Josh took the boys fishing last Saturday (giving me some much needed quiet time). They had a great time and they all caught at least one fish, if not more.
And I should add that Logan caught this fish on his little Sponge Bob fishing pole and reeled it in all by himself. His little arm was tired, but Dad told him he could do it and sure enough, he did it!
What an accomplishment at 3 years old!
My boys had to say goodbye to their oldest cousin the other day. He left for the Army. Although we’re proud of where he’s going in deciding to serve his country, he will definitely be missed—especially by my boys, who LOVE their cousin Caleb.
We celebrated a lot smaller this year for Camden’s birthday than we did last year, which is just fine. Not every year needs to have a big party. We’ve realized over the years that spending quality time with our kids on their birthdays is much better than lots of presents or a big party. And actually, the kids have come to look forward to this more than a big party or lots of presents. So we always do something special (or go somewhere special) as a family on their birthdays.
Since we were in the Dells on Camden’s birthday and I was not transporting an allergen-free cake up there (because packing all the food was enough), he did not have an actual birthday cake on his birthday. We waited and had a small celebration when we got home.
I did put my all into his cake though. I wanted to make him a special cake and the other boys helped me decide on a red velvet cake. They had been eating red velvet yogurt that they loved and figured the actual cake must be really yummy! :) Of course, it had to be “safe” for Camden. I found a recipe and attempted it. It was a process. One that I don’t think I’ll attempt any time soon. EVERYTHING had to be made from scratch. It was very time consuming.
Three different flours were used to make the cake work. It took me two days to complete the cake. I even had to make marshmallow cream from scratch because the regular stuff has eggs in it.
Needless to say, he did love the cake. But I’m afraid his body didn’t handle the cake very well (which is a whole nother story). :(
Of course, the cake had to have a cow on it. They’re Camden’s favorites!
He loved that the cake was for him. He kept pointing to it saying, “Cake.”
Hey Joy, notice the outfit?!?!? :)
Eli helped blow out the candles because Camden was a little unsure.
YUM! He certainly enjoyed every bite of that cake.
He had lots of help opening his presents. :)
Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us.
Happy Birthday, Camden!
Our second day in the Dells was spent at Noah’s Ark. A water park is not the best place to carry around an expensive camera taking pictures. So I snapped a few at lunchtime and at the kiddie pool, bumpers, but then felt it would be better to just put it away and enjoy the time with my family.
Eating lunch.
Stuffing their faces. :)
All Logan talked about was riding the “bumpers.” He remember the kiddie bumpers from last year. When we first got to Noah’s Ark, he wouldn’t stop saying, “I want to go on the bumpers.” So we thought, okay, let’s go ride those bumpers so he’ll be quiet. Well, the kiddie bumpers were gone! Poor kid. So he had to settle for riding the big bumpers with Dad, which I think was just fine for him.
Camden has turned into such a water boy so he was perfectly happy hanging out in the kiddie pool area.
My little dragon.
And then after spending a full day at Noah’s Ark, we decided to ride the Ducks.
It was another full day and we had very tired kids at the end of it. But we also had great memories. ;)
Happy Birthday, Camden! We love you.
Camden is 2!!!
Wow. Yes, the days and nights have been long, but I still find myself wondering where the time has gone. You truly must enjoy every moment with your kids because before you know it, they’re old enough to babysit! :)
To celebrate his birthday, we went up to the Dells for a couple days. We had a great time playing at the lil’ water park at the hotel, going to the deer park and feeding the deer, spending a whole day at Noah’s Ark (and NOT feeling overwhelmed with four kids) and riding the Ducks. It was busy but a blast.
And Camden was exhausted from his birthday celebration. :)
Camden was scared to death at first of the deer, but he did warm up to them after a while. It was quite funny. He would go to feed the deer out of his hand and then at the last minute decide he didn’t want to do that and throw it on the ground, pointing it out for the deer.
Josh was in seventh heaven, no doubt. He kept asking me to snap pictures of him with the deer. :)
This one was my little friend…..a girl. :)
I love this picture of Camden and the buck. This buck kept following us down the trail. I think he really liked us.
See, he keeps following us.
Still following us…
So Camden decides to feed him to see if he’ll go away then.
Even out of his hand! Wow. This deer IS his friend. :)
But the deer keeps following us.
Logan found a friend too.
Logan really wanted to go on the other side of the railing because there was a cute little baby deer on the other side.
Again, I don’t have to say how happy Josh was, do I? :)
He pulled this great maneuver and we got a great picture.
Then he insisted I do the same….
Let’s just say after several tries, I gave up.
This was the best I could do:
Don’t laugh.
Eli did good. Even after I took the picture he said, “That’s going to be a good one.” :)
It was a fun time.
Stay tuned for part 2, which is our second day in the Dells.
