Happy Birthday, Karsten - part two

To celebrate Karsten's big birthday, we went to Blue Harbor Resort with Aubriella and family. We had a blast!!!

The kids even drank "beer" (apple cider).

Natalie picked out Daddy's cake - I think she chose the perfect one!

The kids had such a blast...

I wonder if Karsten made a wish...

Karsten let each kid have a "tool" from the cake.

Karsten seemed to enjoy the day. It's always good to be surrounded by friends and family. 

Of course, we spent a lot of time in the waterpark:

Natalie is such a good swimmer.

She also loved the waterslides. She did them both on her own, and with Karsten. One time, after the two of them came down the slide, I was in the right spot at the right time with the camera:

That's Natalie behind that innertube - tipping it over...

You did it - no, you did it...

It's all good - so many giggles!

Happy Birtday, Karsten!

Karsten had a big birthday this year! We celebrated with a fancy breakfast table - and a big present:

The big box was something Karsten had wished for. It was really fun trying to hide it from him. Fortunately, Natalie and I had build a big fort in the living room the weekend before - the perfect hiding spot!

Happy Birthday, Karsten!

Natalie also had a birthday song for Karsten:

Cuddle time with Daddy

Sometime, hanging out with Daddy in front of the TV is just what is needed:

Cuddle time!

Daddy - Daughter Dance

On Valentine's Day, Natalie and Karsten went to a Daddy - Daughter Dance. Natalie was very excited. First, her and I sent to the salon to get a special fancy hairdo for her:

Such a pretty girl.

Karsten dressed up all fancy, too:

That's a cute couple.

There was a photo booth at the party:

Look like fun.

Natalie met one of her friends from school at the party:

There was lots of dancing...

And cure pictures...

Of course, I didn't get to go, so i just heard the story thru the pictures above. But I did get to see Natalie being all happy before she left:

Karsten got in on the dancing at home, too:

Garden of Lights

Between Christmas and New Years we went to the Botanical Garden. Their light display is one of our favorite Christmas traditions:

After the raindrops comes the sun and the rainbow...

Natalie and Karsten at the end of the rainbow - she's my pot of gold!

The huge Christmas tree is one of the best known decorations. The shadow in front is Natalie.

And the huge caterpillar that we walk thru is also a must stop for photos.

Flipping crepes

Natalie and Karsten were making crepes. Natalie was very fascinated with how Karsten could flip them in the air. So, of course she wanted to learn, too! I had a blast watching them and trying to take their picture. Here is one that turned out pretty nice:

Getting ready for the flip...

But some of the other pictures ended up being really funny:

The crepe-hat!

The crepe-face!

Natalie is a fast learner, and she actually got pretty good at it. Just take a look for yourself:

Last day of camping - going home

On the last day of camping, we had to pack up the cars again. This gave the girls another chance to do some gymnastics outside while us grown-ups were packing and cleaning inside:

The balance beam!

Brayden loved stealing Karsten's cap.

Of course, we had to have our traditional picture with all three kids. It only took about thirty pictures to get one where they were all looking at the camera and looking reasonably happy:

Cheese!

After checking out, we stopped by the Bears cottage again. We had some arwork to drop off:

Mail for the Bears.

Then we went back to the mini golf course:

Hole in one many, many tries.

On the way home, we stopped for lunch at a gas station / Subway. After a healthier lunch, it was time for a dessert for Natalie:

That's a big donut - with multi-colored sprinkles, of course.

When we got home, Natalie was happy to clean up a bunch of rocks while I unpacked. I think the idea for this came from the rocks we had been looking at at the campground:

So focussed...

Ready for drying and organizing.

Camping day two - swimming

Of course, it wouldn't be camping without swimming...

Karsten pulled Natalie around the kiddie pool for a while...

As you can see, the Dads worked really hard (most of the time...)

Natalie pulled Aubriella around for a while, too.

And of course, the big beach ball had to come into play.

It was definitely worth the time to blow it up (easy for me to say, it was Karsten that did all the work...)

Smaller beach balls can also be fun.

After a while, Natalie wanted to go in the big pool. At first, she had Karsten hold on to her from the side of the pool.

After some time, she convinced Karsten to go in with her (even though the pool was pretty cold).

And soon, Natalie was swimming around all by herself!

Camping day two

The first morning, we woke up to this sight on the front porch:

The left-overs of the corn we had brought for dinner that night... An animal had found them and had a feast for itself during the night! What a mess.

We went on the wagon ride and met Cindy Bear.

Natalie helped raise the flag.

Later that morning, we had other things to do...Like a haircut for Karsten:

The girls took turns using the shaver...

And did a pretty good job... Karsten only needed a little bit of touch-up afterwards!

The girls came up with a new game - jump off of the stairs.

We also found time for mini-golf...

And some silly pictures...

And then it was time to get ready for the pool. It took Karsten a while to blow up this beach ball - can't imagine why...

To be continued...