Happy Birthday Danner Bug

Danner bug turned 7 on September 17th.

Our 7 favorite things about Danner:

1. His smile.

2. His sense of humor.

3. His voice - talking and singing.

4. His determination.

5. His athleticism.

6. His sweet heart.

7. His hugs and kisses.

Because life is so crazy this year, Danner's birthday seemed to come in phases. He had several different phases of opening presents. One of Danner's favorite presents was this Helicopter he got from his Grandma Bowen. He thinks it is funny to try and chase down his brothers with it and hit them.

The next phase was Danner's choice family dinner night. Danner chose his favorite dinner of BBQ ribs and shrimp. Then, of course, finish it off with brownies and ice cream. I love the picture above - Danner just looks so cute and then there is Kyler who looks like he is looking up to his big brother. I love the picture below because Kyler looks like he wants to be the one blowing out the candles.

And finally, this is a card Danner got for his birthday from his cousins and their family. I had to put it on because what his cousin wrote made me laugh one of those cheek-hurting laughs.

Its Camping Time

Mingus Mountain

September 5 and 6, 2008

Just behind us there was a huge drop off. It felt like we were standing at the top of the world.
This was one very fun weekend. Pretty much every day since we went camping, Kyler has been asking me, "When can we go camping again?" I love being with my family in the outdoors. We played games. Capture the Flag was probably the funnest but most dangerous game we played, only because we played in the dark. Luckily we only had one injury and that was dad. Trying to be sneaky, he wasn't using a flashlight and he ran into a big log and cut up his leg. The kiddos also had a lot of fun shooting guns, playing horseshoes, and just running around getting dirty. Oh, and we can't forget to mention the yummy dutch oven peach cobbler and biscuits and gravy. It doesn't get any better than that.

Macy and Kyler are best buds.

I don't think it could get any cuter than these two.

Saturday Morning we went up to a place were hanggliders and paragliders take off from. We sat and watched some of them take off. Wow! it was amazing.

After watching the paragliders for a while, the kids wanted to go find some water. So we all loaded up and headed down the mountain play in the Verde River. The road down the mountain was very windy, but despite that we only had to stop once for car sickness (pretty good considering how many kids there were). Playing in the water was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend.

Tyson trying to show off how all of that working out has paid off.

Labor Day Weekend

Well this has been a crazy month, but I am going to try to catch up on my posting for September. Over Labor Day weekend, we went up to Grandma Deen's cabin in Pinetop. We had such a good time and really enjoyed the time we had to spend with family.

On Saturday Morning everyone (except for Lindsey and Coleson) woke up really early and went fishing. Everyone had a good time. This was especially exciting because it was Kyler's first time fishing and he caught the first fish.
Way to go Kyler!
The reason Bridon is holding the fish is because Kyler was not about to touch that fish. He was okay holding it on the fishing line, but he was not about to hold it with his hand.
Meanwhile, Lindsey and Coleson were back at the cabin sleeping in until 9:30.
Way to go Coleson!
We played and had lots of fun at the cabin, but one of the things the boys loved and wanted to do the most was swing in the tire swing. They were having a competition to see who could go the highest and touch the pine needles in the huge trees with their feet.
This isn't a very good picture because it was getting dark when I took it, but here is Bridon just about to touch the pine needles with his feet.
and here is Tommy jumping off of the ground to launch Danner as high as he could go (yep, he touched the pine needles too). I wish you could see the look on Danner's face in this picture.
The other game they loved to play in the swing was to see who could jump out of it and land the farthest. Right now, Danner holds the record.
Kyler and Coleson were not quite as daring as their brothers but loved the swing just as much.

Coleson swinging with his cousin Bailee.