Happy Birthday Benjamin

Our little Benjamin is two!

How can he be two? He is now twice as old as Emma was when we moved here. They grow up so fast! We started the day with Birthday Muffins, and he opened a present or two, then we were on to the fun!

There is something to be said about living in Southern Florida. Sure the culture is very different and some even consider it North South America, instead of part of the United States, but there is something truly wonderful about being only three hours away from a world of family fun. For Benjamin's birthday we chose to head up to Orlando for a little miniature golf the Mickey Mouse way. This is a completely new experience for all of our children and an adventure for everyone. Each time there was an obstacle to overcome it seemed Nato always had to "help." This was pretty comical because getting the ball through the "windmill" type holes just once is difficult, but to watch a man try to get four balls through was quite entertaining. He was a great sport through it all!

Jacob, being the oldest, caught on the fastest. But several times we had to remind him this was not the game of hockey and he needed to let the ball STOP before he tried hitting it again.

Emma's form was nothing close to being professional. I think she even tried hitting it with the handle once, that or she was trying to use the club as a pretend microphone, who knows?

Benjamin was the most direct in his approach. He looked so professional when he would bend down to look, think and line up the putt. But in the end he learned. . .

The best way to always get a birdie? Pick up the ball and put it in the hole!

That night we stayed in a hotel and Nato and I each took turns attending the temple. The next day we headed home and finished the Birthday off with cake and ice cream.

The cake was pretty cool and fun to make because Benjamin wanted to help and how could I not let him.

The bumps on the LEGOs were actually marshmallows cut in half, and during the process Benjamin kept dipping marshmallows in the icing and eating them. This was very cute and funny to watch, as his mouth turned all kinds of colors, but in the end I was very worried I had let it go too far, for I had to scrimp on the red icing to make it cover the whole block.

Everyone loved the cake and it seems Benjamin still had room to actually eat it too.

Happy Birthday Buddy!