Eight is GREAT!

On 11-11-11, Caiden celebrated his very special EIGHTH birthday!  He had a grand ole time with his friends at his birthday party, which was held in the arcade at Lake Bowl.  Fabulous entertainment for a bunch of crazy eight year old boys.  They had a blast :)

One of his favorite gifts was this bow and arrow from Papa.  We made sure to have the "this-is-not-a-regular-toy,-you-have-to-really-take-care-of-it" and "your-sister-is-not-target-practice" talk beforehand.  I think it went well.  No major mishaps so far.  And oh, how he loves it!  He also got 2 swiss army knives from his other Papa, to which the same pep-talk applied.  Apparently, this was the year for weapons :)

Another favorite was his kickball and bases.  So easy to please, this little boy.  We had a family game of kickball, (where I doubled as photographer - and excelled more at that than an actual player).

You know how some dads go easy on their kids and let them win and not kick the ball their VERY, VERY hardest?  Yeah, that didn't really happen :)

 "Am I supposed to kick this thing?"

 And look who thinks he's pretty awesome :)

Another reason Eight is GREAT is because he's now old enough to be baptized.  Yep, I officially have an accountable child.  I'm so very proud of Caiden for making this important decision.  And so thankful to all the family and friends who came for this event. 

 It was so awesome that several of Caiden's closest friends were able to make it.

Caiden with his cousins Keenen, Lauren, and baby Scarlett.  Lauren came up with my parents from Colorado.  I purposely didn't tell Caiden and once she was here, we went to pick him up from school.  Lauren was hiding in the back and on the way home, she leaned over and said "Hi".  Caiden was so surprised!!  It was awesome.

Later I asked Caiden how he felt on this day.  He thought about it for a minute and said, "I felt proud".  And then my heart melted and oozed right out my body.

Oh, and here's a funny little memory.  I'm not exactly sure the conversation said between he and Casey prior to this day.  But I know Casey took the time to explain to him just what being baptized means.  On the way home he apparently got one little fact a bit mixed up, as he said "But dad...you said I wouldn't remember my sins anymore.  And I remember them.  Like the time Paige was running to jump and land on the automon and I pushed it away so that she fell flat on her face.  I totally remember that."  Oh, he's a funny kid!