Labor Day Fun in the Mountains

For Ron's birthday, we decided to head up to the mountains and camp for a couple of days. His birthday always falls around Labor Day, so it was perfect timing. Owen also celebrated his official birthday while we were there too.   

I guess we can't begin a camping trip with the Hardcastles without some sort of excitement.  Last time it was the river, this time it was a moose that was a little too close for comfort.  Ross, Ron and Owen saw it on their walk when we first got to camp.  Luckily, we never saw it come around again.

We camped up Big Cottonwood Canyon at the Spruces Campground.  It is only about 45 minutes from our house, which made it nice to be close if we needed to head back and get something or if Owen got sick, etc.  But it was absolutely beautiful!  Just as pretty as some of the places we've camped 2+ hours away. 

We had quite the group to celebrate Ron's birthday.  I think we consistently had about 16-20 people sleeping onsite, and for dinner one night we had 25 people!

Owen had fun being outside and checking out the trees, water, noises, etc.  We were a little underprepared for how cold it would get at night (in the 20s) so he didn't sleep that well, and ended up sleeping with us most nights.

On Saturday, Owen's actual birthday we went on a hike to Donut Falls.  Our good friends let us borrow their backpack, which made carrying Owen so nice.  The water was pretty cold, but Owen didn't seem to mind.  He enjoyed walking exploring it for a bit. 

(Nevermind the walking stick I'm holding... I have no idea where it came from)

That night we tried our luck with birthday cake #2, but Owen still wanted nothing to do with eating it.  He just enjoyed poking at it for a few minutes.  Silly boy!

On our last day, Brad & Chris took Owen up to "The Rock", a place they hiked to when they were little kids.  The same swingset is still there that they would play on 15+ years ago. 

As you can see, Owen loved swinging with Uncle Chris.  I think Uncle Chris had a pretty fun time too...

One year pictures

Yesterday Brad and I thought we would take a shot at our budding photography skills and try to get some pictures taken for Owen's 12 month photos.  I usually take him to a studio, but I really wanted to get some pictures that matched our outdoor family pictures.  Despite not totally knowing what we were doing or how to work the fancy camera we are "camera-sitting" for my brother, I think they turned out really well!

Owen's Birthday Party

We celebrated Owen's birthday last week so that my parents could join us.  I figure Owen would never know the difference, since he barely understood what was going on anways!  All he knew was that there were bright, shiny things attached to his high chair, all of his favorite people were over at the house, and that he got some new toys.   What more could a kid ask for?
We kept the celebration small and only had about 10 immediate family members over.  For dinner we had Owen's favorite: pizza & pasta!   We played a fun "All About Owen" game, opened presents, and then gathered around to see Owen *not* demolish his birthday cake.  All he did was touch it with one finger, and then crumble it into tiny pieces!  Even when I dipped his pacifier in the frosting he seemed disgusted that I even offered it back to him.  I couldn't believe it.  The boy who eats everything, wanted nothing to do with his own birthday cake.  Oh well, we still got some cute pictures which is what it's all about anyways, right?!

 Happy Birthday banner & Pompoms that I made.  Cute & easy!

 Owen excited to greet everyone!  He knew something was up.

 Some of the yummy spread my mom helped me with.  It was all so yummy, especially those Oreo balls.  Definitely my new favorite treat.  YUM!

 After a frantic cry for help the night before, Brad saved the day and decorated the cake.  We used crushed graham crackers for the "sand" and then he freehanded the beach ball.  Pretty simple, but I thought it turned out really cute!

Ready to open some presents!

He wasted no time and got right to trying out his new tee set.  It was right after this that he took his first steps!  We were all going crazy, as you can imagine. 

Time for cake, as you can see he's not quite sure what's going on.

But quickly decides cake is not for him!

"Isn't it funny how you all have your cameras out, and I refuse to eat my cake!  Here I'll touch it for you, but that's all you'll get from me!"

In the end, we resigned to the fact that he didn't like cake and just let him play with it. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!  WE LOVE YOU!

1 year old!!

It is hard to believe that this was my family just one year ago:

 

Things have certainly changed the last year.  When Owen was born last year we had just moved from California, bought our first house in a brand new area, and I stopped working full-time to become a SAHM all in a matter of a few weeks.   It was quite the adjustment period to say the least!  But looking back one year later, it has brought nothing but blessings to our family.  We are blessed to live in our home, which is perfect for our family, and in the best ward/neighborhood/city.  We are blessed to live close to family.  I am blessed to be a full-time Mom.  And we are certainly blessed to have this precious little boy in our lives. 

Owen is no longer my baby, he is a full-fledged toddler.  It seems like each stage he hits is more fun than the previous.  It is so fun to watch him learn new things, which is happening daily.  In the past month he has learned to walk!  He took his first multiple steps at his birthday party last week in front of all our extended family.  Perfect timing! 

He has a new face that he loves to pull.  We call it his "excited face", and it makes us laugh everytime.  He knows it too, and just does it for fun to watch our reactions. 

If you ask Owen "What's BYU?" he will lift up his finger to say "#1". (If you ask him "What's Utah?" he will spit with his tongue. Brad has never been prouder.)

Owen's stats from his 12 month check up:

Weight: 22 1/2 lb = 43%

Height: 30 3/4 in= 82%

Head: 18 1/2 in = 76%

Happy Birthday Owen!