Suddenly, Clara isn't just the little baby anymore. She is an active, happy toddler who tries to keep up with her siblings. I am always amazed at how children change in the first year of their lives and it was fun to see Clara develop her own personality as she moved from infant to one year old. We celebrated Clara's birthday at her house last Sunday evening. (Her birthday was July 16.) Clara wasn't sure what all the fuss was about and was uncertain about blowing out the candle and eventually gave in to frustration and started crying. Of course it was adorable to all of us, but for her it was a little overwhelming.
What's all the fuss about?
She liked the lighted candle but wanted to touch the flame.
After the meal and birthday cake, she enjoyed opening her gifts.
Here is the video of the birthday song and trying to blow out the candle. It is a little challenging when the older siblings are so anxious to "help" her blow the candle out. Like I said, she is a little overwhelmed, but I think it is adorable. She is a sweetheart and we are so thankful for her.
This little guy that brings sunshine to our lives every Wednesday is five years old! We celebrated with a birthday cake that Melissa brought to our evening meal on the Wednesday before his birthday which was July 12.
Awstin was delighted to put the candles on his cake...
...and delighted to blow them out after we sang to him.
Somehow five years old seems a lot older than four. He is changing and growing so quickly. In September he will be off to kindergarten. I am so thankful for Awstin and it is with some sadness that I realize those precious times spent with him on Wednesdays are soon coming to an end. (Although, thankfully kindergarten is only half days, so we will still have some Wednesday time together.)
Just like last year, we decided to have a family camping weekend in our park. Shawn's and Jay's brought their campers on Friday and set them up. Steve, Shawn & Jay spent a lot of Friday evening figuring out how to hook up electric to the campers so they could have air conditioning (it was VERY hot!), and thankfully in the end were successful. The rest of us "camped" in our own houses :)
On Friday, Megan, Melissa, Julissa and I went to Green Dragon during the day. We had a great time and all came home with a few treasures. Did I mention that it was hot? By the time we got back into the car in the afternoon, I was feeling a little lightheaded. Thankfully, after drinking plenty of fluids, I felt a lot better.
After setting up camp on Friday evening, the toys came out. Awstin and Hannah were always speeding around together in their jeep and Mark drove the tractor with the loader bucket in front.
Because of the extremely wet Spring, the park hasn't dried out yet and there was a lot of mud everywhere. Of course this didn't deter the children and Awstin kept driving the jeep through muddy places and he and Hannah would get stuck and have to figure a way out.
Awstin gets out to survey the situation.
Awstin tries to push the jeep (and Hannah who is still in the jeep) out of the mud.
Mark brought his battery-operated car along and enjoyed showing it off to everyone. It didn't work that great on the grass, but it was still fun to try and he even left me try my hand at driving it :)
Josh and Julissa brought games along and Alexis and Lydia enjoyed playing some of them.
Julissa and Alexis play Mastermind
Kristen & Lydia play Cootie
After a good nights sleep and a wonderful breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed to Lake Tobias. We knew it would be hot, so tried to get an early start so that we could ride the safari bus before the day got too brutal. We boarded the bus right around 11:00 and it was already very warm. We were glad when the bus moved and created a breeze. Amazingly, the animals were still out and about and not completely hunkered down and refusing to move because of the heat.
Not our bus, but one just like it.
This guy blocked our way until the driver/guide threw him some food.
Shawn points out an animal in the road ahead to Awstin.
Melissa was the lucky one who got to sit with this cutie :)
That's a lot of ponytails :)
Watching the animals
Hannah wants one to come close enough to touch.
The animals came really close to the bus and the children that wanted to did get to touch a few.
Those are some really big bison!
After the safari bus ride, we enjoyed a picnic lunch together at one of the pavilions. Afterward, we walked around the zoo for a little while, but honestly it was so hot that we soon called it a day and headed for home. We made a stop along the way for some cold ice cream. Yum!
Back at the park, the children were happy to get into their swimming suits and splash a little bit in the pond, stream and wading pool. The adults relaxed in various places around the park and pavilion and Grandpa started the campfire with a little assistance from his helpers.
Alexis with her net. I'm not sure if she caught anything other than mud.
Clara liked the little wading pool
Lydia and Mark liked helping Grandpa get the campfire built.
Jay relaxes in the hammock
Just hanging out in the pavilion
Sparten shows his affection for Josh.
Alexis and Mark showed off their log-walking skills to me.
Supper was delicious....thanks to Jeremy
Somethings funny!
Some of us went out to the Buck to see the fireworks while others opted for an early bedtime.The children loved the fireworks display and it was a great way to end the evening. I didn't take any pictures because it was too dark.
On Sunday after church we opted to eat lunch in the air-conditioned kitchen. It felt good to not be hot and sticky and the children were happy to play in the cool basement with the toys. Shawn brought his ice cream maker and we made raspberry ice cream. Very refreshing!
As the afternoon wore on, each family made their way to their own homes and by 6:00 the house and surrounding areas were quiet again. As I looked through these pictures, I realized that there is not one of me. That is what usually happens as I am the one behind the camera, but I should have asked someone else to snap a picture of me at least once. Oh well. Maybe next year.
It was a lovely (though hot) weekend and as always, we feel so fortunate and blessed to call this wonderful family ours. Happy memories!
