South Carolina Fun!

My Mom was so cute to let Jacob help her mix and make the cake, frost it, and then put sprinkles on it. This trip it was so fun to see her get more attached to our boys. Kids need the influence of their grandparents, and the influence of as many people who love them as they can get period. But grandparents can make kids feel special in a way that no one else can.

The vase of dandelions and a big leaf that Jacob collected with Grandma Pace.

Mom holding Tyler...our watching Jacob shooting hoops in the backyard. The weather was beautiful...sunny and in the 70's! Love it! Jacob wore shorts all day long and spent every minute he could outside.

Our Boonshoft pass got us in free to the Columbia, SC zoo (about 15 minutes from Mom and Dad's house), so we headed there in the morning while most of my brothers and sisters were at school.
The elephants, which we have missed at our zoo.

The cool bear

That kept trying to climb up on the rocks. Jacob got a kick out of this. This was by far the thing that Jacob talked the most about from the trip...the train that runs close to my Mom and Dad's house. Jacob has supersonic ears for trains. He would know a train was coming before anyone else had heard anything. Then whoever he picked would run out with him to where the train goes by and stand there while he watched the train pass by. He got to see probably 6 or 7 trains while we were down there. He and Brian even got to see a passenger train, besides all the freight trains they saw.

Playing a little frisbee golf in the backyar. James is on the run. Robert is backed up with me against the house. We had such a good time playing with all of my siblings.

It was so nice to get a break from watching the boys by myself all the time. They constantly had someone else ready to play with them or hold them.

Jacob's train cake

Cake #2. (yes, he's only 3 but 24 candles are much more fun to blow out!) Because there were 14 of us all together, we made 2 cakes (the one above, and the train cake which Jacob has been telling everyone he was getting).

Getting all the candles lit. All 8 of my siblings living at home were there for Jacob's birthday...so fun. (There are 15 of us kids all together...I'm #5)
Blowing out candles

Tyler with two of his uncles, William (holding him) and James

My cute little sister Heidi.