Pony party for the 2 & 3-year-olds!

Cambria & Nathan had a combined birthday party this year since we thought we'd make it a special one! We are trying not to get them things - toys - but rather focus their childhood on experiences. Who plays with toys anyway, right? My kids want the kitchen utensils, the dining room chairs tipped over, and the couch cushions pulled out. Their latest discovery are all the suitcases we have floating around. They could roll them around all day long, but I digress...

On our trip back from South Carolina we saw some horse trailers and Cambria would not stop talking about a purple pony (horse with a purple harness) she saw.  Since she's been on a few pony rides at the pumpkin patch and they've always been great, I decided to try and get some for the party.

It worked out! We had a mini horse (JR) and a blonde horse (Dharma) for an hour worth of pony rides and they were a hit!

Seth actually ended up with the first ride, since the other kids were getting their shoes on. Nathan wasn't sure at first, but he took several rides and had such a serious look on his face most of the time. He did love his rides, though. Cambria loved both horses and after each lap around the yard, traded, and got on the other horse.

 

Mimi & Geepy got to come stay and play. The kids are looking forward to their birthday train ride!

Nathan turns 2!

Sweet, happy, excitable, big-blue-eyed Nathan turned two today!



Favorite books:
Goodnight Moon (he loves to yell "goodnight mush!")
Tugga Tugga Tugboat (the inspiration for his birthday cake)
From Head to Toe
Little Blue Truck

Favorite songs:
Twinkle twinkle little star (he sings it at the piano)
He likes me to sing him I love to see the Temple when I put him to bed



Sleeping habits:
Wakes up at 6 or 6:30am ready to go! He promptly requests "E-I-E-I-O" or "Humpty dumpty sat on a wall" or "Bingo was his name-O" videos on the iPad.

He started wanting to say prayers (with help) before meals

He loves to jump and hop. I invented for him the "hop and squeeze" where he hops to me from across the room and gives me a big hug.

He loves to get on daddy's shoulders to go downstairs in the morning, and he loves to put on a tie like daddy in the morning.

Today he went on a bike ride to the park

The tugboat from his favorite book.

To our surprise, he didn't eat his cake with a fork or spoon. He picked it right up and took a big bite - kind of like last year! Boy loves his cake!

Dad's birthday & Father's day

It is dad's last year of his 20's!!  We surprised him at work with a candy gram. Good thing the kids ate most of the chocolate, since dad's been so good at exercising and going for runs.

Dad, beTWIX you and us, you sure are a WHOPPER of a Dad. The best in the whole MILKY WAY! WERTHER you know it or not, we sure do love you! We appreciate you supporting us with your PAY DAY, dealing with our MOUNDS of toys, letting us ROLOver you in bed, and wiping our GOOBERS! For your birthday we wanted to send you to CHARLESTON for some yummy FISH but since we can't, make sure to TAKE 5, and have lots of SNICKERS and ALMOND JOY for your birthday!  Love, your 3 MUSKETEERS

No pie this year! Carrot cake instead. Cambria kept saying we were making him a bunny cake (since she knows bunnies eat carrots, and thinks a carrot cake must be a bunny cake)

Poor Amos always has to share his birthday with Father's day. Not anymore! In Australia they celebrate Father's day in September!

Dashing men (Nathan's first tie to church) Father's Day

Kiawah Island 2013

We had an amazing time on our annual beach trip to Kiawah Island, SC!



My mom discovered this beach when she was in nursing school at Medical University of SC.  We've been coming here since I was tiny. We love all the wildlife, the friendly people, the bike paths, and the secluded atmosphere. Now the kids get to come, too. Good thing they're pretty good travelers, since it's a 12 hour drive from where we live.

We decided to leave at 6pm after the kids went to a Bounce U party (and wore themselves out).  We traveled through the night and arrived at 5am.  The kids woke up at 3am when we stopped for gas at South of the Border (anyone who has traveled I-95 knows what this is) and stayed awake until we got there.

Cambria was a beach bum. She would want to head out first thing in the morning and not come back until dinnertime. She requested picnic lunches at the beach.  She found a starfish, and discovered tons of creatures - jellyfish, sand dollars, hermit crabs, and more, and even found a beached leatherback sea turtle. She loved to run around squirting everyone with the squirt gun, building sand castles, burying dad, and playing in the tide pool.  With a little help from Geepy she learned to pedal a bike while she was there! (the same bike Scott and I rode as kids). She also made friends with a little brass turtle that she named Dabo. She put things in his shell that opened up, and even dressed him in Barbie clothes.

Nathan loved to ride on the back of the bikes, and spent a lot of time playing in the sand and tide pool. He still likes to taste the sand. He also spent some time getting pulled on the little blue bike learning to steer. Both kids liked going on a ride in the kayak with Dad.

Seth spent most of his time in the stroller hanging out with Mimi watching the ocean and enjoying the scenery and hubbub around him. He did spend some time in the water, though, and enjoyed splashing around.

Amos did a lot of running on the trails, and enjoyed the break from work. We were able to take turns getting some rest. In the evenings we got to enjoy the hot tub.  I got to do some photography with my new camera!

Scott came for the first few days, until he headed off back to Thailand. It was great spending time with my bro before he left again.

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Thanks for a great trip Mom & Dad :)