Happy Birthday Spike

Today was Spikes birthday. I remember 11 years ago (also on labor day) when he was just a tiny little newborn baby. My how the time has flown. I am so impressed with the progress he has made over the last few years.
We spent the day with the Crimson family. Our Angel got home from college on Saturday night, it was fun to have her there again. But alas Uncle Crimson and Cinnamon Crimson have both left us to go back to college. Their presence was greatly missed.
We had hamburgers and hotdogs, and cake and ice-cream. As we sang to Spike he was so cute. Shy and WAY happy. I love to see him so happy. Spike got an I-pod (which is what he REALLY wanted, either that or an i-touch, but mom wasn't willing to get that one for him yet). The Crimsons got the coolest accessory for it. It's a speaker system attached to one of those plasma balls. Too cool! I think Sage loves it as much as Spike does.
We spent the whole afternoon and when it was time to get the bedtime routine started Dad had to drag me kicking and screaming (okay... not literally) into the van to go home. Although, I do think it's harder to get me to leave than the boys.
I love you Spike. Happy Birthday!

Book of Mormon Trip

My hubby and three older boys have been gone for just over two weeks. Trust me, it has felt like a lot longer! They will get home late tonight.
We told our boys that when they finish a book of scripture we will take them to the part of the world where that book was written. Within the last year Star, Spike, and Blue Tiger have all finished the Book of Mormon. So, that is where they have been. Mostly in Guatemala and Mexico. There are more areas to see, but we decided to go with a tour and this seemed like the most comprehensive. Dad told me that he has been super pleased with the tour and has been really grateful that we chose the one we did.
The boys have had a great time.
The little boys have missed their big brothers and Dad terribly. But we've had some fun while they've been gone. I understand they have a few thousand pictures. I am sure Spike took the most. We will sort them out and be posting more. And I am going to have the boys update their blogs with thoughts about their trips. So, check in for further details later.

You just lost the game.

My boys are enjoying a new game. If you think about, talk about, or hear about the game...you lose. So, every once in a while someone will just say "Mom, you just lost the game."
It just makes me laugh.
I do think we have someone who wins the game quite often. SPIKE! He really has selective hearing and often when the other boys talk about "the game" he just doesn't hear, or acknowledge anything about it. Spike wins.
LOL!

Ready for middle school

Spike is SO ready for middle school. But the question is...Is middle school ready for Spike?

Yesterday was 5th grade promotion. It was so fun to watch my man Spike. The surprising thing is the fact that he didn't laugh, he didn't say anything inappropriate, he didn't cheer for himself when he wasn't supposed to. He just stood there and sang the songs, stood when his name was read for different awards and smiled at me occasionally. Wow. Is Spike growing up?

This is Patch. He is one of Spikes many friends, but he has a special place in my heart because of the way he treats him. He seems to understand him more than most of the kids. Even though they ALL love him. In fact there was a slide show after the official ceremony and each of the kids were pictured. We laughed as we noted the the girls would scream for the girls and the boys would whoop for the boys, but when Spikes picture was featured the whoops and the screams went up together. His was definitely the loudest. I am so glad he is so loved. Heck, to know him is to love him!

A rare and wonderful opportunity.

Today I was at one of the schools that my boys attend for a bunch of meetings. As it was, each time there was a recess in the meeting I got to go outside and watch the kids at their recess. And each time I got to watch one of my boys.

It was so interesting and wonderful to be a "fly on the wall" and not have them be aware of me and yet watch them as they played.

I loved watching EZ as he played around other kids, always in the middle of things.

I loved watching Blue Tiger as he paced back and forth, obviously creating stories in his head. It was even better when a friend approached him and they paced and created together, adding animation to the stories. And I loved watching Spike as he went to a secluded spot (that I think is off limits) and walk and think. It was an interesting activity for me to do, one I totally enjoyed!

Pic of the winner

I stole this from a friends blog and had to post it. What a cutie. If you didn't read about the derby go back a few posts. (Thanks Chantel)

Pinewood Derby

YEA! It's over again for a year. I think it is the fact that it's kind of a family legacy on my side, but the Pinewood derby is a major source of stress for me (and therefore for my family). In my growing up years I can remember weeks and months that my brothers would spend on their cars. The planning, the carving, the sanding, the painting and the hours spent in my Dad's office working on the perfect car. Every year one of my brothers won first place. It made for some good competition, but that only made my family work harder. Although we don't get quite as into it as in my growing up years, I still stress about it. At one point I was having dreams about my husband having to leave and that would leave only me here to help the boys finish their cars. My subcouncious was even stressed. And even though we didn't take weeks and months, my boys came through (with the help of Dad) and won first and second place. The legacy continues....
Spike won first place and Blue Tiger won second.