I opened my presents and found a new set of golf clubs from our parents! Seriously?! I was really excited and very surprised, but I think that Jeremy was more excited. He now has a permanent golfing partner. We took them out for the first time yesterday afternoon and I determined that I'm really not that bad. In fact, I'm pretty proud of the way I played. My scores ranged between 5-8 hits per hole. So while it was basically double-par, I'm pretty proud of it. I was a little nervous when we first stepped out onto the course because I haven't been golfing since my parents took me to Nordic Valley when I was 14. This time, instead of looking like a munchkin with clubs that were too big, I looked pretty official with my new clubs, shoes, glove, shirt, and TaylorMade hat. 
Now that I have all the gear, I have no excuse not to go with Jeremy. There are two more date nights before we leave, and I have a feeling that they are both going to be spent golfing. That's okay with me. I'm excited to get into the game. 
The rest of my birthday celebration was just right. The Primary kids sang "Happy Birthday" to me at church and made me smile. Jeremy made breakfast (Swedish pancakes...yum), dinner (roast and yummy rolls), and my cake (Better than kissing cake). 
And after church we partied by playing Twister outside. I really like that game. The best part of playing with only two people, is that the person not on the mat gets to call out whatever combination of hand and foot placements they want in order to get the person super twisted. Jeremy twisted me in five moves. Nice work. It was hard when Cambrie joined the game. She would crawl under you, climb on your back, or sit on your legs. She thought making us fall down was the best thing ever. 
We finished off the day by watching "Sleeping Beauty," (okay, Cambrie watched and we napped). I think it was a fantastic birthday. Thanks everyone for making it great!
McKenzie is rolling over all the time. I can no longer leave her anywhere unattended because she just doesn't hold still. She also loves putting things in her mouth (oh goody). That's how this once-flat blanket ended up like this: 
I love seeing Cambrie's imagination develop. She asked for some tape and when I came into the living room I saw Cambrie driving her caterpillar to the park with her penny in the front seat. 
And McKenzie has started rice cereal. She looks so little in her highchair! Cambrie insisted on helping me feed her today, and ended up taking over. I think McKenzie spit out less with Cambrie feeding her than with me. Life with kids is pretty good sometimes.
Off the bed and into a shoebox. 
Up the ramp and into the duct-tape roll. Just think of skee-ball with a golf club.
The final hole, from the house and into the step stool. That cement is not level!
Cambrie, Hailey, and Ashlyn were able to get in one final play-date before they left on Tuesday. We're going to miss those girls. 
Kelley, Deborah, Sarah and I went out to lunch one last time with Kristen at Panera bread Tuesday afternoon. It was a wet and rainy day and kind of fit the mood. Farewell Farnsworths, good luck! 
And I've been trying to cope with a toddler who is trying to get back into a reality that doesn't include her best friends. It's been crazy. I tried escaping to the counter top. 
But wait.... 
When did she learn how to climb? So much for my mini-vacation.
The boys flew Jeremy's kite. (I feel a song coming on...) "Let's go fly a kite! Up to the highest heights! Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring...." (All right, enough of that). My dad and I used it to attack the sea gulls. We almost got one too until with wind gods decided that wasn't kind and stopped blowing for us.
And Jeremy tried to teach us how to skim board. Surprisingly Bruce, my mom and I all came away from the experience dry. 
Nana and the girls.
Here's Grandpa and Cambrie making a birthday cake, complete with candle.
When we needed a break from the sand we walked along the boardwalk, which I have never done before. At the end of the boardwalk we found Wonderland, a mini-carnival. We rode the Ferris wheel together and it was so windy up on top we were afraid to let go of McKenzie in case she'd blow away. 
Back on land Cambrie was courageous enough to ride some of the rides. Last year she screamed in terror at the Strawberry Days carnival, so it was refreshing to see her smiling. 
We finished off the day with a cool Rita's "wadda ice" (translation: water ice). 
I wouldn't consider myself a beach bum, but I'm really going to miss these trips to the shore. 
We went shopping at some little stores and found some fun decorations. My dad found a plaque that read, "There would be a lot fewer spoiled kids in the world if we could spank the grandparents." How appropriate for a grandparent/grandchild outing. I just laughed. 
Cambrie was set on going on a buggy ride. Since we got there too late to tour an Amish home, we indulged her and went riding. Cambrie and I were able to sit up front and she smiled the whole way. 
Lancaster has some beautiful countryside. Unfortunately the buggy was bouncing so much this is basically the only picture we were able to get in focus. 
After the buggy ride we ate at Plain & Fancy. It is a restaurant that serves dinner family style. They bring out three side dishes, four different meats, two different rolls/bread, and three options for dessert. You help yourself to whatever you want then pass the food around the table. It's like Thanksgiving dinner, Pennsylvania-Dutch style. We were seated next to a couple that we had never met before, but after we got talking we realized what a small world it really is. They live in my aunt's ward in Sandy. And apparently she knows her well enough that she can tell her and her twin sister apart...my brother still can't do that. 
Once Cambrie was done eating she chose to sit under the table and "donk" my dad's foot. 
The light was fading fast as we were leaving and tried to get some nice pictures of one of the many covered bridges in the area. You may notice that Cambrie's pants are missing. It rained while we were eating and she splashed in all of the puddles on the way to the car...surprised? 
