Sam's birthday was a great day.  I was able to do some Sealings in the temple (thanks to my friend Nat for watching the boys!) and I got to go to the park and zoo with the littles (thanks again Nat!).  It was Nate's first day of pre-school (I'm going to dedicate another post to that).   Jason and Nate had a great time at the zoo.

They chased this peacock for a bit.

And fed some reindeer.  Their giggles were the cutest thing ever.

They really like Callie.  We'll have to hang out with her more often.  It was super fun.
We came home and let Jason have a snooze.  When the olders got out of school, we blew up some balloons and played with them for a while.

I tied Jason's balloon to his shorts and he kept telling me that it was his tail.  Did you know that red and pink balloons show color in their shadows?  Jason thought it was pretty awesome that his balloon was still colored in his shadow.  It was so much better than the other kids balloons.  :)

There aren't many things cuter than a little kid in bowling shoes.  We have promised the kids a bowling adventure for a really long time.  I think the idea is so appealing to Nate and Jason because they couldn't go when the others went for their birthday parties.  I don't think the experience disappointed any of the kids.
Jake and Allie did really well bowling on their own.

Nate did funny dances when the pins got knocked down.

Jason would let his ball go way too early and Jake had to solve the problem a few times...

He'd have to go down the center to rescue the ball.

Allie was a great little helper.

They were just all so cute.

It was a really fun night and then we got to come home to some gifts from my neighbor friends.  Heidi gave us a book and donuts and that disguised the fact that I didn't have time to make a birthday cake.  Karen's family gave us a huge box of "noot nacks" (fruit snacks) that I was able to use as the reward for sleeping in bed all night...I may have that box forever.

We blew out a candle on the donut cake and let Jason open our book.  It's a cute one called "The Little Blue Truck".  We've already read it several times.  Cute stuff.

After dessert, we gave our balloons hugs and kisses and sent them up to heaven.

Allie is the best sister ever.  She wanted to write a note to Sam too.  All the balloons were gone, but we'll hang it on the fridge and think of Sam even more.
I am so grateful to be his mom.  Happy Birthday Sam!