Happy Birthday, Camden!!!

Our little boy turned 1 yesterday! He got to spend the day being where he likes best-outside! Camden wasn't sure what to think of everyone singing to him and the wind blew out his birthday candle. :) Another cake masterpiece made by Chris. It was our precious cargo on the camping trip!
Camden enjoyed licking the frosting off his candle, but wasn't very interested in his piece of cake.

We took a couple presents for him to open.

Wow! A cool bus from Aunt Jessi!

Back home Monday afternoon...Big sis was Camden's lovely assistant opening his presents.

How many Kaspareks does it take to use a screwdriver?

3! :)

Camping at Indian Island

We kicked off the summer with an awesome Memorial Weekend camping trip. Not only did we get to celebrate Camden's first birthday, but we lucked out with beautiful weather and our beachfront site provided hours of fun.

Claire, Emma, and Logan are enjoying a little lunch as we set up camp

Camden was in heaven resting in his little crib under a tree
Chris heads out for an evening kayak adventure and meets up with some frisky otters

After a good night's sleep Emma and Camden are ready to watch Chris make some breakfast

Hey! It's the birthday boy!

More kayaking fun with Emma and Yuka (Helen and Grace's visiting Japanese student who is staying with them). Claire wishes us bon voyage on the beach.

The Kasparek Ladies

Wishing Camden a very happy birthday

What a great end to an amazing weekend!

A Rhinehart Reunion

We were so happy to have our first international guests stay with us for a few days. Best of all, it was our dear friends the Rhineharts! Renee, Gavin, and Taylor were on their way back to Japan after spending a month in Florida and we were so lucky to have them stop and see us. Emma had been talking about Gavin coming to see her for weeks and they had a ton of fun playing together. Camden was in awe of Taylor's ability to get around everywhere so quickly by walking and hopefully he learned a thing or two from his friend.

Batman and Ariel enjoying some breakfast...Taylor and Camden are chowing down, too
We took the ferry over to Seattle and toured around the Seattle Aquarium and Pike Place Market.

Enjoying some ice cream in Seattle

How many people can you fit into 1 bathroom?!

A little pre-birthday party for Camden.

Hip hip hooray-it's the Holloways!

We were very excited to have Maggie and Andy over to visit yesterday! It had been too long since we'd hung out with them and it was great catching up. Emma and Camden entertained us playing in the sprinkler (Camden was not quite sure what to think of it...) and on the Slip & Slide.

On the Water w/ the Warthens...

So tonight marked our first time on a boat(other than the ferries) since arriving in Washington..and of course it was with our Washington Family, the Warthens. This marked the first time ever for Camden on a boat. We feel lucky and spoiled to be where we are...Enjoy the pics..





Emma and Claire enjoying the speed of the boat...













Camden looks comfy doesn't he...













Emma, Claire, Aimee, Vanessa and Camden before the launch.



The boat wore Emma out..

Mt. Rainier in the Background...

In the Yard...

Camden and Emma simply love our yard...So as I mowed(becoming kinda of compulsive about the lawn), Vanessa and the kids played...and Emma showed off her boots...Strike a pose Emma.

Waterfront w/ Mommy...

I cannot tell all of you how much respect I have for my wife as she has adapted to being a stay-at-home mom these past 8 months. If moving to Washington was not tough enough....Sure we look forward to the day of Vanessa getting back into the classroom...But I know that she has been back in the classroom since we arrived....Silverdale School for the Kasparek Children...So today she took them to their favorite park on the waterfront....Can these kids get any cuter...When Emma called me at work later, she told me they saw Crabs, and rocks and the ocean, just to name a few...Enjoy..

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Our little gardeners

After weeks of planning out our garden, planting day finally arrived! Emma wanted to get every seed packet they had at the store, but our little 3x25 garden can only hold so much (and I think we might have still gotten a little carried away!) The kids had a blast, so that's what counts. Camden couldn't be sneaky with his dirt taste testing-his face gave him away!

Here's Camden relaxing with his "cold one" after all the hard work in the garden. :)

A Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day just keeps getting better and better! Here's a little flash back to last year...Emma with her broken wing and I was more than ready for Camden to make his grand entrance into the world.

I feel so blessed to have my little angels who treated me extra special today. I even got a big surprise: tickets to Neil Diamond's concert when he is in Seattle in September!

"We'll help you mow, Daddy!"

Just the words Chris wanted to hear from Emma when he came home from work this evening and said he was going to mow the front yard "real quick." They were entertained watching Dad and Camden learned a little life lesson that grass is not very tasty.