Six!

So, somewhere in the middle of all of the boating and fishing and fun that was happening at the lake my big boy turned six!  I can't call him a toddler or a preschooler, I have to call him a kid.  I don't know if I can handle it, where did the time go?

At first Evan wasn't so sure about celebrating his birthday at the lake.  After all, when we're at home, the boys get to pick everything that they do on their special day.  However, once Evan realized that he still got to pick what he was going to do that day and he was going to be with his family on a super-fun vacation, he was excited.  For breakfast, we went out to the local donut shop and picked up a delicious chocolate glazed donut for him (and a dozen or so for the rest of us).  As we've already mentioned, he got to go fishing as his next birthday request.  Thankfully, lots of fish were caught that day, the first one being caught by Evan.  So, the trip was a huge success.  Dinner was also his choice, so the kiddos feasted on mac and cheese and fish sticks, yum!

Since it was his birthday, we had to have cake.  I came prepared with a chocolate cake mix, and all the kiddos helped Ian with the baking and icing (and a little bit of bowl licking).  So, after dinner we first sat down to open the few presents we had brought with us and those from Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma and the Mhires.  He loved all of his presents from the gift cars to the Angry Bird candy and the Crazy Loom which he got right to work on.  Coupling those presents with the marker maker and whale room redesign that he got at home before we left, that little boy had quite the celebration.

And we definitely have reason to celebrate.  Our first little baby has grown into a wonderful, creative, intelligent, somewhat distractible, huggable little boy.  When he was little he was never much of a hugger or cuddler, but he has definitely made up for that now.  He is always looking for a hug or kiss from mom or dad.  His Kindergarten teacher even called him the biggest hugger in class.

He has become so creative.  He wants to be an inventor when he grows up and spends all of his time coming up with new ideas and inventions.  He spends hours with his brother on the kitchen floor drawing different Angry Bird levels.  So, whether he's writing his own little books or making crazy loom bracelets, he's always making something new.

While little Evan has always been stubborn.  This year, while I still see the stubborn that drives me crazy, I've also seen the stubborness and determination that will stand him in good stead when he gets to be a teenager and encounters peer pressure.   When he actually wants something, for example the trophy at the end of swim team (and I'd like to think also the accomplishment of completing the season), he doesn't give up no matter how nervous it makes him or how hard it is.  He is exactly like his mom in this respect, he will whine about this difficult situation all day long, but in the end, he will suck it up and get it done.

My little six year old is also crazy smart.  He can read basically anything that he sees in the world around him, and he's beginning to be able to read little novels on his own.  He can create his own books complete with words and pictures and some amazingly creative and sometimes a little confusing plot lines.  I know he's going to blow his teachers away next year in Kindergarten (that is, if they can get him to pay attention).

Physically, Evan has turned into a little monkey this year.  He still takes his parkour classes.  Consequently, he has gotten really, really strong.  I'm sure he could climb to the roof, but fortunately for us, his fear of heights limits his climbing just a little.  He also enjoys swimming and even wants to continue playing tennis in the fall.

I have absolutely loved every stage in Evan's life, but I love the fantastic boy he's growing in to.  I can't wait to see him grow in the years to come.

(Ian gets a little help icing the cake.)

(sprinkles)

(Evan has fun opening his presents.)

(playing with the new Crazy Loom)

Gone Fishing

So, one of the parts of the trip to the lake that Evan was most looking forward to was fishing.  He had been making his own fishing rods at home just to practice and swore that he was going to make fish sticks for everyone using the fish that he caught.  He was ready.

As soon as we got out on the lake, Evan wanted to start fishing.  Grandpa gave him and the rest of the cousins a lesson as soon as we docked at the shore, but alas, no little fishies were caught that day.  So, on Evan's actual birthday, the next day, our little group headed back down to the dock to see if we could have more success there.

We asked another man that was down there whether they were biting.  He said that they were and pointed us to the area in between the dock and the shore.  So, again, Grandpa helped everyone bait their little fishing rods and they gave it a try.  Before long, the fishing line started shaking, Evan reeled it in, and sure enough, he had caught one.  He was so excited and had a huge smile on his face as he examined his catch and threw it back.

Within a few minutes Jack, Ben, and Olivia all followed suit and caught their own little fish.  All of the kids were thrilled and before we knew it the fish were just jumping onto the hooks.  Uncle Tommy and Livi even managed to catch one without any bait on their hook.  At one point Ben decided to fish in one of the empty boat parking spots and got a little water snake very curious about our little fishing rod.  He was dancing around in the water but thankfully never bit.

All in all, fishing was a huge success.  Evan seemed to have the most patience of the bunch and as Grandpa said-He likes to catch fish, not necessarily fish for them.  So, all the cousins may have a way to go on their patience, but the motivation is there, and I think there will be many more successful fishing trips to come.

(This picture always makes me hum the Andy Griffith theme song.)

(Take a look at that smile!)

(Ben always loves to pet and cuddle all the fish that he caught.)

(Aunt Audra and Jack show off their catch.)

(Uncle Tommy concentrates while Livi gives me a look.)

Cruisin'

After the festivities were over, our immediate family had the rest of the week to have fun and relax at the lake.  One of the things we were all looking forward to the most was taking the boat out.  We had two days where we could take the boat anywhere we wanted on the lake and just have fun.

So, Monday morning, Grandpa hopped in the car and drove the kiddos, Great-Grandma, and all the gear down the hill to the dock while we walked down behind.  We all piled in the boat and had a moment of great suspense when Grandpa turned the key in the ignition and it didn't start.  I think Grandma about had a heart attack until they finally figured out that they just had to plug something in.

(The boat started, we're ready to go!)

(Great-Grandma, Jack, and Livi were excited!)

We were off.  The wind was in our hair.  Unfortunately, Evan had taken dramamine so he wouldn't get motion sick so he was just about passed out in the back of the boat for that part of the journey, but the rest of the kiddos were enjoying the scenery.  Benny especially enjoyed the wind in his face and we had to keep a hand on all of the kids to make sure they didn't go overboard.  On one pass across the lake, Audra, Ian, and Great-Grandma got a little too much of the refreshing spray from the lake and were drenched!

(Grandpa gets used to driving the boat again.)

(Benny loves feeling the breeze.)

(Great-Grandma dries off from her encounter with the wave.)

One we had sailed around for a while we found a great little rock beach, so we docked the boat and hopped out.  This was the kiddos first experience with fishing.  Evan was so excited.  He had been looking forward to this for a long time.  So, Grandpa helped them bait up their hooks with worms and learn how to cast.  Before long Evan was a pro and was standing somewhat patiently in the water waiting for his fish to bite.  He was determined to catch enough fish to make fish sticks for dinner and was a bit miffed when he heard we had to throw anything that we caught back.  All the kids had fun trying.  Even Olivia sat and fished with Tommy with her own fishing rod.

(Grandpa and Uncle Tommy set everything up.)

(Evan soaks in his instruction.)

(Livi casts off.)

(Jack is a natural.)

(Ben and Grandpa think this is fun!)

Benny didn't last too long with his fishing attempts.  Then, he was off to try swimming.  Ian had found a great wading spot over by a log.  So, Grandma and Ian and Benny went off exploring.  I hopped in the lake and enjoyed swimming around for a little while, and pretty soon we had the raft out in the water and all of the kiddos were being paddled around by Ian.  It was a great little stop and everyone had fun playing around, skipping stones, and munching on all the great snacks that we had stashed in the cooler (orange rice krispie treats, the Bitler chocolate chip cookies, and butterscotch brownies).

(Lots of fun to be had around our little boat.)

(Ian and Ben find a wading spot.)

(Cousins go rafting with their uncles.)

Our next fun activity of the day was when we got moving again about put the raft out behind the boat.  Ian was the first to try having the boat tow him around.  He even grabbed the Go Pro video camera and took it along for the ride.  He had fun, and soon Uncle Tommy and some of the kids wanted to try too.  I think Ben was the first kid to take his turn.  He rode with me.  I was sitting up, had him in my lap, and was holding on to the handles with my hands.  It was fun, but I was pretty nervous to have him out in my lap.  We made it without being dumped into the water though.

(Ian takes a try on the raft.)

(Benny and I take our turn.)

Next, Jack and Tommy took their turn and also had a lot of fun.  Even Olivia took a turn behind the boat, but she didn't last very long before she told her daddy that she was done.  We continually asked Evan if he wanted to go, but he didn't think that looked like very much fun.

(Tommy and Jack speed along.)

(Olivia's not missing out on the fun.)

What he did like was driving the boat.  That was another item on his birthday bucket list.  He really wanted to drive the boat for his birthday.  So, he sat on Grandpa's lap and took his turn.  He had a great time but was a little nervous to take the wheel for himself.  The other kids happily followed taking turns too.  I'm glad that it will be a few years before any of them have their license.

(Evan happily takes his turn.)

(Jack, hands on the wheel!)

(Grandpa better watch this one!)

(Livi, the speedster!)

We also got to take the boat out on Wednesday.  It was another beautiful day and we had a great time!  We found another beach, this time with a little pond behind it, perfect for more fishing.  We did more paddling and wading, more fishing (and this time we actually caught some little fish), and more trips on the raft behind the boat (this time with more speed and being dragged across the wake).  All of us were happy from some great days on the boat but definitely sad when we had to park it in its spot for the final time.

(Great-grandma, Grandma, and I enjoy relax and enjoy the view...)

(...the beautiful view!)

(Great-grandma and Uncle Tommy enjoy our private fishing hole.)

(My mommy and I)

A Wedding with a View

As I alluded to in the last post, Evan's swim team season was cut in half by some fabulous family trips.  For the first adventure, we hopped on an early morning plane to St. Louis, our end destination, Grand Lake, Oklahoma.  So, after the quick plane flight and a car ride through the hilly Ozarks that left Evan and I a little queasy, we arrived at our beautiful lake house.

However, we weren't there long.  We had to change into our slightly nicer clothes and head on over to Cherokee Spur Ranch for the rehearsal dinner for my cousin Courtney and her soon-to-be husband Griff.  The ranch was absolutely beautiful, with sweeping views of the lake directly behind where the ceremony would be held.  We had a great evening watching the boys who had been reunited with their cousins Jack and Olivia playing in the big field behind the patio with the beautiful lake in the background, talking with all of my fabulous family that I hadn't seen in far too long, and just generally eating, drinking and being merry.  It was definitely foreshadowing of what was to come.

The next day was the big wedding day.  We headed down for a pre-wedding BBQ lunch.  Everyone was pretty busy getting ready, so we mainly tried to stay out of the way of all of the setting up and beautifying.  The boys were playing outside to stay out of the way and discovered a tiny little fountain up near the house, not much water at all.  However, that didn't stop them from absolutely making a soaking, muddy mess out of themselves.

To separate them from the mess, we decided to walk them down a dirt hill to check out some froggies that Uncle Chip's wife Jane had found on an earlier walk.  We started to walk down the gravel path which led down a hill.  As was walked behind the running kiddos, Ian started to say, "What are our chances of all these kids making it down the hill without someone getting hurt?"  Before he could even get the sentence out, Benny falls face first and destroys his knee.  It was a pretty deep cut, but to keep Benny from completely melting down, we continue on to the frog pond.  We watch the little frogs pop up and down in the pool, and eventually we turn around and march everyone, including Ben back up to the house to bandage the bloody knee.

We headed back to the lake house after that and cleaned our messy selves up for the wedding.  We were significantly more presentable when we headed back to the ranch for the actual wedding.  It was early evening and the light on the back porch for the ceremony was just beautiful.  The wedding was lovely, and there was even a moment where two of Griff's cousins were singing one of my favorite songs and a flock of birds suddenly flew across the scene behind them.  I briefly thought that there was someone in the forest releasing birds because they were perfectly timed and it was lovely!

The reception after the wedding was held in another pavilion, so after some family pictures, we headed on over.  Throughout the whole reception, I just noticed all of these fantastic little touches like hanging flowerpots in the trees, table cards hung with tiny clothespins, painted candle holders on the table, and the wedding programs were even folded into little paper airplanes.

The whole party was lovely from start to finish.  Courtney looked beautiful, Grill looked strong and handsome, and they looked very in love.  I'm so happy for my cousin, she looked so happy, and they both looked so in love!  Their first dance surrounded by friends and family blowing bubbles was such a romantic moment.  The food was the most delicious wedding food that I have had in a long time-chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, and little individual peach pies for dessert.  However, the most inspiring part of the meal was definitely the kids table next to ours where the kids could sit and enjoy their food together while we enjoyed our food in peace.

The kids also got to enjoy their first post-wedding dance party.  Usually we head out when the dancing starts, but this time the kids joined right in with the party, shaking their booty with all of the other dancers on the dance floor.  However, their favorite part of the night might have been running around in the field next to the reception area and collecting all of the clay pigeons that weren't hit in the target practice that morning and eventually smashing all of them on the ground.

It was a beautiful celebration and we were so lucky to be there to share with with our wonderful family!  The wedding was over, but the week of fun was just beginning, so more tales from our adventures in Oklahoma next time.