Happy Birthday, Camden!

Our birthday boy didn't get the usual donut in bed this morning, but settled for a bagel next to the campfire. :) Back at home (airing out those sleeping bag in the background), Camden got to test out his new stomp rocket!
Emma (who is feeling under the weather-ugg) came outside for a little rocket fun.
More presents!

He stopped and smiled-yippee!

Testing out his new dump truck...

and bubbles...

Indian Island Camping: The Birthday Party!

Memorial Day Weekend is not only the start of summer, but also the start of a new year in our little man's life! We celebrated Camden's birthday a day early with a Backyardigans Bash!Our Saturn Outlook was packed to the max, but there was an extra special safe spot for the Pablo cake!
Blowing out the candles...
Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone
(a.k.a. Michelle, Chris, and Vanessa)

The birthday boy opted for a plate of marshmallows rather than cake...

Wow! A Backyardigans book!

Camden's party guests (the 3 Musketeers) were eager to assist him opening presents. I think the body language tells them that he's just fine on his own!

Family photo on the beach!

Emma and Michelle enjoying the campfire

Emma and Claire perfecting their marshmallow roasting skills

Indian Island Camping: Part 2

The sun woke us up (along with some noisy seagulls) Sunday morning and we headed back to the beach! Chris took off on a run and Michelle and I hung out with the kids enjoying the beautiful morning!
Our happy boy!

Hunter and Camden are still in the parallel play phase with one another, but this moment sharing some grapes was so adorable!

The 3 Musketeers reunite!

The camping gang enjoying dinner and drinks!

Indian Island Camping: Part 1

After setting up camp, it was time to head down to the beach for some fun! Michelle and I enjoying Happy Hour on the beach (with Camden as my cuddle bug!)
We made cherry cobbler in our Dutch oven and ice cream in the fabulous ball

Camden hanging out in the tent...

How are we going to get the kids to wind down?

Pop in a movie and have a pajama party in the tent!

Pre Camping Party

While we were waiting to meet up with our camping gang, Emma and Camden had a blast exploring the beach across from the base entrance on Indian Island. Camden will be a champion rock thrower one day (especially with Eugene by his side!)
Camden is checking out a boat passing by...

Emma is playing the part of Ariel sitting beautifully on a rock singing into the shell before the mean witch Ursala (played by Michelle) takes her voice!

Emma and Camden, along with some help from Michelle, are trying to win tug-a-war against Logan and Hunter.

Sweet Dreams

Camden's had his big boy bed for almost 2 weeks. He started out sleeping in his bed for a few hours and then moving to the floor. Most of this week he's just slept on the floor. Chris and I are thrilled that he's staying in his room, falling asleep on his own, and sleeping all night. We are hoping that eventually he'll move into his bed for good.

After his bath tonight, he picked out his own jammies, grabbed a couple Dora books (his new obsession), climbed into bed and said, "Lalby mama." (He wanted me to put on his lullaby music). About 20 minutes later: a sleeping angel...

...who it seems like just yesterday, looked like this.

We're heading out camping this weekend and will celebrate the big 2nd birthday!

The Garden

I will admit that I had lofty aspirationd for my garden last summer. The kids and I were so excited to plant it and become little gardeners. We weeded it a bit and made some great zucchini bread. Then August rolled around and a little place called Silverwood School became more of a priority than the garden. All winter long I looked at the remains of my tomato plants still clinging to their cages. The brown corn stalks were a reminder that I was now living in Washington (not Iowa) and there was no way corn was going to grow in my garden.
The warm sunny weather over the weekend got me into the gardening mood yet again. This year I am more of a realist: pumpkins for Halloween, zucchinis for bread, a red pepper plant in honor of the kids' favorite veggie, and a basil plant because it smelled so good when I walked by it. :) Enjoy the pics of Emma the master gardener!

So I am an Idiot, or just really smart...

So I had this bright idea of doing our family blog this morning..You know..the one that Vanessa spends countless hours on(not really)...Well as I updated this morning and hit post, I realized my mistake..I had updated it to my Running Blog...So here is the link to the blog with the updates of our fabulous weekend...

http://manwichmantorunningman.blogspot.com/2009/05/from-parade-to-sox.html

Bed Time

As we changed our calendar to May and saw Camden's 2nd birthday quickly approaching, we decided it was time for him to make the transition to a big boy bed. Let's flashback to December 2006-just weeks before Emma's 2nd birthday. Here's Chris putting together Emma's big girl bed...Now with 2 assistants, Chris spent Mother's Day evening assembling another bed!
Here is Emma's new bed!

Emma's bed was "flipped" and is now Camden's bed. We don't quite trust him with the bed up high-he's quite the daredevil...

He has spent 2 nights fast asleep in his new bed! Let's hope the trend continues!

Mother's Day Love

The sunshine of my life...

Tulips picked just for me

(it's so tough to remember what flowers are okay to pick and what ones are supposed to stay put for us to enjoy)The twinkle of my eye...

Enjoying an ice cream cone at Ikea after bed shopping
I did say he enjoyed it!
(that extra pair of clothes I always have with me came in handy!)

Vancouver

We were international travelers over the weekend and had a fabulous time in Vancouver!

Friday was a GORGEOUS day! Here we are on the ferry crossing the Puget Sound.

Emma was quite interested in why we had to wait in a line of cars to get into Canada. The boarder patrol officer ask Chris and I what our jobs were. I turned around and asked Emma what her job was and she said, "To be a good listener."

Gosh I love that girl!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and headed to Stanley Park. Here is our listener enjoying the tulips.

Trying out the zip line with Daddy's help
A kiss for Daddy...

On our walk from the playground to the aquarium, Emma and Camden found 2 friends...

Life doesn't get any better than this...

We had an incredible time at the Vancouver Aquarium!

Emma and Camden were mesmerized by the sea turtle floating above them.

Here are our future marine biologists taking care of their "sick" seals.

Camden sharing some dandelions with me...

All aboard for a train ride in the park!

After the train ride we explored the petting zoo. Emma was so proud of herself for petting this goat.

Camden was excited to see real life Eugenes! He was chatting up a storm with this particular duck, "Quack! Quack! Quack! Ew-een! Ew-een!"

Camden and Chris digging away on the playground.

It was a wonderful surprise to find cheery blossoms just beginning to pop!

Here is Chris finishing his half marathon!

The champion and his #1 girl...