Sack Races

We went to a birthday party for two kids in a family we are good friends with. It was a windy day but we still had lots of fun eating hot dogs and playing games. 

We discovered Zeke is a stellar sack racer. It must be because he is a good jumper. 

He did 3 races and won all 3 times. It helped that he was one of the oldest kids there. There were a couple of times that the older kids in the group gave him some good competition, but he always pulled ahead in the home stretch.

Falling across the finish line, all alone in first place.

Nora wasn't a fan of the sack races. After one try she was ready for other things. She got her face painted

And then spent the rest of the game time in the ball pick-up game. 

And mom and dad had fun watching the kids play. Everyone had so much fun that the party went longer than planned and we almost forgot about opening presents! 

Zeke's Pizza Party

We celebrated Zeke's 8th birthday with a fun octopus cake

and a stack of pizzas

and some wonderful friends

 and train rides. The train was an unexpected bonus (thanks Grandpa!)

After a lot of playing outside, some pizza, and some more playing outside, Zeke opened presents and we had cake/cupcakes and ice cream. Some people made root beer floats, and grandma and grandpa brought rice krispie treats too.

Then it was back outside for more playtime until parents came. And - surprise! - the sprinklers turned on! Everyone screamed and some ran away, but most everyone came back to play in the sprinklers and it turned into kind of a pool party. Not what I had in mind for 8 pm in early May, but they had a blast!

A few of them left soaking wet, and very happy!

Happy, happy 8th birthday to my wonderful Zeke! He is an awesome student and really works hard to do well. He has a bit of a perfectionist streak in him, which both drives him and frustrates him at the same time. For the most part it works for his good. He treasures his [limited] free time when he can play games on the computer, play board games, build tracks for trains, race hot wheels cars, go on bike rides, and play outside. One of my favorite things to do with him is snuggle in at bedtime and read together. He makes me laugh and I love him more everyday!

Summer Ends and School Begins

We had a fun backyard fire and hot dog roast with our good friends the Staceys on the 24th of July.

Mmmm, cupcakes with pink frosting

And Nora went to her first birthday party for a friend from church.

Then school started! We're a month in and doing fine. Zeke is a 2nd grader. He likes it, and I really like his teacher.  

Nora is a preschooler. She loves it and wishes she could go everyday!

Zeke's Birthday

Zeke partied 3 days in a row for his birthday this year. The first day was not his party, but a birthday party for a friend. Nora kind of weaseled her way into that party too (with the blessing of the hosts!) and they both had a great time. 

The next day was a family party. I had visions of making a layer cake with something pirate-y on top, but in the end we opted for cupcakes with pirate flags. I'm so happy with how they turned out!

Zeke got fun presents - several books, some clothes and some summer toys. 

And two new beyblades - he was hoping for those!

And, on the third day, we invited his friends over for a movie party. We had plans to watch Planes and eat popcorn, but the kids were happier to eat popcorn, run around, and play. We had the movie on in the background and popcorn everywhere - and fun was had by all. 

After the movie we did presents, followed by cupcakes with Dusty Crophopper flags. 

It was such a fun friend party. I was a little nervous because we had never done this before, but it turned out to be a smashing success. I loved getting to know his friends and meet their parents. Lots of fun for me too!

And- Zeke lost his first tooth a few days before his birthday, and his second about a week after. A great present for a 7 year old.

This is the Place

Friends from Colorado invited us to spend the day with them at This is the Place Park. 

It was a fun day of investigating old buildings, watching blacksmith and cabinetry demonstrations, catching up over lunch and ice cream, and letting the kids get to know each other better. 

The 'train' was a big hit with the kiddos. 

  

I think Zeke and Nora could have ridden the miniature railroad all day. 

  

It was a fun outing, thanks to the Giffords for inviting us! 

Leafy Fun

Zeke, Nora, and all of their neighborhood friends have had tons of fun in the leaves. On this afternoon, they came straight from riding bikes and scooters as soon as Aaron came out with the rake. 

Nora very literally jumps into the pile of leaves. I don't know how she lands on her bum like she does; I guess the diaper makes a difference! Notice the bare feet..... typical. 

Cute leafy kids. Grown up a lot from last year's photos (here and here)!

And, of course, leaves in the hair. By this point the leaves were well used and pretty crushed. 

Zeke and friends had a leafy 'Celebration!' Nora thought it was hilarious. 

Easter Egg Hunt with Friends

On Easter Monday we got to spend a gorgeous spring day outside with friends. We had a barbecue, played, hunted Easter eggs, ate strawberry shortcake, strengthened friendships, and played some more.

Zeke counted out his eggs all by himself and proudly declared he had found 16 eggs. 

Nora wasn't interested in counting eggs and abandoned her yellow basket to go slide some more. 

Nora played and played until she just couldn't take it anymore, and she fell asleep in the swing. So sweet! 

When it was time to head home for dinner we were sad to go. I'm so glad we have started getting together more often.

The quote of the day belongs to Zeke. Not long before Nora fell asleep, the kids were swinging and sliding and the moms were sitting nearby chatting. Valerie said something about monkey bars, and Zeke replied 'I don't like monkey bars, I like granola bars.' :)

Whirlwind Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend was a very crazy one. It started Friday, when we got through our workday as fast as possible and headed to Swiss Days for dinner, because we knew we wouldn't have another chance for Swiss Days food this year. Zeke and Aaron had knockwurst and I had Swiss chicken to share with Nora. We also got a scone, mostly for Nora but also to share. It was all so good. We walked there and back to avoid the traffic, which I love. I don't get nearly enough walks with Aaron these days. (And it has the added bonus of burning off some of those Swiss calories!)

Saturday was mass insanity. Our calendar square for September 3rd was literally filled with fun things to do, and that didn't include the errands we had to run. We started early with the Swiss Days parade. Zeke again rode the Loertscher train in the parade.

I was hoping Nora would be willing to ride too, but she woke up extra early so she was extra ready for a nap by the time the parade started at 10. Plus Zeke was riding with Ashlynn, and I didn't think she would be willing to ride with anyone else. She did try out the engineer's seat, both by herself and on Grandpa's lap.

Aaron and I walked the parade with the train, with Nora in her stroller. She zonked out pretty much immediately, and slept the whole parade. It was really a good thing because she got a nap in before our next adventure.

After the parade, we ran some errands and then headed to my high school reunion. They provided lunch, which was awesome because we hadn't stopped for that yet. I was a little disappointed that the turnout was tiny, but I enjoyed catching up with those that were there.

Zeke was thrilled to get a balloon and run around outside for a while.

As we were reunioning, the planes from the air show kept passing overhead, and Aaron and Zeke entertained themselves by chasing planes and taking pictures while Nora and I chatted with the other moms and kids.

When the reunion started to wind down, we headed over to the air show before going on an ultra-quick trip to the grocery store before dinner with friends. A huge thank you to Aaron's parents, who not only let us have our party in their backyard but also got all of the lawn furniture ready. Also to Aaron, the grill master, who did a great job cooking the chicken. This was probably not the best weekend to host a party! Truly though, the party was scheduled first and everything else filled in after. I wasn't as prepared or organized as I had hoped to be, but was a lot of fun. We all left saying we need to do this more often!

Sunday after church we headed out to meet some friends who were in town from Colorado. They treated us to a barbeque (we brought this fruit salad) and then we went outside to play and visit. Aaron got these great pictures of the kids loving the swingset.

Monday we scheduled as a stay-at-home day. We slept in, cooked French toast, stayed in our pajamas until after noon, watched our new favorite show (The A-Team) on hulu, gave the boys well-overdue haircuts, and generally enjoyed having a day with no set plans. I think I need a stay-at-home day every week!

Playing Indoors

Some of our college friends were in town for Christmas so we all went bowling. We haven't gotten together for probably five-ish years. It was a night of triple-family fun! We watched the kiddos play on the indoor playground while we waited for our turn to bowl.

Zeke was hesitant to go down the slide for a while, but he finally made it.

And then he couldn't get enough of it. We had to drag him away to go bowling, and he wasn't at all happy about it. Once he learned what bowling was, though, he was hooked. Playing one game was just not enough for him. Some of the adults took some turns, but for the most part we just let the kids go for it.

Zeke even had his very own cool bowling shoes (thanks again Melissa for 'sharing' a kids game with us!).

After bowling the kids got to go down the slide one more time (I think Zeke actually went twice, because he got out of reach before we could catch him). We pretty much carried Zeke out kicking and screaming, he was having so much fun and didn't want to leave.