star wars party

... two little boys turned 5 and 2.
It was decided (by the 5 year old) that Star Wars was the way to celebrate.
Sometimes the Dark Side just calls...

The guests enjoyed this fancy light saber trick:

Alright, I will explain the magic.  They are reflector belts that Zach's dad uses in the army.
He sent them to us because they turn out so cool when you take a picture with a flash.  Thanks Nano!

The inside table was the Dark Side.

There was stuff to lure both kids and adults.

I made Storm Tropper Goodie Bags with Peg People on top:

The peg people were fun and fortunately I did them weeks in advance or they wouldn't have gotten done.  I also have a really good helper who loves to paint.

The Force was stronger outside.  But let's be honest.  Even though it had most of the food, this table was not nearly as tempting.  

There was also a table set up with coloring pages and light saber crayons.  The crayons were Jimmy's idea and he was very proud that he thought of it.

The Burch Jerks were in full spirit and all came in costume.  

R2-Dot2 was pretty cute, but Lucy as Queen Amidala was the most impressive for a last minute costume.

Finn was the best at posing though.

And this guy pulled out the Ewok cuteness once again:

After some playing and eating, it was light saber time.

Many thanks are owed on the above.  When I realized that pool noodles were out of season at the Dollar Store I couldn't find them for less than $2 anywhere which suddenly doubled my budget.  I am pretty cheap so I wasn't quite ready to splurge on that.  Fortunately, I told my friend Suzanne and she had a brain wave.  A friend of hers had a ton of them from when they re-did the Noodle Forrest at the Phoenix Children's Museum.  Since you cut them in half we had more than we could even use.  I made two and then my kind mother-in-law finished the rest.  Yay, for teamwork!  So glad we did it because they were the hit of the party.

Baabee-Wan Kenobi taught all the kids about using The Force for good.

Then Darth Vader came out to scare all the kids. 

Some ran away in fear and others attacked.

Here is how it ended:

Then they took hits at the Death Star Pinata. 

It was pretty tough and it took the oldest kid (my nephew Jack) quite a few hits to finally smack it open. 

The treats were scavenged enjoyed by all.

Then it was time for the Ewok and R2D2 cupcakes

(aka: the reason I was up until 1:00 am the night before)

Not as fancy as some of the pictures I had seen on Pinterest, but I kind of think it is silly to make really fancy cupcakes for a kid's party.  Most kids would rather scarf them down than stop to admire the time and artistry you put into them.  Next year I am just smearing frosting on the top and getting that extra couple hours of sleep.

 Man, who am I kidding?  There is one kid that cares and I have a big weakness for him.
He was very pleased:

My other kid will eat anything sweet, including Dot.

I was happy that I pulled together a few group photos

... even if I couldn't get the Ewok to put down the gun. 

Gosh, I love my dorky little family!

May The Force Be With You.