Brithday fun, Lake Powell, and playing

J.D. had a birthday on the 31st of July- we went camping up in Holden with J.D.'s family. It was so much fun! We went shed hunting, cooked dinner in the dutch ovens, roasted smores, watched the Blind Side on a projector up in the woods, made a dutch oven breakfast, played phase 10, and went hiking

Here's our little man, loving the outdoors.

Taylee's family didn't know we were going camping, so they didn't bring any camping clothes. They found some of Parkers old clothes for Taylee- although if you've seen her, she is the smallest, and lightest little girl. So her dad got creative and tied some twine to make suspenders... Dawson thought he'd use the twine for other purposes like- a rope to tag around with taylee. The things kids come up with...Dawson has the funnest faces!

CHEESE!!!

Here is Taylee and Parker roasting those YUMMY mallows!

. We went to J.D.'s parents later that night and i asked J.D. if his birthday was everything he wanted? He replied, " well...there's really only one more thing I want to do." I asked, " What's that? I was thinking intimately, but he said, " Go for a horse ride." :-) So we did.

I can't tell you enough how Dawson just loves animals- especially horses. He was really good about giving the other kids turns, but when it wasn't anyone's turns Dawson was ready to go again.



2 days before J.D.'s birthday I had my family come up and we had a brithday dinner with cake since I wasn't going to attempt baking a cake while camping ON his birthday.
Here's Jori posing so dangerously...lol!

Dawson decided to share the frosting with grandma,

and mom......

and then helped himself to the rest...HAHA!

He tried to eat the candles, but soon learned that it didn't taste very good..lol!

He really loved the cake. He kept putting the candles back in the cake after licking them off, and wanted us to keep lighting them so he could blow them out again. It was so cute! i think he will be well practiced for his birthday coming up.

Here is J.D. and his cake. He loved it!

J.D. got a nice chrome toolbox earlier in the year- I told him since it was so pricey it would count as his birthday gift. He was completely fine with that. He also got a new truck- which I will have to post pics when its all clean.
I found a pic of a truck and my mom drew it on the cake and put the musketeers to look like the toolbox. That we he would be reminded of what he did get, since we didn't get him anymore gifts.

For dinner we made the Famous SECRET Tortellinni by my brother Chad. It is so delicious! Carson couldn't get enough of it.. as you can see... haha! He just helped himself.

We headed to Lake Powell after I had spent a week in Kanab helping out with my sister's kids. J.D. came to pick me up and we decided we might as well go to Powell for the day.

J.D. buried Dawson in the sand!

I really think Dawson loved this. He held so still while J.D. covered him. Dawson absolutely LOVED the water, jet ski's, and playing in the sand. I think it helped having all my sister's kids playing with him-plus the water was 83 degrees!

Here is our nephew Layne... he's totally pushing his muscle up...lol!

On tuesday we went to KOA campground by glendale to meet my sister. We brought Jessi over for the week to hang out with us. While we were waiting, I couldn't help but take a picture of J.D. and Dawson playing together.