Ezra turns four October 2009

These pictures were taken by Mark Daams. Thanks Mark.


Good times! I don't know what Ezra will remember of his birthday, but I'll remember the rain and the fun we had. We started out the day with his birthday presents, a brand new, shiny, red bike with training wheels, that Aaron put together for him the night before. (I can't resist mentioning that he really hates putting stuff together, and that this is the first time in our marriage that he put something together the night before a birthday or Christmas. He did a good job though, so no excuses). We also got him the hungry hippo game, and some new books, which he loved. We've read him the Bauernhof (german for farm) every night since his birthday. We were lucky to have Aaron home from work, and so we enjoyed some quality family time playing with his new toys at home and practicing riding his bike.
Around 12 pm we headed over to a supposed Kinderfarm that is right next to his school. It wasn't as interesting as their favorite farm in Veldhoven, but they did have a cute bunny and guinea pig "thing"...a sort of open, themed cage, for a lack of better description. Ezra really likes the guinea pigs, which were very hard to catch, but Aaron did manage. They also had Kangaroos at the farm??? Why I can't imagine.
Then at 1 pm we headed over to his new school for him to meet the class and the teacher. He panicked at first, but then had a good time playing, as did Micah. After Ezra's all time favorite lunch, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, and more Spaghetti, we drove to the Tongelree pool. It is the biggest indoor aquatic center in the Netherlands, with long tube slides, and charming in-pool playgrounds for the little ones, as well as a wave pool. It's a good thing Aaron came with us, because I couldn't handle all those slides. Ezra loved it, and Micah had a blast playing with Kailea in the children's pool. We finished off the day with what Ezra calls the "Happy Birthday Cake". Ever since Micah's 2nd birthday in July he's put two and two together and now knows that birthdays come with a cake. When we told him it was his birthday, he kept on saying ok, let's go happy Birthday cake. I made the cake myself. I checked in bakeries and stores if they have themed cakes like the do in America. They do, but seeing the price of them I had to resist the urge to roll on the floor laughing. They charge the equivalent of $60 for a quarter sheet cake here. The cake I made cost about $5. Not fit for a bakers competition for sure, but it served the purpose. After yummy Dominos pizza we all enjoyed our cheap, but happy birthday cake. The kids fell into bed dead tired. What a blast. Thanks to Mark, Melissa, Kailea, and Ella, for providing us with the company that made this day a real party. The only thing missing today perhaps were our friends in the States.

Ezra's 4th Birthday_2