Being Butenhoff: Look who's 6!

6 years ago we were in the hospital on a VERY hot Memorial Day weekend & got to meet out cute little Butternut...

... & she forever changed our lives!

This Memorial Weekend, our birthday girl wanted to go camping for her birthday, so as soon as school let out on Friday, we headed out for a long camping weekend!

She's so old it takes 2 hands to show it!

Brandon made her a very nice card & got her a little diary she was wanting.

And from us, she got her American Girl doll... she was THRILLED!!!

For her birthday dinner, she had requested ribs, corn on the cob & a BIG birthday cookie!

The birthday girl had a great day... & was more than ready for bed with her new friend "Daisy"! (in her sleeping bag she got when we were camping on her 3rd birthday)

The next morning was drizzly, so the kids worked on their Jr Ranger books in the tent for a while... & they weren't bickering!!

We had a nice campsite at Lake Shetek State Park!

Daisy seemed to like camping & Melanie was SUPER careful with her around camp.

Later we headed out for a little bike ride. It was still a little drizzly but warm. The kids had fun riding through big puddles. The next day was nice, so we went on a nice long ride that took us on a loop from the park to the town of Currie.

On our rainy day, we headed out driving to find one of our favorite microbrews (Brau Brothers) located in the teeny tiny town of Lucan, MN.

Melanie spent a lot of time at camp writing in her diary. She was quick to lock it up & only Daisy has the key!

Brandon LOVES to read, so he even brought along his light so he could do a little reading in the tent before bed.

To say Sunday was windy would be an understatement. There was a strong wind all day & our tent pretty much was caving in on one side the whole time due to the wind... crazy wind!

Mike couldn't resist trying a little fishing after seeing a few people catching crappies...

They caught some small walleyes & 1 decent size crappy, but we didn't keep anything.

The lake was super high so the regular beach was underwater but we did find a small little one where the kids played... skipping rocks, wading & playing in the sand.

There were a few more gifts from family waiting at home when we got back on Monday. Melanie had fun reading her own cards now that she is a great reader!

And Gram & Grandpa brought her a gift too... $$ for a little shopping spree for Daisy!

The next weekend we did her birthday party at the house. It was a Pinkalicious party, so most everyone wore some sort of pink. It was a gorgeous day, so they played outside while everyone arrived.

We were able to set up on the screen porch for the party activities...

... first up was painting their monogram & decorating it with little jewels.

Then it was time for PINKALICIOUS cupcakes made by our own local Mon Petit Cupcake (aka Jennifer Rogers) & homemade pink vanilla ice cream made by me. They were a delcious hit... even Brandon said, "they might be pink but they are really good!"