The Big Five

Greetings friends and family,

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Easton and Layla!  And a hearty "congratulations" to my wife and mother of the birthday twins.  She deserves a celebration as much, if not more, than Easton and Layla.  She already cried out the tears yesterday as she absorbed the fact that the twins are growing up and growing independent.  Her role in their life will decrease as they head off to school in six months.  That's worth celebrating, but also has some grieving associated with it.

The first day of their life they depended on her for everything.  milk, comfort, warmth, protection, cleanliness, and every other minute aspect of life.  There is no magic wave of a wand that happened today on their fifth birthday, but in looking back over the mountain rage we climbed together as parents, the truth of how old they are sets in quickly.  Kendra is still the full-time stay-at-home mom, but they are increasingly interested in their own dreams and goals and interests more than just "Mom".

I'm very proud of the kids Kendra raised so far and the first five years are so critical that it's hard to even put into words the sense of urgency required to be good parents right out of the gate.  Some parents figure it out later in life when the kids are 12 years old or already moved out.  For them, it's usually too late.  My heart is content knowing we did our best so far and have few regrets over the time and money and effort spent to lay the foundation as solid as we did for Easton and Layla.

Their home schooling is coming along great.  Kendra acquired some curriculum as well as ideas online.  They seem to be getting the concepts well, but in their own individual learning style. Learning math is much easier when Layla uses fuzzy colored balls and Easton uses toy planes.

I took off work for the their birthday and we had a great hiking together.  We wandered around the hole-in-the-rock park so much they were completely worn out when we were done.

The hike up to the hole was quick.  We sat out on the edge and surveyed the whole city with the panoramic view.

We stopped by the two ponds to explain the difference between marsh and swamp.  They are so comfortable being right next to and showing love to one another.  Yes, Easton is wearing his TMNT shirt again...  for the third day in a row.  It wasn't dirty and he is so into the turtles.  he wouldn't be considered the "stinky kid" at school, but wearing the same shirt three days in a row is a bit much even for a home schooler.

We had a little history lesson about the former governer of Arizona, George W. P. Hunt.  He's dead... and buried in the pyramid tomb on top of the hill overlooking the city.  It was kind of creepy so I skipped over the mummy / zombie folklore.

Here is the best picture of the day in my opinion.  The 4 Webbs tackling a mountain together turned out to be the perfect birthday activity.  Free, adventurous, interactive, and outdoor.

We also had a birthday dinner at home where they ate Kendra's homemade Snicker Doodle cookies with strawberry ice cream in the middle.  Kendra and I sang the birthday song as a duet.  Although the day wasn't extraordinary in fanfare, it was a good celebration and family time together.

Next weekend we'll have Easton and Layla's separate parties with a few of their closest friends.  Kendra is in the planning, coordinating, purchasing phase of the party.  From what I've heard i'm sure they will enjoy their special birthday gatherings.

I'm excited for this year of their life.  The plans we already have in motion for the 4 Webbs will most certainly prove to be our most adventurous year yet!

See you soon!