The birthday season wrapped up with Henry's party. It's a busy time starting in early February so it's with a sense of relief that his party sometimes goes a little too far.

Exhibit A: A papier mâché Death Star complete with twinkling "lights."

Exhibit B: 40 pool noodle lightsabers.

With all the chaos that was bound to occur, we opted to dump it on someone else. Nobody seems as capable of bringing order to overly excited younglings as the instructors at Henry's Tae Kwon Do dojang. Let's see them with 20 six year olds.

The party was a whirlwind of basic moves, lightsaber battles, and the destruction of the third Death Star by yet another upstart strong with the Force.

Most impressive was the way the instructors made the day fun for orange-stripe belts and those without any training. Even Clara was celebrated for being freakishly flexible. The best example of how they do this can be seen when the instructors get down on their knees to look right in the eyes of the kids they're talking to.

The only one that was crying at the end of the party was me. I can't believe I had a Death Star in my hands and my son destroyed it. I can totally identify with Darth Vader now.