Carson's Rockin' 8th Birthday!

We decided to go a little simpler this year for Carson's party and invite 5 friends to the house for his birthday.
Carson wanted a geology theme with gemstones and rocks.

So, we ordered some rocks and gemstones from a website and mixed them in with sand for the kids to "mine" and find their rock treasures.  There were all kinds of rocks.  From amethyst, to desert rock and many other kinds that I don't know their names but Carson does. :)

I decided to do a dessert bar.  I made Dirt Cake with rock candy and gummy worms.  What other kind of cake would we have at a Rock Party?

We also had stalagtites (pretzels covered in white chocolate and edible glitter), pop rocks, bags of gold nugget gum, crystal candy suckers, ring pops (Momma's favorite kind of rock!), gummy candy that looked like actual rocks, and special cookies I had made by a local sweet shop.

I'm sure the parents loved me for filling the kids full of sugar, but it was fun to put together.

We made miner hats with plastic orange and yellow hats that I wrapped in black duct tape and put a round "light" on the front.

The garage was converted into their work stations....

Carson with his crew...

Dad had to get in on the fun.

There was  fossil dig.

A geode splitting station.

And, of course, gem mining!

Next, we sang happy birthday and ate dirt cake and lots of treats from the dessert bar.

It was a fun party, but I don't think it was any simpler than last year's party.  So, maybe next year 1 or 2 friends and a movie or something.  I don't think this Momma can do this every year. :)

But I am so glad he had fun.  These are the type of things I dreamed of for those 8 years of trying to get him here.  And as tiring as all the work is to prepare for it, I know I'll miss these days when they're long gone someday.

On Sunday, we had a family dinner to celebrate his day.
Fran and Gary are his adopted grandparents... so of course they were there too!

Grandma Pat

Tho only picture I got of Grandma and Gpa Marre....

Carson and Lauren....

Samantha, Nikki, Aunt Kelly, and Uncle Scott

Present time!

Kelly T.

Cake time! He requested marble cake... his favorite...

A family picture

And some favorites to remember.

Sunday evening was the Superbowl.  We are usually with friends for this occasion, but we were all so TIRED!  We just stayed home and sacked out.  I did enjoy the halftime show with Bruno Mars.  He did a great job, and I didn't have to block Carson's eyes through part of it like I feel like I need to do when some of the popular females perform these days.  HA!

Ollie enjoyed having so many people over to get excited about and lick all over.  But he was worn out by the time everyone left and pretty much stayed asleep the whole evening.

Every year, it amazes me that Carson is another year older.  

Since he has been born, time has just flown by.  Like. Crazy.

I am forever thankful to be his Momma.  

He is my whole heart.  

Forever.  

Back to school! Week 1

Well, Carson is officially a SECOND GRADER!  How did that happen?

The family pic on the first day...

We always get pics with our very good friend Lauren, who lives down the street.

Here's a look at last year's with this year's....

At the end of the day, Carson came in to my room with this whistle from his teacher and said,"You 'moustache' me a question about my day."  too cute!

Ollie is getting back to his day long naps at the window while we are gone.  He is trying to stare down Carson for a bite of his after school snack here.

Friday, we had a back to school bash at our school.  Eric was "randomly" selected for the timed tricycle race.  And he WON!  Way to go Daddy!

Saturday, Carson and Daddy went to a Dutch oven cooking class with the Boy Scouts.  I stayed home and ran errands and cleaned house.  They had a great time making Grandma Pat's chicken and rice.

 

It was a great first week of school!  Though I am continuing to pray for things to not get too crazy. 

ky*3 is the place to be!

Carson's Boy Scout troop recently visited the KY3 News Station on a "GO and SEE"

Grandma drove him up after school to meet Daddy since I had a meeting.  But, I think he really enjoyed it. 

He looks just a little excited in this pic....

They were able to sit through the broadcast and watch the whole show being taped.  That would be a pretty cool experience. 

They were able to meet the meteorologist, Ron Hearst.  Carson asked him, "Will it be cloudy with a chance of meatballs tomorrow?"  Such a stinker!!

Who knows... maybe a career in television in in his future!

the BOBCAT badge

Joining Cub Scouts has been such a great experience for Carson.
We joined this past summer, and he is loving it.

He absolutely loved selling popcorn.  I think he made Uncle Scott proud with all his sales....

Recently, he earned his Bobcat badge.  There are certain activites and things he needed to learn in order to earn the badge.  They have a pledge, motto, handshake, and much more that they learn.

They had a little ceremony.  The colors represented certain areas of growth and character.... but I don't remember what they were...

Carson with his Tiger Cub group.

He also earned a Leave no Trace badge, a summer activities pin, and many belt loops...

I am so very proud of him. (and Daddy)

He has tried some organized sports and doesn't seem to really enjoy them.
But, this seems to be an activity that he likes and looks forward to.

I'm thrilled he has joined and that Daddy spends the time with him to take him every week and do  the activities with him.  He is BLESSED to have a daddy that loves spending so much time with him.

And I can't wait until the POPCORN arrives. 

So. Good.

our little artist

Carson has been very into drawing pictures lately.  So, we went to Michael's for some supplies and he decided to spend his money on a book and DVD that is intended for adults on how to draw dragons.  He loves dragons.  He even had a pet dragon when he was littler.  He called him his pet "gagon."

I also purchased a sketch pad for him so he would have some nice paper to draw on.

He came home, popped the DVD in the player, sat on my bed and began watching the lady talk and explain the process.  (of course, Ollie was in the middle of it all)

And every time I checked back.... he was still listening very intently and drawing....

I just love this pic with his legs crossed.  He is very focused at this point....

By the time he was finished, he had quite a few dragons completed.  I'm so impressed with how well he drew them.  He used her tips and techniques.  He  even worked on shading........  And he loves to name them. 

We may have a little artist on our hands..... 

talking rocks cavern...

We had a blast visiting the Talking Rocks Cavern this summer....

The tour of the cave was very interesting.  There were quite a few steep stairs.  And we climbed deep down into the cave...

I always love watching Carson take in all the facts we learn as we go on an adventure.  He is so interested in everything, and loves to learn.  I'm amazed at how much he retains and how much he enjoys learning.

They called this group of stalagmites... Hanging Bacon.

More climbing...

After the tour, Carson loved mining for rocks.  We purchased a bag of sand that was filled with different kinds of rock.  He has quite a collection started already.

They also had these mazes that the kids could get inside and climb through.  Carson needed a little help, but he eventually made it through. :)

We had lunch at the steak place at the Landing.  This salad was scrumptious!

And I bought these cute earrings at Versona on the Landing.  I love that they are nickel free (which they had many nickel free earrings) and they are light and easy to wear.

Another fun family day in the summer of Twenty12!!