Spence is 10

Spencer got to celebrate his birthday at a Bees game again this year. He loves baseball. He is a great player. He plays pitcher, catcher, short and first base. His favorite is probably shortstop. He is a big Yankees fan and has to endure taunting from Nate (our Orioles diehard). We loved having so many cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents to spend the night with.

Love you Spence!

Almost over the hill

Matt turned 39 this year. His cake is pretty much a fire hazard now, taking much energy and skill to light. We had some friends out for sledding and lunch. It was a good thing that Nate and Brian took pictures because I somehow ruined the ones I took. I'll post the sledding pictures later.

Happy Birthday Matt! We all love you so much!

Dozen reasons I love Nate

Nate turned twelve. I'm still not sure I believe it. But, here are twelve reasons I love that boy.

• He is willing to help when I ask
• He has beautiful eyes
• He still lets us hug him
• He does so well in school
• He is friendly
• He loves to tell stories
• He is happy to include everyone, even three year old brothers
• He is creative
• He is not afraid to do things
• He is responsible, a little forgetful, but responsible
• He has a good attitude
• He gives it his all when he plays sports

Birthday Bees Game

On Spencer's Birthday we all went to the Bees Game. We have a lot of July birthdays in the family so we celebrated for Spencer, Zac, Carson, & Tom. It was totally fun to sit in one of the suites, but totally messy. Who knew popcorn could make such a mess?

The best part of the night -- Buzz came in to sing Happy Birthday with us.

Carson and Cam snuck over to the suite next to us and were having a great time!

Thanks mom for taking us!

Hoping to catch a fly

9 is Fine

Spencer turned nine while we were in Utah. We spent a fun day at Grandma Geri's and then drove to Salt Lake for the Buzz Game. We love having Spencer in our family. We like how his eyes disappear when he smiles. He is thoughtful and a good help with Cameron. He loves playing outdoors and is a natural athlete. He likes collecting things and he is a good artist.

38

Matt made it another year.  I like to tease him about being older than me, but really he just gets better each year.  He is a very dedicated father and I love that.   The boys adore him and can't get enough of him.  They love his little boy stories at night and they love playing catch, wrestling, hiking, reading, basketball, talking and even working with him.  I sometimes feel like I have to fight for attention, but that shows how much they love him and he loves them.   Matt is a good example to me and makes me try harder to be a better person.  He is patient and mild and good at seeing things clearly and helping me untangle my thoughts.  At least one of us is that way!  He like to try new things and explore and be outside.  I'm sure our family will have a lot of adventures in the future.  I'm glad he'll be in the lead!

We had a giant box of Fruity Pebbles for breakfast--how fancy!

Nate made him close his eyes and the others got in the box and then jumped out when he opened it.  They thought they were pretty sneaky.  

Nate's Birthday

WOW! We have an eleven year old. Nate got to have a friend party this year and he chose to have it at Laser Quest. The boys were excited and hyper waiting for their turn and I think they had a lot of fun. They played two games and then we had a party room and ate pizza and cake and opened presents. All his friends (friend's parents) are so generous. I loved watching him interact with his friends. He was being silly and he looked happy. Most of the time the boys don't get together with friends, I guess because we get busy and there is not much time between school and dinner/homework time. They really are each other's best friends and I love that, but it was nice to see Nate with his school friends.

Nate is a fantastic kid. He is imaginative, friendly, kind, patient, obedient, and he has a fun sense of humor. I expect a lot from him, too much usually, and he bears it pretty well. We love having him in our family and can't imagine a better older brother.

The equipment was too heavy for Sam so the first game Matt wore his vest and Sam shot the laser gun, and the second game Sam dragged me around.  Twenty minutes never felt so long.

I went in to take pictures.  I didn't use a flash so you can't see any people in them, but I thought some of them turned out kinda cool.