A Decade

Robert Caleb Gray was born in July of 2000 and every summer since we have been at Scofield.  We celebrated his first birthday at the cabin.  Watching the fireworks of the dock and playing in the water.  So, he would have it no other way.  This very important birthday, 10 years of life - A DECADE!!!! - would be celebrated and remembered at Scofield.  So, what did we do to help Caleb feel special?  What did we do for the happy 10 year old?  We played and celebrated all week long!

 Swimming in the lake and jumping off the dock with gorgeous weather.

 The happy boy coming up from the lake.

 Playing with the other kids' toy car. It was awesome!  They would start at the top of the road, which goes down the hill.  At first start pedaling, then let gravity take you the rest of the way down as you steer with the side controls.  It was awesome to watch them zoom down the road, curve off into the fences or grass, flip over every now and then or make it successfully all the way down without a crash.

 Catching crawdads, feeling brave enough to hold them and then watching them swim away off the end of the dock.

 Tubing!  We were lucky enough to have the boat in the water, and get it fixed after a minor setback of rocks + propeller = bad news.  This is the last picture of Caleb being 9 and there was a smile on his face the whole time he was in the water and being pulled by the boat.

 The day finally arrived!  10 years old, and we did all the things the boy wanted.  The parade (which was very short), candy, rock wall, played tag and other assorted games, swimming, and the fireworks.  Of course the fireworks being shot from the island, sitting on the dock and watching them shoot up in the sky while being surrounded by his family.  That is the way to do fireworks.

This was the cake I made for Caleb.  It was supposed to look like a castle, with oreo watch towers, a kit-kat draw bridge, and chocolate everywhere.  It was yummy, but I think Caleb had already gotten full from all of his other favorite foods.  That week we served Caleb his favorites.  Navajo tacos, orange chicken, cafe rio pork, and we ended it right with country fried steak for his birthday dinner.  My favorite quote was from Pa.  After we pulled out the cake and sang happy birthday to Caleb, Pa asked, "Why is there an 'I O' on the cake?" Seriously?  I looked at Pa and asked, "How old is Caleb?"  Pa still did not get it.  He asked again why there was an I and an O on the cake.  I had to explain that it was a 10.  Yeah, funny grandpas. 

This boy is awesome!  He is tender-hearted, thoughtful, creative, very smart, helpful when he wants to be, faithful, and really tries his best to be his best.  What more could you ask for?  We love him so.