Can't Believe He is 7!

A few days after we got home from South Dakota, it was Caleb's birthday.  Since we had lots of celebrations on our trip, we decided to have a simple birthday this year.  No big themed party.  

It was a fun, chill day!

I saw this fun balloon door on Pinterest and had to try it out.  It actually didn't work like we had hoped and we had to keep re-taping it and putting the balloons back in but it was somewhat exciting when he opened his door in the morning.

Love that kiddo tons!!

Brydon gets so excited to give Caleb his presents that we never wait until evening.  

Birthday presents are opened that morning.

Caleb got a few Safari things and a bow and arrow target but his big gift was an ice cream maker.  He wanted a giant popcorn machine, a snow cone machine, or an ice cream maker for his birthday.  We went with the ice cream maker!  And it has been the best decision ever!

Of course the pancake boy had to have pancakes for breakfast!

Nothing like cinnamon roll pancakes and icing syrup!

For lunch Caleb wanted to make his own tomato soup and add cheese to it.  He loves to cook and it was fun to watch him serve up lunch.

Then of course he wanted to try out this new ice cream maker.  So he found a recipe he wanted to try (Mint Chocolate) and we went to the store to get the ingredients.  I made him find the ingredients and then he had to read the recipe and make it by himself.

He loved the process and is quite the ice cream maker now!

One proud boy!!

After Dad came home, we grabbed Caleb's 2 best friends and then took them to see the Disney Planes movie.  We loved it!!  And Caleb can't wait to own it on DVD.  Of course we are big fans of the Cars movies and this one was super cute.  Then we headed to Abuelo's for Caleb's birthday dinner.

Best of Friends!!

The Big Birthday Boy!

This year I made a popcorn cake.  

When I was collecting family recipes over our vacation, I found this recipe from my aunt that we had often growing up.  It is like a giant popcorn ball with M&Ms and usually peanuts but Caleb wanted peanut butter M&Ms.  It was something fun and different.

Such a fantastic day!!  He is just growing up too fast!

Geddes--A Walk Down Memory Lane

When my mom and I first moved to South Dakota, we moved to a little town named Geddes.  It was a small town of about 300 people and is in the south eastern part of the state, along the Missouri River.  It is a beautiful part of the state and an area that Brydon had never been before.  As we plotted our trek back to Texas we noticed we could easily pass through Geddes on our way.  I spent 7 years living in Geddes.  I started kindergarten here and started high school here.  

The town has shrunk since we left but it is still there.

The school I went to was torn down.  All that is left is the gym and the play ground.  I was sad to see the school gone.  My dad was a high school teacher here.  There were 15 people in my class and lots of memories!  Now the gym serves as a community center and students are bussed 40 minutes away to neighboring towns.

This used to be a grocery store and the post office.  The grocery story was on the left side of the building.  It was just a small store.  Hard to believe it is gone now, but they built another small store down the street.

Main street was never too exciting before but is definitely slower than I remember now.  Still no traffic lights or movie theater.  I most definitely had a unique childhood.

This used to be a big hotel in town way back in the day.  When I was in high school a new family moved in and bought the place with the hopes to renovate it.  I became best friends with a girl in the family and actually spent the night here and hung out inside.  Hard to believe I hung out in there now!  Unfortunately the project was too much and was never completed.  But it was a fun surprise to run into my friend during our visit!

The Old Property

Growing up my family owned a mobile home that we moved wherever we went.  During our 2 times living in Geddes, we lived on this beautiful property with a ton of trees, horses, a big red barn, a big granary shed, and an old farm house.  I was excited to see the clump of trees ahead that used to be home.

Sadly the entire property is now a corn field and we couldn't even drive up the driveway.  From the side of the road we found the old barn and granary.

The house used to be parked not far from the windmill but now there are just weeds and corn.

It really is a beautiful place down by the river.  My dad now goes turkey hunting down here each year. South Dakota is known for being so flat but this area has rolling hills and lots of green!

I spent many hours on a horse on trial rides back through this part of the country.

Crossing the dam as we head out of South Dakota into Nebraska.  

It was nice to make it home and start to get ready for school to begin. 

Our East River Visit

The Wedding

We were able to schedule our time in Huron so we could attend my cousin's wedding.  It was a beautiful ceremony and was a great way to see lots of family!  The bride was stunning!

Goin' Fishing

Caleb was loving his outdoors time with his Grandpas.  The weather was perfect our entire visit to South Dakota.  My sister and her husband were able to come visit us and Uncle Adam wanted to go fishing.  So Caleb was excited to try to catch a fish.

We didn't see very many fish but we did find a lot of frogs.  Even the dog got into frog catching.

Such Pretty Frogs!

Caleb tried hard to catch a fish and learned how to cast like a pro.  No luck however!

Can you see the frog in there?

Jami and Adam enjoyed their fishing time together.

Father/Son Time

After trying hard to find a fish, Grandpa suggested we catch some frogs and try to catch a big fish on the James River.  So Brydon and Adam went frog catching.

We headed over to the river and Grandpa put a frog on the line.  I have to admit that putting a hook through a live frog is a bit much for me.  I couldn't do it!

We got a few nibbles on the frogs but still no luck catching a fish.

I grew up having family get togethers on the banks of the river here.  The family still owns the property and it is a beautiful location!

Birthday Boy!

Caleb's 7th birthday was coming up soon and so both families decided to celebrate while we were home.  The Manning family had a sweet little get together and the Barton clan all got together for dinner, cake, and horseback riding. 

Family birthday's have been rare with Caleb so it was fun to have all the family together.  

They all did a good job of spoiling him!

Check out these pistol cowboy boots!!

My grandma, 2 of my Aunts, and my Uncle all went together to get Caleb these boots.

He loves them!!  And was so excited to try them out!

We always value time with Great Grandma and are so glad we got to see her.

Cowboy Caleb!

I grew up horseback riding and it has been fun to watch Caleb love it.  He of course loves animals and was a great little cowboy.

Uncle Adam even tried out horseback riding for the first time!

Two Crazy Boys and a Sweet Pony!

Eventually even Brydon and I joined the crew and all rode horses until dark.  My cousins and I used to ride in this same lot as kids as we practiced for the State 4-H Horse Show each year.  It was fun to hang out with the cousins again and watch our kids play together.

Giddy-Up!

Heading to Aberdeen

My sister and her husband live up in Aberdeen and so we packed up Grandma and Grandpa's new camper trailer and headed up to Aberdeen for a visit.  Caleb was super excited to spend the night in the new camper!

Miniature Golf

We decided to try out a game of miniature golf with the family.

Brydon and I are not golf people and honestly don't have much patience for the game (well I particularly don't).  Unfortunately Caleb got my impatience and was happy to just cruise through the game as fast as possible.  None of this competitive, take your time, stuff for us!

When that volcano explodes, watch out!  It is hot!

This was Caleb's favorite hole.  The ball heads down the stream to the lower green.  He could have golfed this hole all day.

The family put up with Caleb's quick rush through the game and we had fun!

Storybook Land

While Rapid City has Storybook Island, Aberdeen has Storybook Land.  They are very similar and some of the displays are the same.  We had a rush through it a bit but it was a fun stop.

We had so much fun seeing family and enjoying the outdoors of South Dakota!  

It was a great 2 weeks and we are so glad we got to visit this year.