Star Wars birthday, take two

Calvin enjoyed his Star Wars party last year so much that he asked to do it again this year. The 6th birthday celebration on the weekend with his friends concluded a full week of festivities -- it was enough that Finn asked, partway through, "When is Calvin's birthday going to be over?"

Now that it is over, I have to say -- it might have been the best birthday ever. Calvin's imagination was in overdrive, his hopes were high, and his appreciation was sincere. He enjoyed it immensely and managed to be a patient big brother and gracious party host. (Lots of photos here; for even more, click here.)

Calvin spent a good part of the 16th carefully assembling a giant Lego fireboat, a souvenir from Disneyland and gift from Jon and Jenn. We spent hours in the park, enjoying fun with longtime friends at a picnic -- part of our weekly cooking playdate.



And in the afternoon, I baked a castle cake. Calvin took charge of decorations, adorning it with gumdrops, M&Ms, knights, and even a dragon. He was very proud.



For his party, I gently turned down his initial request for another R2-D2 cake. The next idea, Darth Vader, was too evil for my taste. So we agreed on Boba Fett. (If you're asking who that is, you're probably a girl. He is a peripheral bad guy, the one who takes Han Solo. Boys love him.) Calvin picked a few things from the Star Wars cookbook (thanks, Megan!), made signs for each dish, and donned an apron with Finn to make Wookiee Cookies.



We played musical chairs to the Star Wars theme.



We freed Han Solo from his block of solid carbon (well, ice, in our case). We battled Darth Vader.



(He's a lot smaller in real life than I had expected.) Then we smashed up a Vader pinata head and moved on to cake.



There followed a lot of chasing, some magic potion-making, present-opening, dress-up, and goody-bag savoring. At some point, we lost power, so we took our little superheroes out to dinner.



And then we all collapsed, happily exhausted, and feeling grateful for good friends and joyful celebrations.

(But not before Calvin and Finn began planning next year's Star Wars parties...)