The Icing on the Cake

Maren: 

Even though Nonna and Nonno rescued us from the wet wilderness and brought us home safely, we had to leave daddy there not knowing what exactly was going on with his truck.  Mommy felt really bad leaving him there, especially since it was his birthday.  We said our prayers and thankfully daddy's truck just needed a new starter.  The dealership was able to put a new one in and have daddy on the road by noon!  As a result, he was able to make it home in time for a birthday celebration.  He made it home and wanted a shower to warm up right away!  He was still a bit cold from being out in the rain for so long.  I escorted him upstairs and helped him pick out an outfit fit for a prince.  He even wore a tie for me and let me do his hair!  

Once again, Nonna really stepped it up to help out.  Since we were gone the whole weekend, she picked up all of the things we needed for a yummy dinner.  To finish it off we had daddy's favorite.... ice cream cake!  I even got to carry it in to him all by myself while everyone else sang!  

Maddox: 

Well, everyone else keeps saying how nice it is to be home, but I didn't really mind.  Sure, it was a bit cold but I was surrounded by mud and puddles!  I couldn't have been happier about the situation.  I will admit that it is nice to be home so that we can be warm and dry.  As much as I like playing in the puddles, I don't really like it when my pants get all wet.  

As sissy mentioned, Daddy made it home in time for a nice birthday celebration.  We had a yummy dinner with Nonna and Nonno and then, we had cake!  I got to sit on daddy's lap and help him blow out the candles, though he had to keep his hand over my mouth until the time was right because I kept trying to blow them out on my own.  

The weather is gradually getting warmer and that means lots more time outside for adventures.  Now that mommy has a nice bike (thanks to Nonno) and a seat for me we can go on rides down on the greenway.  We loaded everything a few days ago and met Miss Heather, Jace and Bella for a ride.  Maren and Jace did great on their big kid bikes and Bella and I enjoyed our chauffeured ride from the back.  At one point our mommies even caught us having a little conversation!  

Happy Birthday Daddy! Can we go home now....?

Maren: 

This last week was daddy's birthday and we got to go camping.   Mommy let daddy choose the adventure and he decided to take us to the coast for a little camping in the elk tent.  That way, we could visit the beach, he could do some fishing, and we could all have a great time together.  Since it is still spring, mommy and daddy watched the weather pretty close before we went.  Mommy said a little rain was acceptable, but a lot was not!  The weatherman promised beautiful days with a maximum of 20% of rain, so we loaded up A LOT of gear and headed over.  

Unfortunately, the weather man was really WRONG!  The weather forecast changed Friday when we were already on the road, so mommy and daddy didn't even know.  Thankfully, Friday was really beautiful and we were able to spend some time down on the riverside beach after we got our camp set up.  But then, Friday night when we were in bed, a huge storm rolled in.  It poured rain on us all night long and on into the morning.  When we woke up, our tent was sitting in a huge puddle of water and everything that was on the floor or outside was soaking wet!  Really, our entire campsite was just one big puddle.  It rained off and on for most of the day on Saturday and kept raining through the night.  To top it off, the starter on daddy's truck went out so we weren't even able to go anywhere to get away from it for a bit.  

We all tried our hardest to make the best of the situation and took advantage of any break in the rain we could.  We did countless loops around the park on our bikes which was great practice for me and my biking skills.  When the rain showed no sign of stopping Nonna and Nonno decided they better come and rescue us.  So, Sunday they came over to get us which meant poor daddy had to stay by himself.  :(

Maddox: 

My first camping adventure!  Not sure I was too impressed by the whole thing but I'm willing to give it another go.  First of all... wow!  It sure is a lot of work to set up camp!  Daddy brought the elk tent and all the stuff to go with it and it literally took forever to set it all up.  Secondly, its not a lot of fun to camp in the rain when no one will allow you to splash in the puddles!  When I woke up Saturday morning to find our entire campsite was covered in water and mud... I was in heaven! I ran around and splashed and splashed!  Mommy let me do it as long as I wasn't inside the tent but I was pretty much immediately soaked and muddy which didn't make me too happy.  

Since it rained much of the time we were there and daddy's truck was not working, we never made it to the beach like mommy promised.  But, we took advantage of every rain break we could and went for a little spin around the campground.  Sister on her bike and me on my tricycle.  Mommy and daddy were pretty impressed with my stamina, for every time we got back from a ride, I would ask to go again.  My little legs would peddle, peddle, peddle like mad around that loop and I enjoyed every bit of it.  

As sister mentioned, on Sunday, Nonna and Nonno came to rescue us.  They took us into town for a nice warm, and dry, lunch and then I got to have an ice cream cone from the same place sissy had her very fist one when she was 9 months old!  We hit the road with full bellies and it wasn't long before sister and I were both fast asleep.

Beach!

Tubby Time!!

Spring Time Fun