Daxon's 7th Birthday

Daxon's birthday was actually in August, but we were finally able to celebrate with a party one month later. His party was at the park with a sports theme. (Please note the personal baseball cake in the above picture that he decorated himself.) He was very specific about what he wanted. He wanted no party games planned; he wanted his own small cake with everyone else having cupcakes; and he wanted a pinata. He just wanted to play with his friends the rest of the time. The party was fun but he was disappointed in the pinata. We had more guests than usual since we were at a park, and the pinata got a little crazy. He didn't feel like he, or anyone else, got enough candy from the pinata. Next time, I think he may rethink the whole pinata thing. (It bears mentioning that Mom tried to talk him out of having a pinata. Of course, she will not say 'I told you so,' but will just hope he remembers next year:)

Labor Day Campout

Rico took Caleb and Daxon camping over the Labor Day weekend. This was a makeup campout for the one cancelled last year due to the hurricane. They camped in the Austin area and spent three nights at three different sites. Ammon and Bethany did not want to go, so Elizabeth took them to visit Grandma. Next time, they won't have a choice because Mom loves to camp with her family and does not like missing all the fun. However, we had a nice time at Grandma's and learned to make tamales.

Caleb and Daxon got pretty good at setting up the tent.

One of the highlights of any camping trip for Caleb and Daxon is building a fire. Most of the places they stayed were under a burn ban, but one campsite allowed open fires. They will spend hours feeding the fire with sticks and pine needles as well as feeding themselves with roasted marshmallows.

The boys were so proud that they climbed Enchanted Rock!

Ward BBQ and Concert

Our ward hosted an activity featuring a band made up of members of our ward. We have some amazing musicians. One of the members actually opened for Journey years ago. They asked Rico to sing a couple of songs with them. He did Johnny B Goode and Superman(Elizabeth's favorite). The band did a great job and everyone had lots of fun.

Eagle Project

In August, Ammon completed his Eagle Project. We painted six rooms for residents of a women's shelter in Humble. He received lots of support from the ward members and we were able to finish in about 4 hours. He did a great job and we are so proud of him. He has two more merit badges to earn before he can receive his Eagle Scout Award. We are hoping to have that done before January.

Def Leppard Concert

Rico, Elizabeth and Ammon went to the Def Leppard concert in August. Elizabeth bought the tickets months ago when she first learned they were coming to Houston. Def Leppard is her favorite 80's Rock Band. Cheap Trick and Poison opened for them and all three bands sounded amazing. "Rock! Rock! Till you drop!"

Tubing

Caleb and Noah get ready to go tubing. The two questions Caleb and Daxon always ask whenever we tell them we are going to Papa's house are...Will Noah be there? and Will Papa take us out in the boat?