5 Years Old!!

We had Theo's Lego Chima themed fifth birthday party this morning and it was a big success! Chima is a fantasy world where different animal tribes battle to control "fire chi" (orange and yellow swirly balls) and "ice chi" (blue and white swirly balls). Here are Theo and his friends coloring Chima drawings. 

They had pizza from Theo's favorite pizza place and cupcakes. 

We set up a big treasure hunt and at the end, each kid got a Chima cape and a blue or orange bouncy ball. Theo also got a crown. 

Vivian tried buttercream frosting for the first time:

They wanted to take a photo with their balloons:

The party favors were a ball of fire chi made of play dough and an ice chi lollipop. 

Cupcakes decorated with the animal tribe emblems:

Thank you grandparents for the great Chima Lego set! Theo said it was his dream come true to have a Chima party and get this present!

Waterfall in the woods

We hiked into the woods behind the barn and found a magical spot with a pond and lots of little waterfalls. 

Vivian had a great time poking around with sticks and throwing rocks into the stream. 

Theo decided to build a dam and dig a new channel to redirect water around a boulder. Here is the dam halfway completed: 

Working:

Project complete:

Theo loves playing with streams like this so much. It's one of his very favorite things to do. 

Maple syrup

We learned about three different types of taps:

We visited the sugar shack, saw the wood burning syrup evaporator, and tasted fresh maple syrup. 

Nature Lab

One of their favorite thing to do is collect "nature specimens" in the backyard. Here they are taking a break from sorting acorns, rocks, leaves, twigs, moss, and hickory nuts. 

Dalhousie

"One-eyed Frosty"

Playing with neighbors Sasha and Jude:

Viv observed for an hour in the window saying "shasha" and "djuuu":

The kids lost one of the buttons I gave them to make an eye, so they named their snowman "one eyed frosty"

Home Depot co-pilot

Theo is not the only one steering anymore: