Jump Around!

By the end of last weekend, I was exhausted from parties and chauffeuring children. Ava was exhausted from a sleepover, and G was exhausted from (literally) jumping all around. Scott had been out of town, so he was exhausted from not sleeping well. So, we should probably pack in some more things to do, right??

Ava had fun at her two parties last weekend (one for the trumpet thirds, and one for a birthday sleepover.) It was strange having her gone both nights, but I'm getting used to it. That makes me a bit sad.

G had fun at his three birthday parties, all at Rockin' Jump. By the end of the last party, I was ready to drive away and not come back for a very long time. They do a great job there, but man, it's a bit overstimulating (for me, not G.)

G made this card for one of his friends...there's something about these little Minecraft faces that I think is SO adorable!

The birthday boy is bouncing!

Partying with his pals (and Ava!)

Make a wish!

All jumped out!

I booked us tickets to go the Minnesota Zoo's annual Jack O'Lantern Spectacular on Wednesday night. This year's theme was based on library sections, like Fairy Tales, Sci-Fi, National Geographic, etc. We went earlier in the night than we have gone in the past, so it was still pretty light out. It wasn't as "magical" with the sun still shining, but it was really neat to be able to see more of the detail on the pumpkins. Next year we'll stick with a slightly later time so it's dark. The most important thing was the time we spent as a family. We're all coming or going these days, so it was good to round everyone up and have them at the same place at the same time.

Bob Ross is G's birthday buddy! Happy Birthday, Bob!

Titanic...not the ship, though...he was a bit disappointed in that, ha!

On Friday, G's school was celebrating Halloween with their annual Harvest Party, so G was a banana! His class also celebrated his birthday on Friday, and in P.E, they were able to have fun in the Spooky Fun House in the gym. It was a great way to end the week for him, with the exception of the kindergartner who kept trying to eat him. Because he's a banana... G was not impressed with that. LOL

G set his alarm for 7:25am on Saturday (Oct 29) so he could celebrate exactly when he turned 9! We had a fairly relaxing day, and then I took him to his friend's late afternoon birthday party at Grand Slam (they share a birthday.) Since he was going to be gone for dinner on his actual birthday, we had his birthday meal on Friday night (dino nuggies and fries), and a special birthday cupcake. Yum!

Last pic as an 8 year old...

Finally, 9!

Both kids earned their 4th stripe from sparring in Taekwondo...next step is to break some boards, and they will move up to a green belt!

He's still having fun at his weekly swimming lessons!

We're looking forward to carving our one remaining pumpkin from our garden on Saturday night, and then hopefully on Sunday we will work on a "witches brew" recipe that we gave to G as a birthday gift baking subscription. Ava doesn't have any marching band commitments until next Wednesday, so we're going to see a lot of her this weekend, which is wonderful!