Happy Campers

Our very first family camping trip was an interesting experience. Our Ward planned a camping outing as an activity and we decided it was a great way to go camping.

I picked Jeff up from work and we head off for our big adventure. We arrived at the camp grounds a little after 6:30pm to eat with our ward and a bunch of bees. We quickly unpacked the car and got our beds set up before we headed out to the fireside for a talent show and devotional.

The kids were really good and sat for the most part watching the interesting events unfold on the stage. Let's just say it takes all kinds of people to keep this world going. Towards the end Andrew asked to go to "sweep" in his "sweeping bag." He has been very excited to sleep outside.

The kids were quick to get all settle with their flashlights and glow sticks but very slow to actually fall asleep. It was an hour past their usual bedtime but it was so new and exciting they didn't want to miss a thing.

We were sure that it was going to poor down rain on us as the weather forecast was not good for our weekend. We could hear the wind howling but we were very lucky that we didn't get rained on. Megan didn't like the sound of the critters outside and the kids were asking many times, "what's that sound?"

They were very eager to experience all of camping and couldn't wait for the next day so we could do some fun activities. The ward had a pancake breakfast and then we were on our own to do what we wanted to do. So we spent our day in the great outdoors soaking up nature.

We ended our day with the long awaited fishing time. Andrew could probably have been out there all day. He loved casting out and reeling in. He really really wanted to catch a fish and was sad when we came up empty. He was doing so well until he got stung by a bee. At that point he was hurting and just wanted to go home.

We packed up and headed home. We had a really good time and the kids loved just being together as a family. We will have to schedule more camping trips as they really loved it. We learned a few things about what to take and what we would like to do different. We had a great weekend being happy little campers.

Happy Number Eleven

Happy eleven years of wedded bliss today!! We've actually made it another year. It's been an interesting road with some ups and downs but fun all the same. I'm glad to have such a great Father and Husband to enjoy the journey with. Here is to the next year and hoping we have more ups than downs.

Sink or Swim??

So you know summer is coming to a close and your kids are totally bored when you walk into the bathroom and see this:

Andrew said he had to go to the bathroom and disappeared to go potty. After about 10 minutes he had not resurfaced. So I went to see what was going on. When I went to the bathroom I found him sitting in the sink as happy as can be just hanging out and looking in the mirror. I got the best laugh and promptly put him in the tub and cleaned up the sink mess. It amazes me what their little minds come up with.

Game Time

Jeff's long awaited Birthday present of the Bronco game has finally arrived. Ken, MarGene, Jeff, Megan and some work buddies all ended up at the Preseason Bronco game vs. Seahawks in Seattle.

Megan wasn't too sure if she was going to like it but got in the spirit and got her Bronco gear on. They packed a bag and were off to the game.

Or so I thought when about 15 minutes later I got a call from Jeff asking if I saw the Bronco tickets on the counter. Good thing MarGene had him check before they got to far out or even at the game. After a quick return trip home to get the tickets they were back on the road.

They got to the game in plenty of time to watch all the warm up on the field. I was told they had some hot dogs, fries, soda, and of course for Meg cotton candy. Jeff said when she saw a vendor for the rest of the time that was all she could think about was getting her cotton candy.

Even though the Bronco's lost they had a good time. I don't think there is anything like actually getting to go to a game and seeing it live. I know Jeff had a good time and I'm glad it was fun. Megan wasn't as thrilled as the game was a bit long. She'll have to think about it if they go to another game. Andrew and I just hung out as we didn't think that he would make it through a game. Since Megan struggled a bit I know we made a good choice. Here is to an interesting season. :}

Happy 5th Birthday

Happy 5th Birthday to my little guy. It is so hard to believe that my youngest child is 5 years old today. Since he's got a summer birthday and we aren't really ready for big birthday parties we took Andrew out to Chucke Cheese and had our own little celebration a week ago.

He loved playing like pretty much every other kid on the planet. It was alot of fun for him to just get to go and go and go. Ken and MarGene came along with us and it made it a nice little family affair.

Papa bought us ice cream bars from this cool little vending machine at the very end to help cool us down. It gets a bit hot in that place. The kids got to cash in their tickets and have a little ice cream they were thrilled.

We had a little family celebration at home to help Andrew celebrate. It was nice and intimate with the four of us. Andrew got to open his presents and have his homemade cupcakes.

Andrew has asked pretty much anyone that he can talk to that he wants a green helicopter. He has been asking for days on end and pretty much in every conversation somehow it pops up. We'll be talking about one thing and the next thing you know "helicopter green" comes out with a grin.

So to fulfill his wished we bought him an air hogs "zipper" it is a flying saucer type thing but it works and fits the bill as far as his helicopter fix. It needs to be charged after every use and lasts for about 15 minutes or so. It asks for it constantly already and can't hardly wait for the charging to happen.

I hope we have been able to make him feel special for his birthday. I know it has been alot of fun for all of us around him. He has had a huge grin on his face for days so I think that is a good sign. We can't wait to see how much he grows in this next year.

Birthday Cupcakes

Our little guy will be turning 5 years old tomorrow so we decided to let him be our little helper in making his birthday cupcakes. He was very excited to get on his apron and would say "me help me help" whenever he saw something he wanted to do.

This was pretty much every part of the process he wanted to help. Since these were his special cupcakes we helped supervise as he did most all the mixing and adding. Since this was from a box there were only 4 ingredients so it was very simple.

While we were shifting from all mixed to getting ready to spoon it in the cupcake papers Andrew decided to sneak a taste to make sure it was all good. I think having it all right in front of him was just too tempting.

We all know that part of the fun of helping is getting to lick the spoon when your all done. Andrew enjoyed every minutes of being the little helper. He had a huge smile on his face when he wasn't concentrating so hard on what he was doing.

We've since sampled the cupcakes and they turned out very well. He is now waiting to get candles in his and have us sing to him. He's just got one more day to go.