Skyler's 4th Birthday!

Skyler had quite a wish-list this year of what he wanted for his birthday... But a "bow & arrow" seemed to be at the top of that list, so he was excited to actually get one.
I also made him a "Superman Cape" (reversable as a "Batman Cape", which I'd hoped he'd be more excited about...  Nonetheless, it DID turn out pretty cute!

He also got a new bike!  (An old one that MY brother's used to use...)  Then Laron made him a fancy pancake breakfast, complete with candles on top & everything!

Next comes a little story:

Once upon a time my parents went to Alaska. Then one day on the freeway we passed a cool looking place & Skyler wanted to know what it was. We told him it was called "Boondocks" & that they have a lot of fun stuff to do there. He asked us if we'd been there before, to which we responded, "No, but Grandma & Papa have been there." Wide-eyed he asked, "Is that Alaska?!" And so we decided it would be fun to go to "Alaska" for Skyler's birthday (especially since we found out you can get in FREE on your birthday!)...

Skyler did "Bumper Boats" with Laron where they bumped into other boats while squirting each other with water!

Then he did "Kiddie Bowling," Laser Tag, rode around a Race-Car Track with me twice & played on a Kiddie Playground. He said he liked "driving really fast" the best.

All-in-all it was fun, but it just seemed like maybe a little too much for a little kid's birthday (especially with a 1 month old & Kimberly who wasn't old enough to do much of anything yet). On our way home Laron & I decided that maybe next year we'll just go on a hike... Lots less noisy & maybe a little less stressful.

After naps we headed over to Grandma & Papa's house for cake & ice-cream. A big thank-you to my Mom for providing the cake, because I realized at the last minute that that was one detail I had kind-of forgotten about!

Then my Dad popped us some popcorn in his new "Popcorn Machine" he got for school. Pretty cool! We'll definitely have to borrow that for a birthday party sometime!

And then, of course, he was spoiled with more presents!

To top it all off, we then headed over to "Surf 'n Swim" for some free swimming with my family... I think this was definitely my favorite part of the day, maybe because swimming seemed so much more relaxing & fun & simple, or maybe because there were extra hands to help with the kids! Either way, it was a fun ending to a fun day!

I don't think I ever realized as a kid just how much parents really do for their kids... I mean, they just don't see all the other drama in the background of their parent's lives. Juggling around a 1-month-old at a theme park, keeping Kimberly happy while she only gets to watch Skyler having fun, running around from place-to-place all day trying to make his special day just perfect. All I have to say is that I'm glad we didn't attempt to throw him a Birthday Party this year!

And oh yeah, Happy Birthday Skyler!