Sunday, September 11, 2016

Evan & Jaden's 5th Birthdays!

I have no excuse. Well, I have a lot of them: Evan, Jaden, Kylie, submitting materials for tenure/promotion, I could go on - but will spare you. This past year I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon; and no one ever said anything about it until yesterday! That was just enough motivation to decide to post. Instead of fretting over all the posts I have not written, I will start with where we are this month: Evan and Jaden turned 5!!

Labor Day weekend, we have traditionally met our families in Des Moines, IA- centrally located for all. This year we decided to rent a house in Rochester, MN. The logistics of the weekend, 12 people under one roof, went surprisingly well! The kids LOVED to play outside in the backyard, and of course, found a hose. A benefit of not being at a hotel. 



Grandma Pam knows somebody everywhere! One of her former students is a Rochester firefighter, and he gave us a tour of the Rochester Downtown Fire Station. Even the adults who were hesitant to come along, found the detailed tour very informative. The boys still talk about what they learned like 'stop, drop, and roll.'
 We (I) were very addicted to the Olympics this summer. What a better theme for a 5th birthday, than using the 5 rings of the Olympics! 
 The Evan & Jaden Olympic games included all of us competing in the Pentathlon!
 The final game in the Pentathlon was the Piñata! Evan, Jaden, and Cousin Elliot really enjoyed hitting the piñata, and of course loved the candy inside! Thanks, Auntie!

The little things: Stickers and Dinosaurs!!




Thinking about that wish......... 


Thanks to our family for making Evan and Jaden's 5th birthday so memorable! 


 Can you believe they are FIVE?!?!