Captions From Caryn and Cade

Lots of things happened over the last week and a half. Cade turned 30 years old! So I invited his favorite people (his family, at least the ones that live within an hour of us) over for dinner as a surprise. Cade doesn't have a regular work schedule and I never really know when he'll leave or come home from work so I guessed that he would get home about 5:30 on Friday and his mom said they would come at 5 just to be safe. On Friday morning I did my best not to send Cade off to work early so I could decorate the house and get dinner ready. I knew if he left early that would just mean he would come home early. So after he finally left I was able to easily get everything ready since Conner was having one of the best days of his life and was just content to play by himself for hours. It was great. Anyway, when I heard the garage door go up at 4:45 I ran out to meet Cade. I didn't have time to think of anything to say except that I was working on a project and he was to go sit in the backyard and that when it was time for him to actually be home he was welcome to come inside. Obviously he knew something was up, but he really had no idea what and I have a tendency to say and do strange things from time to time so this wasn't totally out of character. After his parents arrived I let him inside and he was surprised. I drilled him later and he really had no idea so I forgave him for almost ruining everything by coming home early. We had a delicious dinner (if I do say so myself :) of lasagna, garlic bread, and manderin orange salad and enjoyed spending time with the Johnsons.



The next day was our 6th anniversary. I had to work that day and told Cade it was up to him to take care of our anniversary this year. And he didn't disappoint. He couldn't think of any nice places that he wanted to eat at so he made a wonderful dinner of so-called chicken parmesan. Its actually a creation he made up that has no parmesan in it but thats what he calls it. He decked out our room as the "Anniversary Suite" with the table and candles all set up. We had a nice evening while our friends Jenny and Nate watched Conner for us. Thanks guys!

Then the very next day was Cade's first Father's Day. I made him one of his favorite breakfasts: Milk toast. Yuck, but hey its really easy to make, especially since Tina gave me a loaf of homemade bread I could use. Thanks Tina! I also ordered Cade a really cute card with pictures of him and Conner on it. At church the men all received some beef jerky and then we headed to Cottonwood to spend the afternonn with Cade's dad.

First time on the trampoline

On Thursday we headed to Phoenix for Cade's root canal, which was surprisingly not very painful. We spent the day with my family and then headed over to Globe to see Kameron and Katie. Conner and Jeter finally acknowledge each other. Jeter mostly just stared at Conner and Conner loved grabbing at Jeter and even licked his face :) We drove over to Thatcher to go to the temple and had a good time. Then on Saturday they went to the lake while Conner and I opted to stay home. Katie curled my hair with her Paul Mitchell Clipless Curling Iron. It was really cute so the next day I tried to do it myself but totally burned my neck on the first curl and now I look like I have a hickie. Conner was wiped out by Sunday and slept the whole way home and we had to wake him up so he would eventually go to bed.

Conner seems so short next to Jeter

Conner loved their bouncy exersaucer. At first he was just going crazy and giving himself whiplash while he jumped but then he got the hang of bending his knees and loved jumping in it.



Then to finish off the week we just found out that Cade passed his first CPA exam!!!!!!!!!!!! Cade wasn't sure this day would ever come, but I just knew that he would eventually do it. Now the real work begins so that Cade passes the other 3 tests before October 1st 2012. Otherwise he has to retake the one he just passed. This is really not going to be fun for me or Cade. He is going to have to study all the time which of course is no fun. But then my problem is he is going to have to study all the time and I won't get my much enjoyed breaks from baby duty. 

Its been such a nice week.

Sitting up in his Oompa Loompa pajamas (unfortunately the picture cuts off the top of the hood that is all pointy).

 I just had to take a picture of him this day so I could remember the day of the glorious 3 and a half hour nap, when I was finally able to accomplish all the non-important things in my life that are always at the bottom of the list.

 In case you're wondering, he doesn't use a sippy yet but I like to put it near him at times so he gets interested in it and its an easier transition. After a couple of weeks of totally ignoring it he finally started putting it in his mouth. Now I just need to get him to actually drink from it.

He likes to make this little bird face.

Playing with the Van Dyk's cat.

Scaring Mommy.

Chillin with Grandpa Rodgers.

Just being adorable.

You know how its great to have certain professionals in your family for discounts? Well in our case its the dentist. We don't have any dental insurance and have always tried finding cheaper ways to get to the dentist like going to the NAU Dental Hygiene clinic. But this time we drove down to Phoenix to see Cade's cousin Allen. Thank goodness we did. Its only been a year and a half since we last went to a dentist but Cade already needs a root canal, a new crown, some old fillings replaced, and he had a gum infection. The crown itself costs $1200 out of pocket but we only have to pay $400 thanks to Allen. We haven't got to the rest of the problems yet so who knows how much more we'll be paying. But then I have my own problems. My gums have been severely deteriorating for a couple of years now and I've known I needed gum surgery but I can't put it off anymore. I've been losing bone too and if I don't get it fixed they say I'll lose my teeth before I'm 40. At this last visit I had some special root/teeth cleaning done that normally costs $760 but we only paid $450. At my next visit I'll be meeting my new best friend, the Periodontist, whom I'll get to see every three months for a loooong time. But THANKFULLY Allen works for a dental group, (which includes a periodontist, root canal specialist, oral surgeon, and orthodontist) and we are going to get a discount with the periodontist too. Since I haven't met the periodontist yet I don't know the full extent of the situation but between both Cade and I we will obviously be spending thousands of dollars at the dentist over the next year and thanks to Allen we may also save thousands of dollars. I also have to tell you why I'm so impressed with this place. Even though Cade and I had appointments an hour apart so one of us could watch Conner, the office ended up working on Cade for 2 and a half hours. So while we were both being seen Conner started getting really upset and I could hear him crying from the other side of the building. After a few minutes he stopped crying and later when I went to make my next appointment I found the receptionist holding Conner while she was making her phone calls! She even changed his diaper! I felt so bad but she said they do that all the time. Thanks Norterra Group!