Happy Birthday Daniel!

He is 29! Can you believe it?!  

We had a nice, relaxing birthday.  I made waffles with whipped cream for breakfast.  Then Daniel went to work.  

During his morning break, we went to Rock Creek Park and walked around.  It is a little cooler down in the canyon.  

Conner loves the water... or at least he thinks he does. 

We let him put his hand in it and splash a bit.  He enjoyed that.

 After a while he decided that it was way too cold and he was done.

While I finished dinner, Daniel and Conner watered the lawn.  :-)  It was really warm outside, so Conner rather enjoyed getting wet.

 Daniel might have tricked him a bit.  He would turn the water on really low so it was barely coming out, and then turn it up so that Conner got sprayed.  

 I think he was a little confused.  :-) He was definitely soaked!

Daniel requested a 7 layer chocolate cake.  I am not sure why he requested this again.  He requested this last year and the cake ended up being a messy leaning tower...  Have I ever mentioned that I think frosting cakes is the hardest thing ever?! 

I am happy to report that this years cake was much more successful.  

Instead of making an actual cake with seven layers, I made one delicious slice of cake with seven layers of cake and pudding goodness in-between.  Yummy!

Happy Birthday Daniel!  Thanks for being such an amazing husband and father.  We love you!

LeaDawn, Conner, and Baby Grant  :-)

Conner's First Camping Trip

To celebrate Father's Day and summer, and the beginning of our last month in Idaho, we went camping this weekend.  We were nervous about how Conner would do, but he loved it!

Conner helped us set up the tent.  We borrowed my parents tent that has 2 tents that hook together with a tunnel, so Conner had his own room. :-) 

 Conner liked walking from one part of the tent to the other through the tunnel.

We had a nice camp fire.  It was a bit tricky convincing Conner not to touch it. 

He seamed to realize it was warm and liked to watch the sparks and embers flying through the air.  

 

 Dad & Conner warming their hands over the fire.

 Conner slept in his room of the tent in his pack 'n'play in a cocoon of blankets.  He stayed toasty warm.

 Here is the Happy Camper bright and early in the morning, ready to do some more exploring.  He woke up a little after 7 - way too early!

 It was a pretty chilly morning, so we bundled up for breakfast.

 Once the sun came up, it warmed right up.  Conner got a hold of our salt & pepper shaker and jar of syrup.  He had a great time stacking them.  His newest word is Hurray.  He will stack things and then say hurray!  I tried to get it on camera, but he refused to say it.

 Dad & Conner at our campsite.

 Hello?  Is anyone out there?

 We went on a short walk/hike before heading home.

Conner loved chasing butterflies and climbing on the rocks.  He fell quite a bit, but he is a trooper and rarely cried.

 Daniel might have been tickling Conner... but aren't they cute?

 We took our Passport up because it has more space.  It was packed.  We left enough room to squeeze Conner in.  :-)

It was a fun little trip.  I love my Idaho wilderness.  We will probably not have a lot of time or opportunities to camp these next 4 years with Daniel in school, so I am glad we got a quick trip in before we move!

Trip to the Dentist

A few weeks ago while brushing Conner's teeth, I noticed a black area behind his front tooth below his gum line.  I had Daniel help me inspect it further, but Conner was not very cooperative.  We could not tell what it was, but it did not look good.  After looking at pictures online (bad idea!), I was positive that Conner had tooth decay, and I was a horrible mother.  I spent the night lying in bed thinking of everything sugary I have ever fed him...

So, the next day Conner had his first trip to the dentist.  Conner had had a very sore mouth for the last 2 or 3 weeks because he has 2 or 3 molars coming in.  Considering the state of his mouth, he did very well with the dentist.  (At least he did not bite him too hard.)

I was very relieved to find out that the black area was not tooth decay, but a piece of nut shell or popcorn that had slid between his tooth and his gums.  Conner passed the check up with flying colors.  I was one relieved mom.  Conner was glad (or he should be) that he will still be allowed his sugary treats.

Centennial Park

Thursday we visited Centennial park.  It is down in the canyon down river from Shoshone Falls.

Conner wanted to walk right into the river.  We compromised and let him put his hand in.

I think he would have been happy to sit here all day.  

The munchkin chasing a butterfly.  

 There is a waterfall on the way down the canyon that you can walk behind.

 Pretty!

Kristin and the waterfall. 

 The Grant family and the water fall.

 Conner wanted to touch the waterfall...

 A view of the valley from behind-ish the watherfall.

 Daniel let Conner test out the stream with his feet...

 It was a little too cold for his taste.

 Thanks for the visit Kristin!