Erin is 8!

Erin turned 8 last Tuesday! She's growing up fast. We didn't really do a party for her, because we're going to have the whole family get together next weekend for her baptism. She was cool with that. But lest you think we skipped over her birthday, just know that she partied all week!

I took that Monday off, the day before her birthday. She picked out a color and we painted over the stripes in her room. In the afternoon, I redecorated the rest of the room and wouldn't let her go in there until Rob got home. The pictures I took weren't spectacular, but she was happy with her new room & sweet new saucer chair.

The next day, her actual birthday, my parents kept the kids all day. They did all kinds of stuff! They went to see Despicable Me, which was a huge deal because we never go to theaters - seriously, the kids have only been a couple of times. Needless to say, they LOVED it! They also went out to lunch, went shopping, and swam. That night, we had dinner at Red Robin. When we were finishing up dinner, Erin was happy to get a phone call from her Nana Sandy in Illinois! She felt pretty important.

After dinner, she opened her presents and we had caramel cheesecake (her request).

The party didn't stop there! The next day, the kids spent the day with Nana. They had cupcakes and brownies, and Erin got to open more presents! They went shopping and played and had a great time

A little about Erin:

- She is super smart! That kid can figure out just about anything, and she's very insightful. She thinks things through and figures out the "whys" and "hows".

- She has always been pretty grown-up. She started talking pretty early, and was never difficult to understand. She's easy to reason with, and was never a big fit-thrower. She's a good-natured kid.

- She has an insane memory! Erin can remember obscure stuff in great detail from years ago. She can commit stuff to memory after reading it once or twice (very handy when she has to memorize stuff for school)

- She is an extremely nice big sister. She has loved her brother since Day 1, and was never jealous of him. She is very kind to him and always makes sure he's OK. She shares with him, comforts him, makes him laugh, and teaches him stuff.

- She's not shy. I really admire this because I was really shy when I was a kid. She loves to mingle and visit with people before church. She orders her own food in restaurants, and she likes to do things like run in and pick up a pizza we ordered or grab something from the store while I'm pumping gas.

- Erin is funny. A little sarcastic & a little weird and a lot of fun!

Rob and I realize how lucky we are to have been blessed with Erin. She's a great kid, and it's certainly not our doing... it's just who she is. We love you, Erin!

Camping, Chapter 2

We went camping at Knoll Lake again last week. It started raining just as we finished setting up, and it rained for a few hours, but it cleared up and stayed nice the rest of the time.

We stopped to look off the edge of the Mogollon Rim this time...

Erin found a swing to play on...

Rob taught the kids to shoot the BB gun...



We ate s'mores...


The kids hollered at each other through the pipes under the road...



We played cards & ate Swedish Fish...



One day we drove down to the store at Woods Canyon Lake & ate ice cream sandwiches...

The water in the lake was warmer this time, so we had a lot more fun swimming. Rob and I took turns swimming across the lake and jumping in off the rocks.

Now we're back in the Phoenix heat! I'm glad we both have today off so we could get everything cleaned up and relax after our vacation. It's always nice to ease back into the work week!