Birthday Boy

Today is the big day. Our Pook turns 6! I made the drive to Raleigh this morning to get us some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and when I got back everyone was already awake. We had Brenna spend the night for fun and for her to help with the party. Everyone enjoyed Krispy Kreme, Noah opened his presents, and then they went off to North Cary Park for the party.

Swordfighting on the Wii

The theme of the party was "Jedi Academy." Everyone was greeted with a name tag and the title "Padawan." They were then presented with a light saber (half a swim noodle with duct and electrical tape to simulate a handle), which they got to decorate. 

They then had their training with the light sabers. This consisted of keeping a balloon in the air with their light sabers. After that they had to find Yoda to complete their training. This was a scavenger hunt with clues hid around the park. Lily and Brenna were key for this part, particularly in guarding Yoda on top of the climbing rock. Noah said that this was his favorite part of the party.

After that the boys dueled with the sith lords. In this case, they were Lily and Brenna who sported double-sided red lightsabers (whole swim noodles). Word is that Noah's friend from church Abel was the best at dueling as he really got his blade moving fast. They all had a great time with that.

Next, they had a pinata of Darth Vader's head. I guess it didn't last too long, but everyone had fun with it. I'm not sure who dealt the fatal blow, but everyone enjoyed the little treats inside.

Finally, they had pizza and cupcakes. It ended with the presentation of their diplomas as "Jedi Master." They also got a T-shirt with the jedi logo on it. 

As you might imagine, Amanda is pretty tired now. Noah is enjoying his unlimited Wii. I'm working from home and fighting the urge to play Wii with Noah.

Pomp and Circumstance

Noah had his kindergarten celebration today. He did all the same songs as Lily, but without as much gusto. We sat too far back to get decent footage of "Thank You." He did do a little hip action, but nothing like Lily. Still, he did sing all the songs and did the hand motions pretty much in sync with everyone else. 

This is a photo of Noah getting his "diploma" from Ms Snoots. He is the second Chamberlain to spend a year in her class. We are hoping he ends up with Mrs. Turner next year. 

Weekend Activities

We had a fun, but very busy weekend here. On Friday night I took Amanda out to see Star Trek in IMAX 3D. I was a little skeptical since I'm more of a traditional Star Trek fan, but it was quite good. Seeing it in 3D was really something. I spent most of Saturday painting. While Noah and I listened to and watched the Indians game the girls took a long walk with Oreo. Later, we went to see the finals for the NCAA Division II baseball tournament. There we saw the University of Tampa whoop up on Minnesota State. There were fireworks at the end, which Noah didn't think too much of. We got to see a few unique things at this game:

1. There was about a 15 minute delay because some of the lights went out.
2. We got to see a great dogpile when Tampa squeezed the last out
3. Some of the fireworks went off sideways and started a small fire in the landscaping behind the right field wall

Overall, it was a great time. Noah and his friend Nathan hung out and didn't watch much baseball. Nevertheless, they had fun. Lily and Rachel enjoyed getting their faces painted too.

A "selfie" Lily took in the car

Lily's flower just before demolition

Of course, this made for a late bedtime, but it was worth it. Everyone slept in this morning. We had breakfast, had a fine time at church, and then came home. I did more painting and the girls took another walk. Noah stuck with the whole game even though the Indians got bludgeoned today (final score 11-3).

Amanda suggested we have a family movie night, which we all embraced wholeheartedly. We watched the Karate Kid. Noah got really excited when Daniel landed the fateful kick on Johnny's chin.

I'm glad that I have the kitchen ready to be painted when the painters come on Wednesday, but it was still a lot of work. I did the trim to save us a lot of money. At their suggestion, I did it before they put color on the walls so I could be messy with the paint. I still have to paint the doors in the kitchen hallway, but I have made terrific progress. I think I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow so I can rest.