Dinner at Beaver Street Brewery

After the big Thomas the Train party, and a good nap, of course, we all headed out for a carefree dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery. We had some great food and lots of fun with continued birthday celebrations. Our waiter was great and brought Caden an ice cream sundae topped with gummie worms and a giant chocolate chip cookie. He claimed the cookie and Micah helped with the gummie worms and ice cream. It was very cute.

Caden's 2nd Birthday Party

Saturday was Caden's 2nd Birthday Party - done Thomas the Train style. I can't believe he is turning 2!! Time goes so fast.

We had a great time playing outside, grilling up some brats and hot dogs, eating cake, and opening presents with some friends and family. Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun. Caden loved the party and especially the presents! He has been playing non-stop since the party ended!

The usual swarming of kids during present time.

Inspecting a new train.

Playing with his new Cars racing toy while sporting a conductor's hat - of course. ;-)

Granddaddy and Nana.

Heather hanging out with Brycen and Micah.

**My parents took more pictures than I did, so I am going to post some of their's sometime soon.

Fun Day at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park!

A beautiful and HUGE tiger resting in the shade.

At the Tiger Splash show. Yes, those are people swimming and playing ball with the tigers. It was awesome! We actually got to see one of the tigers (I think his name was Zion) jump off the edge of the pool into the water for the first time (they entice them with toys in order to teach them hunting skills). He was adorable - very cautious and nervous about jumping off the edge. I guess the trainers have been trying to get him to do it for quite a while now!

Jamie with Brycen watching the tigers play. It really was SO COOL!

Nana with Caden (and Micah in the seat) on the safari tour bus. Can you tell it was hot by looking at Caden's cheeks? He was MUCH happier than he appears in this picture. The safari was also very cool. Giraffes were sticking their heads in the windows for treats. Micah and Caden thought it was just awesome.

On the safari tour: Antelope

On the safari tour: Zebra

There were also giraffe (like I said), ostriches, camels, and a white tiger.

Flowers

I spent part of this afternoon re-planting my backyard planters with flowers. Thanks to the unseasonable rain we have had, and the cooling trend that came right along with it (we have dropped to freezing many nights in the last 2 two weeks), many of the flowers I planted a few weeks ago froze and died. Hopefully they last a bit longer this time! Luckily, I really enjoy planting flowers - it is relaxing and allows me to use up some creative energy - so it didn't bother me too much to do it again. In fact, I actually like the way I did the planters a bit better this time. Here are some pics...

Planter #1

Planter #2

Thomas & Friends Trains For Caden

Birthday presents have begun rolling in for Caden (he turns 2 this month), starting with money from G.G. (my grandmother) to buy two of the Thomas & Friends trains, James and Percy. Mommy and Daddy also went ahead and bought him the Roundhouse Station to help store some of his trains. He is having a ball - that boy sure loves his trains!!

THE Backpack :-)

Micah's new backpack (and coordinating lunchbox) arrived via UPS on Thursday and Friday of this week. He is very excited about getting to take them to school on Tuesday, but in the meantime, has been wearing the backpack all around the house. Caden is equally excited because this means the Elmo backpack was passed down to him. They have both been having such fun enjoying their backpack adventures... something about a backpack really seems to encourage playing pretend.

1st Day of Preschool!

Micah is such a big boy now! Tuesday marked his first day (well, three hours) of preschool. He is attending Peace Lutheran Preschool on the east side of town. Fortunately, they have a summer program, so I didn't have to wait until August to get him started -- he is so ready!!!

He was a trooper, did not shed even one tear, and hardly felt the need to say goodbye to Jake and I when we dropped him off. He was pretty excited. The teachers gave us a good report when I picked him up around noon. His daily report card said...

Micah
I'm so proud of you today because:
- Knew his ABCs
- Had a Great First Day

I could have told them about the ABCs, but it was cute to see on his report.

He goes back tomorrow morning - he will be going two mornings a week, Tuesday and Thursday. The picture above shows him wearing an Elmo backpack that he got for a gift a couple years ago. He has to use it temporarily since none of the stores sell kids backpacks this time of year. I finally ordered a new backpack (with a truck per Micah's request) and a matching lunch box off of Amazon.com. It should arrive sometime next week, I think. Good thing because I have sure been hearing about his dissatisfaction regarding the Elmo bag... I love that lil' stinker.

Finishing up!

Here some pics of Jake putting the finishing touches on the living room... he finished on Sunday night. He worked so hard. Good job, honey!

Growing Herbs

Sweet Basil

Italian Parsley

I planted some seeds for Italian Parsley and Sweet Basil about 2 months ago. They are doing really well, so I thought I would post some pictures. Once the herbs are a bit stronger I will need to move them to larger pots and put them outside.