Dad Hits 41!

Happy 41st to the Most Wonderful Husband Ever to Have Lived and Best Dad in the Galaxy!  We hope you felt our love and know how treasured and cherished you are for all you do and all that you are.

E.S.L. Lantern.

Backyard Birthday obstacle course.

Halloween Antics

This year was our first Halloween with boys going in all different directions.  Kind of weird and also sad, but they all had such a great time, it's hard to be too glum about our family growing up.  Wait...no it's not.  So glum! 

I had my family together (mostly) for the Ward Halloween Party, which was a fun night for all and one of the last as part of the Briargate ward, which made it extra sweet in hindsight.  Zac had practice for the RHS fall play, that ran the weekend following Halloween, so he was M.I.A. for a lot of the end of October.  Also, we were able to carve pumpkins all together as a family, at a normal time, without crazy soccer practice and game schedules going on all the time.  YES!  That made me happy!

On Halloween, Ben and Josh dressed up for Halloween at school, although Josh called me soon after arriving and asked if I could bring him some normal clothes (I think most of his friends didn't dress up).  Unfortunately for Josh, I'm not that nice, so he just committed to the costume and had a great day anyway.  Tommy and I marched in the annual AIES Volksmarch, although Tommy walked and talked with his 5th grade buddy, Jordyn, the whole time, so I found a friend to chat with, too.

Halloween night, everyone had their own special thing going on: Zac was stuck at play practice (although he wouldn't say "stuck" because he was happy to be there); Ben went trick-or-treating with his friends Will, Analisa and Colleen; Josh walked our neighborhood with a group of his pals, Jack, Canyon, Ryan and Sophie; and Luke and Tommy were invited to trick-or-treat with Luke's best AIES friends, Cooper and Andre, so Adam was there with them.   

 

Josh on Josh: Twelve!

Josh is the best 12-year-old!  He continues to be one of the most thoughtful, kindest friends out there.  He is giving and really cherishes his friendships--and so social.  He sometimes struggles to bring this kindness to his brothers, but we know he will get it as he grows and his friendships change and he recognizes that his brothers are friends forever.  Josh is really killing it at middle school!  He is doing well in all of his classes, enjoys the work, never seems to have homework, yet still gets great grades and loves the social aspect and the new friends he's made at Mountain Ridge.  He still loves math the most, but also has found a love for creative writing.  This year, he and his friends have a shared Google Drive that they use to swap stories and write silly stories together.  It's pretty funny!  He continues to grow in his faith and has tried to stand up for the right a couple of times at school, which makes us so proud.  He's still finding his athletic interests in his "life after soccer" but he is a skilled musician and feel strongly that he will choose marching band, an athletic event in its own right, when he gets to high school.  His piano talent continues to grow and he has added alto sax to his musical skills this year.  Josh loves to be loud and silly, but also enjoys the stillness of a good book in his soft bed.  He loves food and enjoys cooking and his physical growth proves it!  It's strange looking at him among his friends and realizing that our Conlin is one of the bigger kids--not usually true for us.  Keep doing you, Josh, you are incredible!

Josh's turn to report:

How old are you?  "Twelve."
What makes you happy?  "Spending time with my family, watching movies, reading books, playing with my friends."
What are your favorite things to eat?  "Pasta, any kind of pasta, thick chocolatey stuff."
What is your least favorite thing to eat?  "I have NO idea."
What are your favorite things to do?  "Read, write, play games, snowboard."
What is your favorite TV show?  "Studio C and How to Train Your Dragon (on Netflix)."
What are you really good at?   "Reading, doing math, card games, beating Zac up."
What is your favorite movie?  "There are too many to choose from.  I can't pick!"
What is your favorite animal?  "Red pandas and Fennec foxes."
What is your favorite color?  "Orange."
What is your favorite song?  "Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men."
Who are your best friends?  "Eli Bastiaansen, Canyon Kraft, Ryan Dean, Sophie Kinkaid, Jojo Suplisson, and other people."
What do you and Mom do together that you love?  "Play Mario."
What do you and Dad do together that you love?  "Watch movies."
What is your favorite sport?  "Swimming or soccer."
What is your favorite book?  "Gregor the Overlander."
Where is your favorite place to go?  "I like to go to the Sand Dunes, to Copper Mountain, to Grandma and Grandpa's house, to Nana and Papa's house, to Aunt Britt's house, to Rancho Mirage, to a lot of other people's houses."
What makes you feel scared?  "When Luke and Tom throw temper tantrums."
What do you want to be when you grow up?  "I want to be some kind of engineer or an author, maybe both."
What words would you use to describe yourself? "Smart, brunette, social, blue-eyed monster, a word master, funny, thoughtful."
What is the most exciting thing you got to do this year? "Snowboarding for the first time, High Trails."
What do you want to tell the future you? "Be yourself, don't be like other people, be unique--uniqueness is what makes yourself you."

Party Like You're 12

Happy 12th birthday, Josh!  Josh was lucky this year because his birthday fell on a school day off, so he could start his day nice and easy and plan for a lot of fun.  Josh was so excited to have his friends over to celebrate--he just wanted to hang out and have a good time, so we planned a nacho and sundae bar, a couple of games and a movie night.  It was also the day we planned to celebrate Tommy's 7th at the zoo, so he got a little extra dose of fun.  After this zoo day/12th birthday party, I can say in all honesty, Josh and his friends have MORE energy than any of the animals at the zoo did.  It was a crazy, fun, silly, loud, amazing evening--perfect for celebrating our crazy, fun, silly, loud and super amazing Josh!

Eli, Jojo, Canyon, Ryan, Sophie, Riley, Josh and Kitty.