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Kai turns 7

Kai turns 7 at the end of June but as his friends start to scatter for the summer we thought it best to get his party done while there were still people to invite.   Work started well over a week in advance as the first layers of the paper mache Deathstar were laid down.  I ended up using Nora’s bouncy ball as a template so the thing had a diameter of almost two feet.   With such a large structure I needed to make sure it would stand up to a full load of candy so I put on several layers.  When the paper mache goes on it seems so flimsy.  I put on two coats of paper at a time and then effectively kiln baked it by letting it dry in the sun in the back yard.  In the end it was loaded with candy and the two halves connected with double layers. ((advice to anyone contemplating making a do-it-yourself pinata.  It is really pretty easy all things considered but never, never put chocolate based candy in a pinata that is going to spend any appreciable time outside in extreme heat))  As I was hanging it that morning I marvelled at the rock hard structure and thought to myself “there is no way a 7 year old gets through this”.   I was almost right.  After each one had a swing–and we went without blindfolds for the safety of bystanders–the Deathstar was still intact though cracks were starting.  I finished it off and gave it a good shake to distribute the candy well.  Many of the kids salvaged pieces to take home in their goody bags as trophies.

The Jedi robes were a hit and the kids loved that they could keep them.  With the rope belts they looked like nothing so much as Fransiscan monks.  When one of the dads picked up his son at the end of the party he looked at the kids playing turned to me quizzically and said “So……..monks?”    He did have a point but I would have thought the lightsabers were a dead givaway.  Monks don’t use plasma swords.   Nora definitely didn’t look like a monk though – the robes were all the same size so she was completely lost in her robe and was a spitting image of a jawa.

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Nora’s Dance Recital

Nora’s big activity this year was per-ballet dance class.  She’s really enjoyed it and her dance recital was this last weekend.  In the video below Nora is on the far left–she is the one dancing to a different drummer .

We are thankful that with such energetic spins no one near her got socked with a mermaid tail.  Towards the end she gets very distracted by something off stage.  Initially we thought the distraction was most likely an exasperated dance teacher wildly gesticulating for her to look forward and dance rather than stare off stage.  We did investigate though and found out the attraction was the next group of little girls lining up for their dance number.   They had maracas mind you so it was totally understandable.

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Pinewood Derby and First Grade Concert

Kai and Ben had a good time building his first Pinewood Derby car.  I need to dig up a picture of it, turns out I don’t have one to post.  It had a clone trooper motif and since the kids get to name their cars Kai called it TK421.  He wanted to go with “TK421 Why Aren’t You at Your Post?” but we couldn’t get it to fit on the car so we just went with TK421.  Some readers may get the reference.  He got some respectable times but once his wheels got out of alignment he dropped back to 5th place.   Nora also built a car, “The Flower” and took third place on her track.  The Cub Scout Troop does a good job of making family events where siblings can participate when possible.  She was home sick but Kai took care of her car during her races.

Some video of Kai’s grade 1 concert is below – stay tuned for a post with Nora’s dance recital.   Enjoy!

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