Ryker's Birthday

We let the birthday boy sleep in and we skipped church today.  (I know, we're heathens!)  It had been a LONG weekend already and we had a big day planned.  Robert went to get donuts for breakfast (a birthday tradition in our house).  We all enjoyed some yummy donuts and then got started preparing for the big party.  Well, it wasn't really that big.  We kept it to just family this year (which is still plenty of people).  Ryker requested an outer space theme.  I found free printable invitations online and then some monster stuff at Hobby Lobby.  The monsters looked like aliens to me so we went with it.  I made cupcakes and we had some fruit and dip and veggies and dip. Pretty low key, but we had an amazing time.  Ryker loved having some of his favorite people here to celebrate with him and LOVED all his birthday presents! 

Enjoying his special donut with sprinkles

Playing in the closet while I got the house cleaned for the party.  Goof balls!

Some of our "alien" decorations

We had to watch his birthday video a few times before everyone arrived.  The boys love dancing along to the music.

Some of our honored guests, Aunt Karen, Jo, and Grandma Sheepie

Daddy and the Birthday Boy

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday

Making a wish.

My big 5 year old!

 

He got tons of new bug hunting and catching gear which he is in love with!

That gun acts like a vacuum and sucks up the bug and allows you to capture it.  It really is cool stuff and perfect for my nature lover. 

 

After the party was over, we headed straight to PetSmart to pick out Ryker's birthday gift from us.  He has been asking for a hermit crab since shortly after he started his first year of preschool.  They had a hermit crab in their class and he loved it.  We finally gave in and thought his birthday was the perfect time to give it to him.  We picked out a cage and some accessories, and, of course, the crab itself.  He was so excited he could hardly contain himself.  After dinner at McAlister's (his choice), we went home and got the new crab all set up.  The boys were pretty excited.

They are both fascinated with it.

That night, I went to check on Ryker and found the crab over half way up one of the trees in his cage.  This worked out well and I could finally tell it was a male.  We chose to name him Sheldon.  :-)

Independence Day Celebration

Our town's Chamber of Commerce put on an Independence Day celebration a bit early at the high school this year.  We decided to head over there and check it out in the evening after Hudson's party.  Aunt Kate went out for her birthday (same day as Ryker's) and Nana and Papaw had Hudson.  They met us there.  It was not a big affair but the kids still had a great time and it was a fun little evening activity.

These two loved listening to the band. 

I loved watching Hudson jam out.  It was so cute!

They had a few carnival games set up.  Ryker had a great time.

Cam was mainly interested in getting a sucker.

The darts was a favorite!

He collected quite a few prizes.  The monkey is his new best friend.

Happy 1st Birthday, Hudson!

Dave and Kate chose to host Hudson's first birthday party here in town despite their recent move.  We were thrilled to see them and spend some time with them (even if it was much too short)!  The party was adorable and a ton of fun!

Kate's friend, Ashley, has a little boy, Coen, who is just a year older than Ryker.  Every time we see them they play together the entire time.  They had a blast with the photo booth props.

Me and the birthday boy.  This might be my favorite of the day.

They used our baby pool to make a ball pit.  It was a huge hit with the kids!

The cupcake toppers Kate made killed me with their cuteness!

Hudson did not like his cake at all!  Kate tried to encourage him a bit, but it was to no avail.  Funny thing is she did a smash cake photo session earlier in the week and he went crazy for it!  Finnicky little dude!

He looked ready for a tropical vacation in this one. :-)

Camden enjoyed Hudson's new toys pretty well. 

5 Year Pics

Aunt Kate did Ryker's 5 year old pictures a bit early since they moved about a month ago.  Here are a few of my favorites.

These were taken in our own backyard.

Ryker has claimed this tree as his treehouse and has built a campfire out of stones and sticks at the foot of it.

He looks so big!

And so handsome!

Kate also sent some outtakes.  I love them! 

I never want to forget his sweet, silly personality.

Or his monkey-like tendencies.  :-)

Fishing with Papaw

Ryker spent the night with Nana and Papaw last night.  This morning Papaw took Ryker fishing out on his boat.  Ryker had an amazing time and hasn't stopped talking about it.  He could use some work on casting, but did great otherwise.  He caught several fish and even proclaimed that he was "the best fisherman in the world." 

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He was pretty proud of himself.

Reeling one in.

He even helped paddle the boat.  Apparently, he was only able to make it go in circles, but he tried!

He helped Papaw clean them so we can have a fish fry. Yum!

Happy 9th Anniversary!

 

Robert and I celebrate 9 wonderful years of marriage today. While it hasn't always been super easy, it has been an amazing ride. We love each other more and more every day. He is my very best friend and I am blessed to have him by my side.

Mom came and watched the boys so we could have dinner out. We chose to go up to Keystone at the Crossing for a little window shopping and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We spent a lot of time in Pottery Barn Kids dreaming of things for the new Little Miss in our lives. It was a great night and lots of fun.

Strawberry Picking

We were able to cross off one more item on our Summer Fun List today.  We met up with Aunt Karen and picked strawberries at Waterman's.  It's the end of the season and the picking was more hunting than anything else, but we did manage to get a decent amount and the berries were delicious even if they were small.  We went back to Karen's and were able to make 3 batches of jam to share over the winter.  The boys did great and definitely enjoyed the fruits of their labor. ;-)  Next year, we will be a bit more proactive and get out there a bit earlier in the season.

Aunt Karen and the boys hard at work.

I finally let Cam eat one. Big mistake...HUGE!  (Bonus points if you can tell me what movie that's from).  Once he ate one, it was on!  He was grabbing and screaming for more every 2 seconds!

We decided we had enough shortly after that and got ready to walk back to the van. 

All of our hard work paid off in sweet, sweet jam! Not bad for 3 hours of time (from the time I picked up Karen to when we left her house).

Feeling accomplished. :-)

 

Fun Night

The boys got into some impromptu water fun tonight after dinner.  I let them play outside while I cleaned up.  The nice thing about the new house is we have a huge bay window in the kitchen that gives me a great view of the backyard.  I feel comfortable with letting them play out there while I'm inside cleaning which is perfect for this season.  My parents brought over the baby pool they had at their house the day before and Ryker decided to start filling it.  Of course, they got in and had a blast!

They got in just as they were...clothes and all.

I stripped them down a bit and got Cam out of his soggy diaper.  He had a great time skinny dipping for a bit.

Eventually I put a swim diaper on him and Robert decided to start a fire for some s'more's.  One more item on our Summer Fun List complete!

Camden seriously enjoyed them!

Me and my boys roasting some 'mallows. :-)

 

It was such a random, unplanned, but super fun night.  This is what summer is made of!

4-H Fair

Today was the sheep show at the fair.  My cousin Grant was showing.  This is his last year showing.  He is the last of the Kennedy grandkids and the last one to show sheep.  We will have quite a gap until we have anyone showing again.  I have either showed sheep on Tuesdays myself or been there to support the family while they show.  It was a bittersweet year this year since it's like the end of an era.  The boys love going out to the fair and seeing all the animals.  It's always a good time and this year didn't disappoint.

Camden had no fear of any of the animals and got into it right away.

Ryker, per usual, was all about it.

He even got to hold a bunny!

He seriously was hugging all of the goats. Cracked me up!

Watching the sheep show. I like to call this picture "Monkey See, Monkey Do"

Cam had to show Grandpa his boo-boo (it's old and long-since healed), but Grandpa gave him a big kiss anyway.

My cousin Lindsay (behind Cam) just got back from being in Kenya for the past 5 weeks.  Cam enjoyed some time with her as he cheered on the 4-Hers. 

Ryker asked if we could take this sheep home with us.

This was after a few hours of being in the hot barns.  I also had the audacity to strap him into his stroller for the walk to the car.  He wasn't too happy with me!

And this is what happened once we got to the car...while we were still in the parking lot!