Gage's Plate

Gage was so excited to design his own plate after seeing Gavin's in the kitchen for a couple of years.  I don't know why, but I tend to gravitate toward that plate at mealtime, and he said to me so sweetly the other day, "Mom, next time, can I use my plate?"  Gage: my handsome, smart, funny, sweet, super forgiving five-year-old boy!! 

Sanitas

I am not quite sure where Tara was, but I think she was out of town for the weekend so I took the little men up for a Sanitas hike.  I love the area and used to run it all the time.  The boys love being outdoors and I thought they might be up for the task as it can be a fairly long hike.  We have taken them to hike in the area before, but we usually come up the front side of the trail which is more of a wide gravel path to walk up.  This path eventually turns into a steep hiking trail to the top but we don't typically go that far.  We decided to be adventurous and head up the back side, though.  Most of this trail is like walking up one to two foot steps for a few miles.  It is a lot of work but certainly more interesting for boys interested in scrambling up the trail.
  Above, you see them sitting on a huge boulder we found on the way up.  They were holding still on the rock for a minute so I could take the picture, but then they were off finding out how close they could get to the edge before I would call them back.

It was quite a long haul in the end, but they did awesome.  Towards the end it started to get a bit muddy from snow melt and they were generally just a bit tired, but they finally made it.  This is the picture of them at the top and celebrating with the metal post.

The view from up here is really epic.  They kids loved it.  We then had to decide which way to head for the descent.  Against my better judgement, I got talked into coming down the front face.  It has a lot less sun exposure, so for this time of year it still has quite a bit of snow on it.  My assumptions proved correct and the first 200 meters or so were an icy/snowy mess that was fairly difficult to navigate.  I had a hard enough time on my own, but trying to hold up two kids sliding down the slush was fairly dangerous and not advisable.  After a few tears by one or both of the guys, we finally made it to a dryer part and they were having fun again.  We did finally make it back to the car after the whole loop.  I am proud of these guys for a serious business hike.  They do love being outdoors, so it's great to get to do something fun with them that they truly enjoy.

Gage's Birthday Party

This year we decided to have Gage's birthday party at Flatirons Gymnastics where Gage and Makenna had been taking their gymnastics class.  Gage really wanted to invite his whole class, which was a first for us, so we did it this time, and I think that was a lot of fun for him.  (Probably the last time we could do that, being that he had a small class of 12 in preschool.)

The kids played on the trampoline and all of the gymnastics equipment, and then they pulled out the parachute for the birthday boy toward the end of the party.  I think Gage was in his element!

Of all the classmates and other buddies Gage invited to his fifth birthday celebration, look who he's sitting next to...and who he'd pick out of a crowd a million times: his big bro!  He really looks up to Gavin SO much and loves him like crazy. 
 We're so glad to have Gage!  So thankful for his five years of life!!!!  God, you did a GREAT thing when you designed Gage Nicholas Koel. 

Baking

 Both of my boys love to bake, which I think is so cool.  It's certainly easier for me when I can bake with them separately and avoid some of the "He stirred the last time! It's my turn!" comments.  We might have been working on Gage's birthday cake in this picture.