Jaxen's Birthday Cake!

 Jaxen's favorite T.V. show right now is Wild Kratts. He watches it every day. He's really come to love wildlife and talks about being an animal adventurer when he grows up. In the show Martin Kratt always names the animals and so now Jaxen has started naming the animals and critters we see along the nature trails here when we go on walks. It makes my heart happy that animals and wildlife have become so important to him. Wolves, porcupines, cheetahs and bats are among some of his favorites. I hope he always holds on to this!

 He was so excited when I found this cake topper of the Wild Kratts. He wanted that for his birthday cake. He then chose to have an under the sea wild animal set to go with it. For the cupcakes he chose a safari set for the toppers. He was so cute about it.

 Chocolate flavor for the cake and red velvet for the cupcakes. That's what he wanted. It was so yummy! I think he made a fantastic choice!

 He was so happy! I loved to see the excitement in his eyes! I think he liked his special day!

Happy Happy Happy Birthday Jaxen! We love you so much!

Happy 7th Birthday Jaxen!

 June 7th, 2013 was Jaxen's 7th birthday! I can hardly believe it's been seven years since he was born. My little boy is growing so fast. I have loved every minute with him. He's our spunky, imaginative and adventurous boy! I keep asking myself where has all the time has gone. It's amazing to me how quickly time seems to move. I still wish I could freeze time and hold on forever. But then I would miss all the wonderful memories we have made. Video games, action figures and riding his bike are some of Jaxen's favorite things to do right now. Oh, and watching Wild Kratts. That's his favorite show.

 Since the week of Jaxen's birthday, he goes back to finish his last few weeks of school after being off track for a month we were able to bring a treat to share with his class on his birthday. I love being able to do this with him. I always thought he'd celebrate his special day after the school year ended. But we lucked out and his school is a year round school. So for now he will be in school on his birthday. When I asked him what he wanted me to make he asked for homemade oreo cookies. One of our favorite things! He said everyone always brings cupcakes and he's tired of cupcakes. I had to smile at that one. So we made homemade oreo's for his class and his teacher made him this crown. I loved how he wanted to wear the crown even at home.

We had a fun little celebration for him. He chose to have ravioli for his special dinner. It was yummy! I think he made a good choice. Kaeryn and Tristan were with us that night so they got to celebrate with us. It was a good night and I loved seeing him so happy and excited. I love you so much Jaxen James! You bring me so much joy! I love you to the moon and back! Happy Happy Happy 7th Birthday buddy!

Our Neighbor Professor Oak!

Last summer while Jaxen was off track from school we each painted a bird feeder for our back yard. We live just a couple blocks from one of the many small nature reserves here in Elk Grove. We thought it would be fun to make a back yard habitat. The birds did indeed enjoy fruit, nuts and seeds that we provided and so did this little guy. He decided to hang around for a bit and become our new neighbor. Some people get really annoyed with squirrels but I tend to think they are adorable and am happy to see them in our back yard. The squirrel and the birds all shared their yummy goodness! Jaxen named him Professor Oak. He's been a fun neighbor to have. He drives the cats crazy and when they chase him up the tree he turns around and starts to yell at them. It's fun and amusing to watch. One can only imagine what our little friend is saying when he's chirping at the cats. Lucky for him our cats don't seem interested in climbing trees. Maybe we will build him his own little house. He sure is a cute little neighbor! We all get really excited when we see him.

Animals at the Zoo!

 These are some of my favorite photos I took of the animals at the zoo that day. Such amazing and beautiful creatures!

Play With Me Big Brother!

 After a while of running around the zoo's playground Tristan sat down for a rest. But Jaden still wanted to play. I loved watching them interact with each other. It's such a sweet reminder that they really do love each other.

Playground At The Zoo!

 Once we saw all that we wanted to see we set the kids loose at the playground. It's always one of their favorite places. The playground at the zoo isn't overly fancy but it is colorful and nature themed and still just as fun. The boys had a blast chasing each other all over the place.

 Jaden seemed to enjoy the animals and although he loves to go for walks in the stroller, he was thrilled to be able to finally run around free and in the wild!

 Some of the time Jaden would follow his brothers but most of the time he just enjoys wandering around and exploring.

 His curiosity can be strong. It is one of his strengths and I hope he will always hold on to that.

 Kaeryn wasn't interested in running around but at least I got her to smile for a picture. Her dad helped her out with that. Thanks Daddy!

Family Fun At The Sacramento Zoo!

May 27th, 2013 We decided to make a trip to the Sacramento Zoo. Hooray for coupons! It was a fun day. I like the Sacramento Zoo. It's not a very big zoo but it's still fun. The weather was perfect for a day out as well. It was a bit overcast and it sprinkled now and again so it wasn't a very hot day. Which made it easier to take our time walking through the park. I believe this was our first time bringing Jaden to the zoo. I was excited to see what he would do or how he would react when he saw the animals. Some of the animals would catch his attention if they were out and about. But the ones that were resting we had a harder time pointing them out to Jaden. He didn't seem to understand or realize what we were pointing to. Either way he was just happy to be outside and going for a walk in the stroller. Which is one of his favorite things to do. Jaxen was still in his animal adventurer mode and was excited to see some of the animals he was reading about and had seen on his favorite show Wild Kratts. I love seeing how excited he gets. I hope he will always have this love for animal life.

It was a fun family day. Even when it started to rain we still enjoyed our time there. I was nervous about my camera because I don't have any waterproof coverings for it but other than that it really was a great day. When it did rain it never lasted for long. It really was on and off and was more like sprinkling than rain. Not to bad at all. We did keep an eye on Jaden to see how he was handling it and he didn't seem to be to overwhelmed with it so we kept on going.

   

The chimpanzee enclosure was so much fun to watch. I don't know if it was the rain or what but they were very active. There were two of the chimpanzee's that were chasing each other all around the enclosure. They were climbing and leaping from one end to the other. Ron was able to find a spot in front of a window to the enclosure. At first Ron was trying to point the animals out to Jaden. It wasn't until the chimps swung right in front of the window where they were standing that Jaden was able to really take notice of them. That's when they caught his eye and he could enjoy what everyone else was. that was one of my favorite moments of the day.

The older kids were enjoying a little bit of freedom. They're old enough that we're okay if they wander up ahead on their own. As long as we can either see them or they check in from time to time that is the rule. They did a little of both. I like to take my time while enjoying the animals and will sometimes stay at each enclosure for quite a while. Plus, I also enjoy practicing my photography with the animals and sometimes that can take longer than the rest of the family wants to wait. So instead of listening to the constant "Can we go now?" I let them move on so I can have my practice time. It makes the day all the more enjoyable. It really was. We look forward to the next time we can visit.