Jedi Training Party

June 28 - One more day of birthday fun for Logan! This time, it was with his friends! Logan said he wanted a Star Wars party and I found lots of fun ideas for a Jedi Training birthday. It turned out to be so much fun for the kids and I had a lot of fun planning it, too. First, were the invitations. The front had a picture of Yoda and said, "Master Yoda says, Attend Logan's 6th Birthday Party, You Must!" Then, the inside was in the official Star Wars font and read: "

In a galaxy far, far away...

a boy of destiny was born. The Jedi Council named him Logan. He was the Chosen One. In the six years that has followed his birth, he has been learning the powers of the Force. Master Yoda is urging the younglings to complete their Jedi training and take part in the upcoming trials at coordinates (our house address) on Tuesday, june 28^th at 3:00 pm. Your padawan’s presence is requested to complete his Jedi Training.

Please advise the Jedi Council

as to whether your Padawan will accept the challenge.

I made the invitations late one night and when Logan saw them the next morning, he thought it was pretty awesome! I love it when I win cool mom points! He was SO excited to have of his friends over and for them to all become REAL Jedi. Logan got all dressed and ready in his Jedi robes to welcome all his Padawan friends.

And, of course, he couldn't just smile and hold his lightsaber so he had to pull some crazy faces and poses with his lightsaber in true Jedi fashion. I didn't do a whole lot of decorating. I didn't really see a point with 6 year old boys since they don't pay too much attention to that stuff. Here is the cake and a few things I used.
We decided to dress up the girls, too. Since Logan was Yoda for Halloween, I already had this little mask and guess who made the CUTEST Yoda EVER??? Avery fit right into the party with her Yoda costume and she thought she was just as big as all the boys! We also had a Princess Leia. Perfect!!! My 3 JediAfter I tortured them with a MILLION pictures, we were REALLY ready for the party to start! First, we gave each Jedi their special robes and a lightsaber that we made from pool noodles. They turned out awesome and were so much fun for the kids. And I wasn't so stressed with all the lightsaber fighting going on over injuries and stuff getting broken. Then, we had them sit and listen to a little bit about becoming a Jedi. I didn't think this would go over very well, but they were all very into it. It was so cute! Next, they had to complete some Jedi training. Their first task was lightsaber training. In some of Logan's books about Star Wars, it talks about forms with your lightsaber. I think there are six of them and they are basically poses like the one Logan is striking above to use when fighting. Logan has all of them memorized and their names, so we first went through all 6 forms and Logan led the group in performing them. He was in heaven! I was so impressed that he actually knew all this stuff - some of the names were really hard! I was worried the other kids wouldn't listen to him, but he totally took charge and was even correcting some of the kids and was a pretty darn good teacher. Once again, I was a little worried the kids might think this stuff was nerdy or not want to do it, but they were SO into it and listened to every word Logan said! Here is the group going through their forms. Avery tried, too. I know I have to think she is cute since she belongs to me, but seriously! She is just SO darn cute!!! Logan showing off his movesAvery actually did do a pretty good job copying. She was hilarious! Looking so focused...The kids listening to their next assignment - Now they had to perform a lightsaber challenge! They had to use their lightsaber to bounce a balloon 10 times without it touching the floor. The original plan was to do this outside, but it was a windy day so we had to do it indoors and it was a little crowded, but they had fun and all succeeded! Gracie bouncing her balloon
Then, it was time for another Jedi mission - I loved how attentive they were when I would explain the next thing! They were really serious about becoming Jedis, I guess. The next mission was to free Han Solo from the carbonite, which was really a block of ice. We had 2 different Han action figures frozen in ice and 2 teams each with a bucket of warm water. They had to take fill a cup of water and run across the patio, dump it on Han and then run back and hand it to the next teammate. It was a pretty simple game, but it was one of Logan's favorite things of the whole day! Han is almost free...Han is out!
I couldn't resist taking pictures of this Jedi all day! She was SO cute and so funny!Next, we had the kids complete a Jedi obstacle course. The weather wasn't cooperating too well, so we kind of had to improvise, but the kids had fun and didn't really seem to know the difference. We started with a Pod Racer course where they had to race the Pod Racer (Wiggle Racer) around the cones on the patio. Then, they had to run across the rocks and get the soccer ball and test their aim by shooting the ball into the goal. Then, they had to cross the balance beam (by walking across the hose) and then climb the rock wall on the playground and slide down. The last and final mission was to destroy the Death Star (or this pinata...). I had planned to get a round one and spray paint it black to look like the Death Star, but we couldn't find a plain enough round one for it to work, so we ended up with this Star Wars one instead. The birthday boy - Everyone always loves a pinata, right?
Rylee taking a swing
That pinata was tough! We finally had some help from our dad and managed to crack it!
You should have seen little Yoda go crazy for the candy! She didn't know which way to go first! It was so funny to watch. She really wanted to eat what she had already picked up, but she wanted to get more, too. She seemed pretty conflicted! Lots of candy!
A sucker will always make Avery's day! She LOVES her candy! Lots of it broke when it hit the sidewalk and there were little pieces all over the driveway and she was finding little pieces and eating them for days afterwards. She would just sit in the middle of the driveway and eat them as fast as she could. A little gross, but so funny!
Once the Death Star was destroyed, the Jedi training was complete and they each received an official Jedi certificate. I found them on the internet and was able to edit them so that they had the kids' names on them. They turned out really fun and official looking! Logan's friend Morgan wanted to know what he could use his for - He thought it must get him in somewhere like a ticket or something. He was pretty funny about it.
Our cute little Jedi Knights! This is such a cute and fun bunch of kids! I love that we live in a neighborhood and ward with so many friends for our kids. Even though it was a lot of six year old boys they were very well behaved and fun to have over! Poor Gracie was the only girl besides Rylee and Avery, but she held her own against the boys and I think she had fun.
Back Row: Morgan, Gracie, Logan, Brayden and James Front: Tyler, Rylee, Spencer, Carter and SpencerThe kids went outside to play a little Jedi Vs Sith (a variation of Freeze tag) and Darren and I got all the treats ready. After the ceremony to make them Jedi Knights, it was time to celebrate! We had some of these yummy Yoda Sodas and cupcakes.
A Yoda Soda - It was lime sherbet with some marshmallow eyes and we used Laffy Taffy to make the other parts of the face. Then we poured Sprite on it. My kids thought it was the funniest name and we would use it for lots of things for awhile just to make each other laugh. I think they would have turned out a little better if we could have frozen the ice cream into balls first (like the recipe said...), but we didn't have enough room in our freezer. It turned out pretty cute though.
Ready for some cake and candle blowing!
The birthday boy!
Logan and Mom
Logan and Dad - I am SO glad that he was able to be there! So much more fun to have Dad around and he was a HUGE help for me! Happy Birthday To YOu, Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Dear Logan...
Making a wish and blowing out the candles...
Since the candles were so spread out, it took him a few tries.
The little party group before we cut the cake. Tyler, Spencer, Morgan, James, Logan, Carter, Rylee, Gracie, Brayden and Spencer
The cupcakes - Logan picked these out and had to have them for his party and since his cake wasn't quite enough for everyone, these worked out perfectly!
Logan with his BLUE lightsaber cupcake and Yoda Soda
This was the quietest part of the whole party - while everyone was eating!
Avery liked her cupcake, too
BLUE frosting is never the best idea!
After cake and Yoda Sodas, we unwrapped presents. Logan's friends were so cute and so excited to give Logan their gifts and Logan loved all the stuff he got! Watching the present opening
Reading one of his cards.

I love all the faces and how excited he gets!
MORE Star Wars Legos??? Are you kidding me? Logan got lots of fun things! He got 2 more sets of Star Wars Legos and also got a Hero Factory Lego set. He also got a set of Harry Potter legos and a Lego Star Wars tshirt. He got an awesome squirt gun for the pool that he loves and a Nerf gun set. And he got a really cool set of sea animals that his friend Spencer brought him back from Sea World.
Then it was time to send our guests home. They got to take home their Jedi robes and their lightsabers and some candy from the pinata and we also made these little party favors. They were the really long pretzels covered in blue chocolate and then the end was wrapped in foil so that it looked like a lightsaber. Logan is always telling his friends, "May the Force be With You...always" when they leave, so I thought this was appropriate.

What a fun party we had! I am glad that birthdays are only once a year, because they take so much effort and planning and a little bit of stress, but I love doing them! I think sometimes I get more excited than my kids! Logan is quickly following in my footsteps because he already has his next 2 parties planned - He says he is going to have a Harry Potter birthday next year and then a science and nature party. Such a funny kid! We are so glad Logan had a birthday and so glad that we have Logan! He is a special part of our family and we love him a lot!