Alden Turns 6!!

I can't believe my little (not so little) boy is 6!  It has been 6 years since I became a Mom and I can't imagine my life differently!  Alden has become a sweet, caring, sensitive, energetic, bright, active, independent and happy boy!  He has grown and learned so much in the last year with him starting full day kindergarten.  There have been rough patches but he is learning so much and I am so proud of how much he has learned in the last year!

For his birthday this year he got to have a knight themed birthday party.  He didn't have school on his actual birthday so we were actually able to do the party then which he loved!  We had the kids decorate their treasure chests, go on a quest, fight a dragon and practice sword fighting.  Alden invited 7 boys (all but one of which could come) and 1 girl. It was a little crazy and loud but they all seemed to have a lot of fun.  Alden had a blast and was so glad all of his friends came over to celebrate with him.  I was a little stressed about getting everything ready and keeping that many kids entertained for 3 hours but it ended up going smoothly.

 Anders was so excited to help make frosting for the sugar cookies.

 Alden wanted a castle cake for his party so this is what I came up with.  I thought it came out fairly well.  It wasn't perfect but Alden's face lit up when he saw it and that was plenty for me!

 Alden loved decorating his treasure box with tons of gems.

 Here were the cookies and rice krispies from Alden's party.  The crown cookies were Alden's favorites.

 After the kiddos finished their quest they got to battle the dragon.  The kids all loved beating up on the pinata with the swords they found on the quest and they thought it was hilarious that Drew gave it voices as they hit it.

 Anders and Alden loved this so much!

 Alden loved opening all his presents and he was so excited about everything that he got!

 It was fun seeing him so excited about his presents and seeing his friends explain what they got him.

 Alden got so excited when it was time to sing and blow out candles.

 So sweet!  He was so happy!

 I love his smile and one more picture of his cake.  The top part was white cake and the bottom part was chocolate cake.

My boy really is 6 and I am so glad that he had such a great birthday!  It was fun to give him a birthday that he truly enjoyed and to see him so happy!  I love making my kids happy and so this day was definitely a success in my book.

Easter

The boys were so excited to have the Easter Beagle come visit them again this year for Easter.  I still love that Alden honestly believes that the Easter Beagle comes to visit him.  I even asked him this year if the Easter Beagle visits everyone and he said no.  He told me that the Easter Bunny visits lots of kids but the Easter Beagle visits kids that are really special.  I thought that was really sweet and little funny.  It was also fun to see Eliza enjoying her first Easter.  She liked playing with the eggs and just seeing her brothers run around in all different directions trying to find the eggs.  It was a fun day and it was nice getting to do our Easter egg hunt in the morning and then enjoy watching General Conference for a lot of the day.

 The boys were so excited they wouldn't even sit or stand still for pictures.

 Eliza had fun pulling everything out of her basket.

 Anders was really excited about his Mickey and Minnie cars.

 Eliza got a stuffed bunny that she wasn't quite sure about.

The boys were very excited to help Eliza find out what the Easter Beagle left her. 

 Alden loved finding all the eggs!

 Eliza was very happy with the one egg her brothers gave her.

 Anders needed a little help finding some eggs but he was very enthusiastic.

 The boys couldn't hold still at all because they were so excited.

Th boys had fun helping me make this bunny cake for dessert that night since their cousins were showing up to spend 2 nights with us.  It was a great Easter and we are so glad it ended with family showing up to visit.

Hickman Bridge, Ranger Badges and More

On our third full day at Capitol Reef we started by going to hike to Hickman Bridge.  This hike is a little under 2 miles round trip but it was the steepest hike that we took the kids on while we were there (except maybe Chimney Rock).  The kids did really well and it was a fun hike to start our day.  It was also neat because Drew and I had done this hike almost exactly 7 years before, the year before Alden was born, so it was fun to go back and take all of our kids.  The kids had a fun time on the hike seeing the natural bridge and climbing under and over rocks.  It is one of my favorite hikes in the park.

After Hickman Bridge we went back over to a picnic area near the river where we ate our lunch and then we did a little flat hike from the picnic area back to the Visitor Center so that the boys could get their Junior Ranger badges.  Alden was so excited to get another to add to his vest and Anders was just excited to get one with his brother. 

We then went to visit the Nature Center.  I was really excited because I remember visiting the Nature Center as a kid and loving it and we were there the first day that it opened for the season so I could share it with my kids which made me really happy.  The kids had fun exploring in there and Alden enjoyed doing a scavenger hunt outside with Grandpa.  Eliza even got down and explored with Grandma which she loved.  It was a great stop for all of us.

Before we left the park we felt we had to have pie from the Gifford House one last time.  Yes, we had pie every day we were there and it was so worth it!  I love the pie there and it makes for a great snack after hiking.  Then we stopped at Panorama Point on our way out of the park for a short walk to a view point.  It was a very pretty view with a very short walk. 

I know I have said this a lot but it was so nice to go back to Capitol Reef now that I have kids and show them so many of the places that I loved visiting and exploring as a kid!  It was also nice to have some great family time since Drew has had to work so much lately.  Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I am so glad we went and had my parents there too!

 Starting the hike to Hickman Bridge.  Anders still didn't want to ride in the backpack right away even though he had blistered feet.

 Climbing up the rocks.

 Some of the pretty views as we hiked up to Hickman Bridge.

 There is the bridge.

 I always think it is so funny looking back at the family photos we take because almost always there are kids not paying attention or making weird faces.

 We had to take a picture here to show how much has changed in 7 years.

This was Drew and I in the same place 7 years ago.  We had no kids, were still in school and we looked a lot younger.  I am so grateful for everything that the last 7 years have brought and so grateful for the beautiful little children we now have. (Even if we did do the hike in half the time it now takes us back then. 😉)

 The kids were not really cooperating for pictures but it was a good snack and water break under the bridge.

Anders did ride in the backpack on Drew's back for the most part. 

It was a beautiful day outside with beautiful blue skies. 

Alden loved climbing on all the rocks and ledges. 

There were some really cool rock formations.

Anders loved getting to explore and play with Daddy on the way down.  I loved watching them try to "hold up" the rock together. 

 Alden was an awesome little hiker for the whole trip.

The hike ended near the river and the boys all had fun skipping or throwing rocks in the water there. 

While we were getting food out for our picnic lunch Grandpa took the boys down to the river to throw rocks in. 

My boys could throw rocks in the water all day and still want to throw more. 

 Alden was so excited to put his vest on and go get another Junior Ranger badge.

 Grandpa stopped at this old house with Anders so they could listen to the story about the small community that used to live there.

 Alden got his new badge!

 Eliza was so excited to get down and explore when we got to the Nature Center.

 Eliza and Grandma had fun looking at all of the hand puppets together.

Drew helped Anders stamp all of the animals footprints onto the right places. 

Anders then found the old wooden toys and he had a lot of fun playing with those. 

 So fun getting to play and explore!

After exploring at the Nature Center we went back out to the picnic area to eat pie and cookies one last time. 

Our delicious pie and Alden with his cookie. 

Anders cookie and my mom and dad enjoying their pie! 

Panorama Point really does have some beautiful views. 

The kids enjoyed getting out and hiking a short distance one last time for this trip. 

Alden was excited because his shirt changes color in the sunlight so he got to watch all of the colors appear. 

It was sad that our trip was coming to an end but I am so grateful for the family time we did get to have and that we were able to explore such a beautiful, fun place again!