Five Year Old!

It is another warm, beautiful night on the Plains, unusually nice weather for November.  We will definitely enjoy it while it lasts.  It has been a busy week for us, highlighted by Asher's fifth birthday!  His birthday was yesterday, but today he says he still doesn't "feel five".  He had a great birthday!  The festivities started last week, with his birthday party for his friends. We had it at the Raccoon River Nature Lodge, which is a great place for a party.  They provided the cake, the activities, and a great employee to lead the party.  He led the kids outside in the twilight for a nature scavenger hunt, then we had games, crafts, cake and presents.  The coolest part (I thought), was when he brought out a toad, two snakes, a turtle, and a rabbit for the kids to pet.  The kids loved the animals, especially the snakes, and it was fun watching them (the snakes) eat bugs and worms.  It wa also fun watching Asher with his friends, all of whom have the same wacky sense of humor and 4-5 year-old enthusiasm.

Sarah and Eva outside of the lodge

Woohoo!  Birthday cake (#1)!

We spent a low-key weekend, mostly at home.  We went shopping the brand-new Trader Joe's in West Des Moines.  I already love that place!  We got a lot done around the house, too.

Asher's actual birthday was Tuesday.  We had a special dinner, ate birthday cake, and opened some awesome presents from family.  Asher is so excited about all his new stuff!

Woo-hoo Birthday cake! (#2)

Eva loves cake, too

Asher's proud little sister

During the month of November, I'm growing a moustache as part of something called "Movember".  Movember is a month-long, worldwide effort to increase awareness of men's cancers, and to raise money for research.  Hundreds of thousands of men started on Movember 1st clean shaven, and we are all growing moustaches throughout the month.  It's kind of fun!  Here's a link to my mo-space page if you are interested in learning more.  The moustache is growing in slowly but surely.  Someday, Sarah might even start liking it. Here's a progress update:

Movember 1st

Movember 10th