So Them

I was snapping shots of the kids this afternoon and these pictures strike me as just being so them. I think they really capture their personalities right now.

Birthday Party!

Stian had his birthday party today. It was a tad crazy having a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds running around the house. We did have to kick them outside at one point. But mostly they were really good, if a little noisy.

We had the Mad Science people come and do some experiments with them, which the kids enjoyed. But I think mostly they liked running around being crazy. Stian had a lot of fun. I think his friends did too.

5!!!

Stian turned 5 yesterday! 5!!! Wow. He's getting to be a big kid.

He wanted to open presents first thing in the morning, so we did.

Silje even got a little something. Well, a kind of big something, but it's something I want her to have before we take the long car ride north for the holidays!

Then Stian wanted to play with some of the new stuff he got. Here is doing an experiment for the "Mind Blowing Science" kit he got from Uncle Wayne and Nate. It totally blew his mind!

And then we went to the children's museum, which we practically had to ourselves, that was nice. Stian and Silje both had a good time there.

Thanksgiving Program at School

Today was the Thanksgiving program and feast at Stian and Silje's school. Stian's after care class put on a little song and dance for the whole school. It was adorable. Stian was so cute. He was front and center and he had the words and the moves down. He did a really nice job. He was so cute how precise he was being.

This is what was waiting for us at our table.

This is the totem pole that Stian's class made. His teacher is a Native American so they did lots of Native American related stuff for Thanksgiving. She did a beautiful dance for the school as part of the program, but none of my pictures of her turned out. I think the kids though it was pretty cool with her in her traditional costume doing a traditional dance.

Morning at the Park

It was another gorgeous day here, so we took the kids to the park this morning. We went for a long walk/bike ride and hit a playground in the middle of it. My phone tells me we went 4 miles. And I think we played on the playground for at least an hour. We wore them out!

Silje's testing out a big girl swing.

Getting the hang of it! (well, not really, Daddy is right there because she tumbled out of it a couple of times. Fortunately he was there to catch her!)

Stian is an old pro.

Silje loved the slides. She went down them over and over. She went down the regular slide, the tunnel slide, the spiral slide. She loved them all. Here she is going down. At the end she is saying "slide" in case you can't understand Silje speak.

Stian was really into the slides this time too. He really surprised me how confident he was on them. He's always been pretty hesitant. But he was going down headfirst on his back, among other goofiness. I guess he's growing up!

Trip to the Farm

Stian had his first class field trip a couple of weeks ago, and I was lucky enough to be able to chaperon. It was fun. It was the same farm that we had gone to earlier this fall to get our pumpkins. It was a lot quieter during the week and after Halloween! The kids had lots of fun.

Pre-Birthday

We had a little mini birthday party while Grandma and Grandpa were here. Grandma made him a Power Rangers cake and he got to open his presents from them.