Paul's 30th Birthday Extravaganza At The Lake

We've been spending the past few days up at Huntington Lake with Paul's family, staying at some condos/cabins in the woods.  Paul turned 30 on the 23rd and we had quite a fun day.  The weather was nice, so Paul played lots of tennis with his brothers and dad.  Paul has a wicked serve.

Clara was enthralled from the sidelines.

Since the weather was lovely and warm, we donned our swimsuits and went to the pool with our baby-girl.  I changed Clara into her swimsuit (a gift from Grandma Casebolt) at the tennis courts while the boys were playing doubles. 

Her little bum doesn't quite fill out the bottom of the suit yet, even with her huge diaper.  I love the little halter top on the one-piece suit from Janie & Jack.  The darling monkey blanket was a gift from Clara's Aunt Jennie - it is my favorite.

We were worried that Clarabelle wouldn't like the water or it would be too cold for her, but she took it in stride and just kind of hung out and relaxed.  She didn't squawk or complain once and we had her in there for quite a while.

 Clara with the birthday boy.

 Me and my girl. 

I tried to get her to smile, but Clara wasn't sure enough about the water yet for that kind of a reaction.  But look at her little legs and arms and that double chin!  I am obsessed I tell you.

We even have a little video of Clara and Paul that I took on my iPhone, if I can get it to upload:

It wasn't until after we got out of the pool that Clara got upset, and that was just because we didn't have swim diapers for her and so her Pampers were massively swollen and probably not too comfortable.  But once we got that off and wrapped her up in dry towels and blankets, she was happy as could be.

Paul's brothers and their families are here with us - it is a family reunion of sorts - and so we had a big group swimming with us in the pool.  This is Paul with his brothers Dave and Bobby and his cousin Emiliano (Emi) in the background.

Dave and Deborah were there with Colton, our 8-month old (?) nephew.  Deborah took a turn holding Clara for me while I was photographing the goings on at the pool.

Paul's brother Bobby was there with his family too.  This is Bobby with our nephew Robert who is turning 1 on the 4th of July.

And this is Robert's sister, Elizabeth.  She was the only grandchild up until a year ago, and now there are 4 with one more due in November!  She just finished 1st grade and has been losing her teeth.  It has been hilarious watching her dance to music videos on the Disney channel whenever they come on.

 Paul's cousins are here with their children as well.  Tanner (the little guy below tentatively testing the water) is one of my favorites.

 Kevin dragging around Tanner and Dallin. What a good dad.

After everybody got out of the pool, we had a birthday celebration complete with three different kinds of dessert (since there were over 30 people I thought that I might as well take advantage and make a variety of sweets).  There was Raspberry Dessert (a family recipe that involves Nilla Wafers, chantilly whipped cream, raspberries, and jello), Mississippi Mud Brownies, and good old Devil's Food Cake with Rainbow Chip Frosting.  I ducked in for a quick photo with Paul on his 30th birthday, but then I got back behind the camera to document the lighting of the candles.

Dave, Paul, and Bobby in very strategic and optimal dessert-getting positions.  John and Angelica didn't arrive until 4:30 the next morning.

 Daddy daughter time.

 That's a lot of flame.

After the candles were all blown out (in one breath I might add), the desserts were pretty much decimated.

Then to finish the night out, we had a bonfire.

 Grandma Donna was keeping Clara warm. 

It was quite the birthday celebration!