There are some major advantages to a delayed birthday party, especially when you are turning 4 years old. Dad had to be in Omaha for school on John's "real" birthday, so we decided to celebrate on the Monday following. On his "real" birthday he opened his present from Mom, watched a movie, ate ice cream, went to the library and thought a great deal about his "fake" birthday on Monday when he would get the rest of his presents. Oh, and his birthday food.
The birthday breakfast consisted of waffles, sausage and apple juice. We all applauded John's brilliance in food selection. He was pleased as well, as you can see.
Before digging into his breakfast though, there were presents to open. Lots of presents...
Looootttss of presents....
For lunch John requested hot dogs and beans, cooked in the traditional "cook-out" fashion. It was an interesting cook-out, mainly because the area had recently been inhabited by the sheep. They had left lovely little suprises all over the place, which we became most skillful at dodging. Most of the time.
Leah guarding the food. A very important job...
In which everyone gathers around the food, and prepares to roast their hot dogs. We have the best roasting sticks ever, these super long welding rods which enable us to be quite a distance away from the fire and still get a well roasted hot dog.
Apparently not quite far enough away from the fire.
This was a rather eccentric fire. It blazed too high some of the time, and insisted on smoking everyone at the most unopportune moments. I was still getting my first dog on the wire when I heard the following complaint, "I burned my hand, I burned my hot dog, and then it fell off the wire into a sheep poop!!"
Sitting on our dear old elephant's grave, a.k.a. sheep poop hill. Like I said before, we got pretty skilled at avoiding the stuff.
John requested steak, rice, jello and corn for his birthday supper, plus a chocolate cake with frosting and sprinkles. There is something magical about watching your birthday candles being lit when you are little... After he was full to the gills, John came and laid on my lap and sighed an enormous sigh, "I had a great day.... I got so many presents, I thought I was going to die." :D He has already started the countdown until he turns 5.
They were taking the wood Dad and Benjamin split a while back from that rather large mound on the left over to Leah who was stacking it nicely on those lovely stacks on the right.
John and Rosie got in on the project as well. By the time the job was done, they were expert wood haulers.
Again, I am sorry for the blurriness, but John trying to tackle that big log was just too cute!
Here Timothy masters the wood pile, and knocks down some more logs for the little folk. John and Rosie keep a respectful distance just in case.
The majorly muscled wood hauling crew!! Thanks you guys! We will all be glad it is stacked and near the house when the snow flies.
Becca is becoming quite the cook as well as a photographer. This is a self-portrait following a major cookie making session. 
We have been enjoying getting to the library once a week and this is pretty much what it looks like as soon as we get home. 
Opening exercises has always been one of my favorite parts of school, especially reciting our verses with great gusto on the motions. Looks like not much has changed. 
A massage lesson. This is the best way for me to learn the movements, watching Dad do it while I am doing it myself. He even said his shoulders felt better afterwards, and of course, Benjamin was in no hurry for me to figure it out!
Sisters, one of God's greatest gifts!
Here he is modeling his new shirt from Mom. As I type I can hear his tractor sounds coming from upstairs where he is happily taking his first birthday off of school. 
The gas can is in the picture for good luck, hoping that the truck will never run out of gas. Someone said maybe it would work if someone besides myself had taken the picture...
Dad worshipping the truck. Just kidding! In fact, I did not even notice it looked like that until it was pointed out to me, and it was too funny not to pass along. He is actually fixing the, um, let's just say he is fixing something and you will know all that I know.
Benjamin, the budding mechanic, working under the hood. I seriously have never seen a mechanic in this position before. Sitting cross-legged in the engine compartment is pretty impressive for anyone, and since Benjamin is an easy 6 feet by now, I thought this was really something.
The kids were all bouncing with excitement to get into the truck, look at it, help peel off the old bumper stickers, anything to be a part of the project. Here Rosie looks out from the back, a place which was much smaller in the Blazer than I had remembered. Maybe because I remember it from when I was Rosie's size. Here is welcoming the Blazer to the family, and looking forward to new memories in a new truck. Did I mention it has four wheel drive..... :D
And the afternoon's adventure begins with a hike... 
Once lunch was over we employed ourselves gainfully. There were trees to be climbed.
Here Becca demonstrates how to mount the rope swing. You stand on the step and hike yourself up. One swing in I asked, "So, how do you keep yourself from hitting the tree?" No sooner said than...
Yikes!! It was a narrow escape! 
After that experience, Becca decided to move the rope down the limb a little. 
Rosie demonstrating how to swing on one's foot. More comfortable than sitting on the rope I think.
Getting on the rope can be a bit of a task. Sometimes you need help. Sometimes you need lots of help.
John, getting a ride in the "sit on the rope" fashion. The rides were rather short, as you can imagine. :D