Birthday and a vacation

Nate had some time off at the beginning of the week so we went to The Great Wolf Lodge for a few days. We have done something like this every year here in Michigan and will really miss it. The kids loved their bunk beds in the room...

The water park is really fun and FINALLY this year, the kids would ride the big water slides. We weren't stuck in the kiddie pool all day. So Nate and Dylan spent the majority of the trip running up the stairs and coming down the slides on tubes. It was great. Here, I was trying to pull Dylan in without having to go after him. Lazy mom...

Claire was a little trooper, for the most part. She was actually pretty fussy the first day and was up most of the night. I had been really sick too, so Tuesday, the two of us were like 2 zombies all day. Both tired and sick. She did a lot better after that. Only then did I notice a little tooth popping through her gums. Poor thing. She loved the water though...

And Cassie would have sat on a tube on the lazy river all day if we would have let her. At one point, Nate and Dylan were on the slides while I was with the girls. I was trying to get Claire to fall asleep and Cassie really wanted to sit on the tube and float around the lazy river so I thought, what the heck, she can do it. So I propped her in the tube and sent her down by herself. That lasted the first corner and into the water she went. So I ran into the water, baby and all, trying to get to her and some saint came to her rescue. She usually does fine by herself, but not that time. I had a picture I really wanted to post of her going down the river, but Nate wouldn't allow it to be on here. He was in the picture as well and it showed off too many of his muscles and hotness.


It was also Dylan's 5th birthday while we were gone and he was ecstatic about it. He loved everything about the trip, and especially his birthday. We finally found a good Mexican restaurant and he was so giddy when the waitresses came singing to him and gave him some ice cream.

He loved opening presents. He made sure everyday leading up to his birthday that I wouldn't tell him what he was getting. He wanted all his presents to be a surprise. He loves to dress up so we got him a little police outfit to join his many other costumes. Or I guess Katelyn gave it to him. Right Candace?

We had a little birthday party for him when we got back too. I made little super hero capes and masks for each of the kids and they loved them! This is about as crafty as I get, so I was super excited about them too.

And the best part of the party...the cake....

I wanted to make a fun cake for Dylan, but we were really crammed for time so I didn't. Plus, I needed to get the house ready for a showing that night, which was unsuccessful because they didn't like the corner lot. Seriously, it is twice as big as the other lots!!!!! Oh well. That is only 2 showings so far. Gotta love the economy here.

And, to make this post even longer, here are 5 fabulous things that I love about my fabulous 5 year old...

1. He is my snuggle bug. I LOVE to cuddle up to him and give him kisses on his big soft cheeks.
2. He gets so excited for birthdays and holidays. He knows that Easter is next, then Daddy's birthday, then we move, then Claire's birthday, then Kindergarten, then mommy's birthday, then Cassie's birthday, then Christmas, etc. etc. etc. He is always counting down the sleeps until the next exciting event.
3. He lives for wrestling with his daddy. This is his favorite thing to do every night before bed. I have also caught him quietly talking about how daddy is his buddy. Too cute.
4. He loves to shovel the drive way, especially with daddy. But when it snows and daddy isn't home, he will go out there all by himself and shovel it. Even when it is -20.
5. He loves to draw pictures and letters. The pictures are so funny too, they really make me laugh.

I love this kid!