The big FOUR!

As is usual with birthdays around here, Jack's 4th birthday celebration was a week-long affair.  First off, Aunt Sarah took Jack to the Lego store last Saturday to pick out the Lego Juniors Race Rally set and to go ride his balance bike at the park, just the two of them. 

The excitement of that gift had just started to wane when a box arrived from Grandma Janet and Grandpa Gary. It contained two big books and a fun oversized Thomas puzzle. Ryan and Jack worked together nicely to assemble it. 

The next day was Jack's actual birthday. I thought I'd be cute and put a candle in his breakfast oatmeal, but he totally lost his mind and ran screaming from the room. When he returned he insisted that his birthday was not until his party on Saturday and HOW DARE WE try to celebrate before that.

I gave him a gift of Tegu blocks, which may have convinced him that birthday celebrations weren't THAT bad, and he and Sam left for school.  

I have grad school on Wednesday nights this term, so Bill and Nancy offered to take Sam and the boys out for dinner that evening. Since I wasn't there, there are no pictures...

Jack is a big fan of Disney's Planes and we went to see Planes: Fire and Rescue this summer, so when I spotted Blade Ranger in a bag of toy vehicles at the thrift store, I knew he would be totally jazzed, so that was Dad's gift to him. 

When we were at the Lego build earlier this month Jack played with the Lego Juniors Police Station while Ryan built his airplane. He did not want to leave without the set, but I suggested that perhaps Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bill would get it for him for his birthday. 

Indeed, that it what he received that night at dinner and he was over the moon. Of course, Ryan was just as interested in playing with the set and was having a really hard time with the idea that his brother was getting attention and gifts and he wasn't.  Oh, it's so hard to be almost six years old...

Finally Saturday arrived, and Jack let me put candles in his oatmeal (but refused to smile for the camera). 

A few hours later we had a full house of friends and family enjoying the beautiful weather and our extensive toy collection. I planned a loose party theme around Duplos, bringing up our train table from the basement and spreading out the building blocks. I knew there would be some older kids and adults, so I picked up some Lego sets, too.

I did not go as theme-crazy as last year's Thomas party - I even went so far as to order pizza instead of cooking, which made life so much easier!

While the building sets were popular, a lot of the kids naturally gravitated to the playset and the garden - proof that kids really can entertain themselves with very little when given the opportunity. 

When Jack asked Sam to run the electric trains, suddenly every little friend was crowded into our former guest bedroom.

Finally, it was time for cake. Until he can plead his case otherwise, Jack will always get a chocolate zucchini cake - as his birthday falls at the same time the zucchini are taking over the garden.

It was about nap time for many of our small friends, so everyone packed up and headed out except for two families. We were having such a great time finishing off the snacks and drinking beer with the Zwyers and the Jensens - finally the boys are old enough to go off and entertain themselves for the most part and we were able to have adult conversations!

I can hardly believe Jack is already four (and that he's only four) and I'm excited to see what the year ahead brings us all.

Runnin' for Fun

Ryan's school hosts one fundraiser a year - a Fun Run. The kids are encouraged to get pledges and raise money based on how many laps they run. I love it because it's a healthy activity and I don't actually have to do anything - OR SO I THOUGHT. 

The kids all got these ridiculously adorable head bands.  The PE teacher outlined the basics, and they were off! The kindergartners' course ran 1/8 of a mile around the baseball field. 

To help the kids keep track of how many laps they ran, older students and parents were handing out Silly Bandz rubber band bracelets. Ryan finished his first lap, got his band, and said, "Whew! I'm TIRED! Let's go get a drink!" I explained to him that he needed to keep running, and the whining started immediately. 

Finally I suggested that he could walk a lap, and I would accompany him. That, of course, turned into running (I was NOT dressed for running, and it was HOT!) and we managed to run 7 laps together. 

At one point David grabbed my hand to run with us too, but obviously our pace was too slow because he was soon far ahead of us.

On the next lap, Andrew ran out and joined us, which was a pace I was happier to maintain.

Finally our time was up, and despite the physical exertion, Ryan was all smiles.

We went into the classroom to cool off and the kids posed for a group picture. 

Jena and I joined the boys for lunch in the cafeteria, which was fun.

Everybody was pretty tired from the running...

...except Andrew, who never stops being so cute.

Grandma Nancy pledged $1/lap for Ryan, and then she added $7 for the laps I ran, which Aunt Sarah matched. Sam doubled those pledges at $2/lap, so Ryan turned in $60 to support the PTA. The school ultimately raised $34,000, so I guess it was a successful fundraiser!