Birthday Twins

I was able to start my birthday with some pickleball--the best way to start the day!

Then I picked up Carter from school, and we spent the next few hours at the DPS office. The paperwork portion went fairly quickly, but there was a long line for the actual driving test. I was able to talk to Caleb on his p-day while I waited. He was thrilled to have the freedom of driving to school and activities on his own. (Me too!)

Making homemade noodles

Carter has been doing a lot of research on healthy eating and taking care of his body, and he has completely revamped his eating to a very clean diet. Most of the meals I make don't fit into his diet, so he has started cooking for himself. The main things he eats are eggs, ground beef, avocadoes, sweet potatoes, and blueberries. When Carter puts his mind to something, he is very successful. He loves the way he feels with his new diet.

The topic that Carter and I argue about the most are his grades. His approach and my approach to school are very different from each other. He likes to do the work necessary to squeak by with an A. After getting two 89s at the semester mark, hopefully he's learned that cutting it so close can have consequences!

Carter has done a lot of maturing this last year in all areas of his life. He approaches life with a positive attitude and is fun to be around. He is very social and loves hanging out with his friends. He is respectful of the rules in the house and pitches in without complaining. Now that Caleb is gone, he has stepped into the role of the oldest by being a good example to his brothers.

 

Fall Birthdays and Halloween

We celebrated this 10-year-old by opening presents in the morning with Matt on the phone. The temple was closed for cleaning, so I didn't have to worry about moving my temple shift and could just meet this boy for lunch at school. I brought him Chick Fil A, and we played a game. He wanted Matt to make his birthday dinner on the weekend--steak and chicken kebabs. Austin also got a new tennis racket from Grandma and Grandpa.

Halloween 2025

The day before Bryson's birthday, we were able to have a family day at a campground that my dad volunteers at once a week. Rope swings, zip line, fishing, paddle boarding, lunch, and some archery. I forgot to take pictures!

Bryson was thrilled to turn 13, but not happy about fasting on his birthday. We had chicken and waffles for dinner with the missionaries and Grandma and Grandpa. There was no school the next two days, so he was able to invite some friends over to watch a PG-13 movie and have ice cream sundaes.

Grandma and Grandpa got him some new batting gloves.

At their well-check appointment, we learned that Bryson has 20/70 vision in his left eye. For the first time he mentioned that he has trouble reading things from the back of the classroom! Austin is in the 5th percentile for his height, and the doctor talked to us about considering growth hormones for him. (He is projected to be 5'6".)

Life Changes for Caleb

Caleb really wanted to receive his endowment before leaving for BYU, which left 2 days to make that happen due to the timing of his birthday and his flight. With the help of our local church leadership, Caleb received the Melchizedek priesthood and his endowment on his birthday. He prepared well, and it was a special experience.

We celebrated his birthday the next day by eating dinner at Benihana.

I flew up with Caleb to drop him off at BYU, which meant I had to do a lot of adulting. 😆

We figured things out together. He is just going for a semester and then going on a mission. We submitted his mission papers right before he left. I was a little nervous to see whether Caleb would sink or swim as he would be all alone at school figuring everything out and trying to make new friends. He is staying in Helaman Halls and doesn't know his roommate. After getting him all moved in, including a few trips to some stores, we walked the campus. A kind friend from my ward has a house in Provo and let us eat dinner with them as well as letting me sleep there two nights.

 

I met up with my good friend, Kim, for lunch at Costa Vida after the temple.

The rest of the afternoon, we walked Caleb's schedule and made sure he felt all settled. I flew home Thursday morning while he started Freshman Orientation. I left a big piece of my heart behind!

One of the final things Caleb had to do submit his mission papers is have his wisdom teeth removed. No funny videos. He was very coherent after waking up from the anesthesia.

After he was all healed up a few weeks later, one side of his mouth started to get puffy again. He had a rare infection that required lancing, draining, and antibiotics.

A week after arriving at BYU, Caleb received his mission call! He opened it on his own as soon as it arrived on September 2nd. We scheduled that he would read it and share the news that night with us, but the rest of my family and his Aunt Marilyn jumped on the zoom call as well. He is going to the Dominican Republic, Spanish speaking. Home MTC starts January 26th and Mexico MTC on February 5th. We are thrilled for him!

Bryson's 12th Birthday

Bryson celebrated his 12th birthday with a few friends at Activate--an active gaming experience. They had a lot of fun, and he had a great birthday.

Favorite dinner: kebabs

Favorite dessert: s'mores bars

Favorite snack: cheez-its

Favorite color: bright orange

Favorite activity: listening to books

Favorite book: False Prince or Alex Rider series

Favorite subject: math

Favorite sport: baseball

Austin's Birthday

 Austin's 9th birthday

Favorite dinner: Korean Beef

Favorite color: red

Favorite sport: baseball

Favorite pastime: screens or fishing

Favorite book: Inflatables or Wild Robot

Favorite song: Too Sweet

Favorite season: spring

Favorite fruit: strawberry

Caleb's Birthday

 This picture sums up Caleb's birthday. He was not present for his special day!

His birthday just happened to be a super busy day for him with school, teaching piano and tennis. He is so driven and works so hard, and Thursdays are his busy day. He didn't even eat his birthday dinner until 9pm at night. I snapped a lonely picture of the banana cream pie I made for him. I don't even think he ate some till the next day!

The start of school went smoothly, though I'm gearing up for a super busy year with all the things we have to do for Caleb's senior year!

He is the team captain for tennis and #1 on the varsity team this year.

Carter's 14th Birthday

Carter's friends were SO sweet to throw him a surprise birthday party. This kid has quite the social life!

 We also celebrated that day by going out to Benihana's for lunch as a family.

I turned 41 and Carter turned 14, so this was perfect!!

Happy 11th Birthday!

Bryson's birthday comes quick after Halloween!

Halloween 2023 with friends

Peanut butter bars for dessert after honey lime enchiladas for dinner
We also celebrated by going out to dinner as a family that weekend.

 

Austin 8th Birthday and Baptism

Austin wanted a movie party for his birthday. We tried to find a movie in the theaters that he could invite a few friends to, but there was nothing good out in September. So he had several friends over for a Chick-Fil-A and movie party at his house with popcorn and box candy. 

Austin got some freeze dried strawberries, a remote control car, scriptures, and a scripture case.

It was pretty special to have Caleb baptize him, but it actually took some convincing because he really wanted his dad to do it.

Aunt Kari gave the talk on baptism and talked about sticky cotton candy and wipes for sin and repentance. Grandma and Grandpa each shared their testimonies on the Holy Ghost. Uncle Clayton played the piano and Aunt Ariane led the music. Caleb played a solo musical number, "I am a Child of God."
 

Caleb turns 16!

Caleb was anxious to turn 16 so he could officially drive. (I was right there with him!) We were all counting down the days. Being the youngest in his grade, we knew the most painful part about that would be that he would be the last to drive and last to date amongst his peers.

His presents were small in number but expensive in price. He got two new tennis rackets (it's wise to have a spare of the exact same racket in case a string breaks in a match). He also got the privilege of driving a new-to-him car. We purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry over the summer when we found a good deal. (The tricky part was picking it up from Utah.)

He took the driving test 2 days after his birthday. I originally had it scheduled on his birthday until we found out there was a tennis tournament that day. He got marks off on his parallel parking, but everything else went smoothly.

Happy Birthday!

Carter turned 13 this year! He's excited to be old enough to watch PG-13 movies, though he had permission to see a few already. Carter is such a hard worker and very independent. School comes very easily for Carter, and he makes high As in all his classes. One of his spiritual gifts is connecting with younger children; he is very patient and willing to be part of their silly playing. For example, in January we went to The Downtown Aquarium for a preschool field trip on Martin Luther King day. A single mom from our church was there with her 5 children under the age of 9. Carter took one of the rambunctious 6-year-old twins and became his best friend for the day, doing whatever rides with the boy that he wanted. It was such a service to the mom and so unselfish on Carter's part to play "babysitter" when he didn't need to. Carter still enjoys playing baseball, but has found a new love in football which he tried for the first time last fall. He also tried out for the tennis team at the beginning of March and is playing line 2. Caleb and I have each given him some lessons, and he has picked up the sport very quickly! He struggles with consistency, which is expected, but he's improving at a rapid rate. Carter is in percussion, but he's not dedicated to it like he is to sports. Cooking is an interest that may play into future high school classes. His relationship with Bryson is a little less toxic now, but still not great. Carter can be the sweetest kid and initiates saying "I love you" before he leaves for school each day or before he hangs up the phone. We are very proud of the young man he is becoming!

He got a tennis racket, a nice pillow, a can of freeze-dried strawberries (that he finished off that day!), and a water bottle. Grandma and Grandpa got him those slides pictured above that are apparently all the rage right now.

 

Taquitos was his birthday dinner request and banana cream pie for dessert!

He celebrated his birthday with friends the next night with an informal party--movie night and sundaes, no presents.

For my 40th birthday Matt arranged dinner and gaming with some close friends. I told him I did NOT want a big party. Matt made his homemade lasagna and a knock-off Carabba's bread dip, which I love. We played Wingspan and chatted until late. I tried hard to stay in my 30s, but time keeps marching on!

Bryson's 10th Birthday

Bryson does such a good job watching out for his younger brother to and from school each day and just in general. He sees Austin as a peer and friend and likes to include him in everything. Bryson is a hard worker at school and sports. He is very creative and likes making forts and coming up with other imaginary play for him and Austin. As much as I love their playing together, I have to constantly nag them to clean up after themselves. Something I work with Bryson on is his moodiness. He angers easily and thinks the world is conspiring against him when anything goes wrong. It's something we may have to get professional help with at some point. The most contention we have in the family is between Bryson and Carter, whose relationship is toxic. It makes me sad, and I hope one day they will be friends. For now, we constantly tell them not to talk to each other and stay out of each other's business. Bryson loves roller coasters and is up for any adventure. I love my school lunch dates with Bryson and playing games with him while talking about his day. 

Bryson and Austin end up sleeping in the same bed most nights even though they have a bunk bed. They really do have a special bond. 

 

Austin Turns 7

Austin is a great caboose for our family. He is easy-going, fun, smart, creative, and a peacemaker. Bryson and Austin have a very special bond, and they are best friends. Austin helps to tame some of Bryson's moodiness. Because of this friendship and because he's the youngest, Austin is very mature for his age. Unfortunately he's also short for his age! Although he loves his brother, Austin's favorite person is Matt. He idolizes him and wants to be with him at all times. I sometimes joke to Matt that he can't walk to another part of the house without telling Austin first because I inevitably get the question, "Where's Dad?" He loves art because Matt loves art. He loves watching sports because Matt loves watching sports. He wants to play baseball because he knows Matt loves coaching baseball. Austin reads at a very high reading level and can read very challenging words but doesn't love to read. He performs well in school but doesn't like school. Austin cares about his handwriting being very neat, which I think is great! For how smart he is, Austin still struggles with reading notes in piano and so he hasn't loved learning the instrument. Once he learns a song (mostly by ear), then he loves to play and show it off to people. He is a picky eater and fights eating his dinner. His favorite foods are chicken and broccoli casserole, steak, and pasta. Austin has such a sweet temperament, and we love having him in our family!

The first time ever that I didn't make a homemade cake or dessert for a birthday! It just was a chaotic weekend!