eleven

 Today Brody celebrated his 11th birthday. I cannot believe I have an 11 year old boy!  YIKES!  The morning started off with breakfast in bed.  On the menu:  Eggs, bacon, english muffins, and orange julius.  

 Case video taped the whole even per Brody's request.  Brody is really into documenting things which is fun.  He then takes all the video footage and make an imovie or power point presentation.  

 For Brody's date with Jeremy and I, we went to Cheesecake Factory and then to Chandler mall.  Brody wasn't sure what he wanted to get for his birthday so he wanted options like the Lego Store and the Apple Store.  He decided on a projector from Brookstone.  I thought this was a funny gift but the boy LOVES it.  He hooks up the computer, the IPad, and my I Phone and shows movies and games on the wall.  He has big plans for a movie night at the cabin on the golf course.  Can't wait!

I have to say, 11 year old boys are a different breed.  They are happy, and sad, and angry all at one time.  Brody is definitely trying to find himself.  He is also exercising his independence.  He wants to be with friends more then ever and gets a little more embarrassed by me and his siblings.  This is interesting to watch as I see him struggle to make choices that seem so obvious.  I sometimes wonder if his little body is changing as I see him get more frustrated and angry with his brothers and even me.  He  looses his temper daily about the silliest things. Although frustrating to me, it is a slight bit funny as I watch him throw himself into a temper tantrum.  Have you ever witnessed an 11 year old boy have a temper tantrum?  Interesting to say the least.  Brody continues to do great in school and is getting better about socializing.  He loves to play kickball at recess which is a good thing.  I wish I could get his boy to relax a little.  I see him stress about things that are so dumb.  Everyday he gets into the car after school and has a MAJOR story to tell us about something that happened to him.  The other day Case finally said to him, "Brody, how come everyday you get in the car and something horrible has happened to you?"  He was right, EVERYDAY this boy has a MAJOR issue.  I hope I can help him to let some of them go.  It's silly and trivial. Brody is a good kid though.  He is so smart.  Happy Birthday Brody! Can't believe you're 11!

This Girl

 This little girl is the most amazing thing ever.  She is so funny and so determined.  Today as we pulled into the garage from our weekly shopping trip to Bashas, she says to me, "Mom, I want to ride my bike without training wheels today."  She then grabs her bike, asks for a push, and off she went.  It was like she had done it her whole life.  

 Although a little shaky, this girl rode up and down our street like she owned it.  Turning and stopping were a little tricky, but not bad for a first timer.

Even when she crashed and scraped her knees and elbows, she smiled, laughed and got back on.  This girl is the best!

Endurance

This boy amazes me.  He has a determination about him that I wish I had.  Brody has run for a student council office 4 times now.  Not once has he won office...until now.    

For the past week, Brody has been getting ready to run for school secretary.  He and Jeremy made a poster, he wrote his speech (on the way to school the day it was due), and he gave a speech in front of all the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at his school.  

Being that his poster had a sorta "doughnut" theme, Brody wrote his speech using words like, "You DOUGHNUT want to miss the opportunity to vote for me. And "DOUGHNUT you know I would make a great secretary?" It was a short 1 minute hilarious speech. He did great.  I was so proud of him. After school today, I got a text from my friend Cyndi who just so happened to be working in her daughters classroom when the announcement was made that Brody had won.  I couldn't believe it.

I honestly had to laugh when Jeremy text me a picture of Brody's poster.  I actually thought it was a joke.  It was corny and weird and I didn't get it at all.  Goes to show you, I don't have a clue!

Butterfly Wonderland

 After Pinewood Derby, we headed over to Butterfly Wonderland to celebrate Jim's birthday.  We had never been here so we were all excited to go.  The butterfly's were AMAZING!  They would fly all around you and land on your clothes, and even NOSE!

 Here we are!  We are a large group!  After the museum, we headed over to Nellos for dinner.  

Happy Birthday Jim!  Thanks for having your party at the butterfly museum.

Sparky

This morning, Case participated in his first Pinewood Derby.  He was super excited to have his turn at racing after watching Brody the past 3 years.  He also loved having Jefferson race with him.

 Case made an ASU car this year and named it "Sparky." This car was fast and fierce and looked great.

 This is a fun activity for these boys.  They were having a ball rooting for each other and seeing how each car raced.  

 Look at Sparky go!

 Cute group of spectators!

 Just like we did for Brody, Jeremy had shirts made for Case.  We love to show our support for our kids and besides, every racer needs a pit crew right?

 Even though Jefferson is not in our ward, he attended our Pinewood Derby because he and his family were leaving town that afternoon.  These boys are such good friends that they could have cared less who won or lost.  I love that about these boys!  They were more excited about working every night this week on their cars at Jeremy's office.

 After the results were in, Case had won 3rd place.  He was thrilled and so were we.  

Way to go SPARKY!

 Sugar, Jim, Nanny and Papa were all there to support Case. Lucky boy!

 Jeremy and Papa worked their tails off with Case this past week. I think it was fun for all of them!

 Case showing off his car and trophy.  

My second counselor Raina Bennett did a great job organizing and running this year's Pinewood Derby.  I love that we are combined as dens with the Preston Ward but I am really excited to join up with the Red Mountain Ward in a week or so.  The more boys the better!

I had these pit passes made this year and I really like the way they turned out. I'm sure the boys could care less, but to me, it makes the event more exciting!