Birthday Weekend

Caleb turned the big 11 this past Saturday. He'll be a teenager before we know it (and that is a very scary thing to think about). We went camping Friday night, so we kind of celebrated his birthday throughout the weekend. By tradition I went and ate lunch with him on Friday and brought cookies & doughnuts for the class (Caleb is not a fan of cake, so he nixed any cupcake idea). Bobby was off work so he got to join us too (and he brought Caleb pizza to eat which of course was a big hit).   What kid would turn down pizza, doughnuts & cookies for lunch?  I know I wouldn't.  

Friday before we left for camping Caleb had his second basketball game.  They did great and pulled out a win of 41-16. 

And finally we were off...so what if it was only 30 minutes away and we only stayed one night.  There is something to be said about going away and letting the cares of "normal life" slip away if only for a day.  So we got to the campground around 5:00 Friday afternoon and set up camp rather quickly (thanks to our handy, dandy camper).  Bobby had planned for us to have steaks & baked potatoes for dinner (because that is Caleb's absolute dream dinner & he rarely gets to have it).  Usually the adults have steaks and the kids have hamburgers, but since it was a special birthday meal there were steaks for all.  And it was de-li-cious!!

Friday night & Saturday we just enjoyed the normal camping things.  The weather was so beautiful!  It really was hard to pack up and leave so soon.  We got to try out some new-to-us camping accessories that Bobby's Aunt & Uncle passed on to us.  I love the new lights we can hang on the awning.  Not only do they look oh so cool, but they help light up our little space nicely.  The kids enjoyed some new warm sleeping bags also. 

Our usual tradition for birthdays is to take them out to eat at the place of their choice (since they normally don't get to choose what & where we eat).  So not only did Caleb get steaks for dinner the night before, we also let him choose somewhere Saturday to eat lunch.  He chose Andy's which is a local hamburger joint.  We all thought it was a great choice & enjoyed eating outside on a beautiful day.



We got home late Saturday afternoon and still had to do the "cake" & present thing.  Caleb is not one for most cakes and really didn't want a birthday cake.  So, I went out and got chocolate covered doughnuts which hit the spot perfectly.

And then it was present time.  His present was in the mail (literally), so he had just a little something to open up with a picture of his real present (Kobe Bryant jersey).  Micah helped me find some Laker's shorts so Caleb would have something to open while he waited for the jersey to come.



And today it finally arrived in the mail.  Thankfully he loved it and it fit perfectly.  He has already planned to wear it to school tomorrow. 

Another birthday has come & gone.  I can't believe Caleb is already 11.  He has grown up a lot in the past couple of years (not physically per say but he's maturing into a wonderful young man which makes a momma proud).  :o)   Happy birthday Caleb!  We love you!