More of April

April continues to move right along. We are now less than 4 weeks away from the end of the school year, and there are 3 boys in this house who are very happy about that. :) I am holding on to these last few weeks before summer break, simply because I am not ready to have a high school son just yet.

On Aaron's birthday weekend, my cousin Brendan came to town for a quick visit. His job actually brought him here, which I think is pretty neat. Our town isn't necessarily a destination place for "business trips." We only had a few hours to spend together, but I enjoyed each one. :) I was 13 when he was born, and so it's been fun for me to get to know him "all grown up." I admire him greatly--not only for what he does, but for who he is!

Brendan with me and my boys--cousins!

A few more birthday things...
Aaron had a party with his friends on his actual birthday. They played laser tag at our local fun center and also in our backyard. Grandma helped me pull it off, and she made the milkshakes Aaron requested. Who needs cake when you have milkshakes and cookies, right? :)

Party!!!

For supper, I let Aaron choose a restaurant. He picked Red Lobster, and we invited Grandma to join us. It was a sweet time, although by the end of the meal Aaron was lying down in the booth in exhaustion. Turning 10 is a lot of work!

Mining for crystals with his new set from Uncle Eric & Aunt Amber

His new hockey nets are a hit!

Moving on to new things...
Braylen's back is much better now. After 2 weeks of rest and PT, he's running in a track meet today. During the meet, Kaleb and Aaron each have soccer games. Tonight will be quite busy for us. :)

Derek hurt his shoulder at work last week. :( He has second degree tears in his AC joint, requiring him to wear a sling and work light duty for 4-6 weeks. We are very thankful he does not need surgery. Derek's become quite adept at using his left hand for many things. I know this injury is painful and it frustrates him, but he doesn't complain about it. Our boys have really stepped up and helped out more around here. I am proud of everyone's attitude and am also grateful for the extra help from my brothers-in-law.

Easter was a fun family day we would not have had if Derek worked his regular shift. I guess that is one good thing about this injury--Derek was able to spend the holiday with us. :) At the last minute, I remembered to dig the Easter baskets out of our storage room and set them up for the kids to find Sunday morning. I did not, however, remember to take pictures. Braylen was happy with his Nike flip flops, Kaleb likes his whistling frisbee, and Aaron can't wait to fly his new Minion kite. As windy as it is around here, we should have plenty of kite-flying weather this spring. Grandma always puts together fabulous Easter baskets for the kids and hides them outside. I DID remember to take pictures of those. :)

All dressed up for church

Running with their cousins to find their baskets

Derek can play frisbee left handed better than I can with my right hand, I'm sure. :)

Treats and fishing lures and Arby's gift cards!

Aaron and I continued the tradition of coloring eggs for Easter this year all by ourselves. It gave us something to do while the others went turkey hunting. He wanted one of each color so that is what we did--12 eggs in all. Good thing Derek and I like egg salad sandwiches. :)

Of course the real meaning of Easter is Jesus' death and resurrection, conquering sin and death once and for all. We gathered together with 12 churches on Good Friday for a time of worship and communion. It is probably my favorite service of the year. With the body of Christ coming together from different religions and backgrounds, it feels like a taste of Heaven here on earth.

It finally feels like spring around here. The snow is gone, and we've even had some--gasp!--rain!!! Last night before the rain came I snapped this picture from our deck. I think it's so pretty. The boys started mowing lawns this week, and summer is knocking on our door. But first, let's enjoy spring. :)

Our 10 Year Old Aaron

How is it even possible that my baby boy turns 10 today? One day at a time adds up to 10 years, I know, but it still amazes me at how fast it all goes. From his touch-and-go pregnancy to today--10 years sure did fly by. Like I did with our other boys, I put together a slideshow to music for Aaron. This labor of love took me about 12 hours of work spread over three days, and was made even more difficult with our computer hassles we've had these past few months. Nevertheless, I finished it, and Derek added the music for me! Last night Aaron asked if he was getting a birthday movie, so it's a good thing I have it ready to show him today. :)

Happy Happy Birthday, Aaron! Here are 11 things we love about our new 10 year old, all told with the help of some of my favorite pictures.

Newborn Aaron

1. I love that you are a good sleeper! While this picture shows you sleeping in your bassinet, I'm pretty sure it's the only time you slept in one. You learned from the beginning that most of your naps were taken in the car--dropping off or picking up your brothers.

1 year old

2. I've enjoyed watching you play with your toys. Being our last baby, you had an abundance of toys to play with! Without anyone younger than you to care for, I've been able to relax and watch you play--and join in when you wanted me to. :)

2 years old

3. Aaron, you are funny!!! You have always had a playful spirit, and I love that about you.

3 years old

4. I love your imagination. I remember when you wanted to have cupcakes with a cherry on top, just like Corduroy did in this book. Together we bring stories to life, and this is one of those times.

4 years old

5. You have a special relationship with your cousin. I love it that you are only 8 weeks apart. Analise is such a major part of your childhood, and I hope she is forever part of your life. :)

5 years old

6. You get to grow up with Ginger! She came to us when you were 5 years old, and I imagine you don't remember a day without her. You've always had a special way with Ginger, and I hardly have any pictures of her without you in them!

6 years old

 7. You have a heart for adventure! Whether it's riding a tube behind the boat or picking up frogs and collecting bugs, you love a good adventure. You've always been brave and ready for anything.

7 years old

8. I love your monkey hugs!!! You've liked to snuggle since you were a baby, and you still like to snuggle as a 10 year old. That is, when you are done with your latest adventure. :)

8 years old

9. You are the little brother, and I know that is a hard role to have sometimes. But I believe it is exactly where God wants you in our family, and much of who you are is influenced by your relationships with Kaleb and Braylen. They really do love you fiercely, and are your biggest protectors!

9 years old

10. You are my kitchen helper! Sometimes we make cookies, sometimes you help me fix supper, and sometimes you just like to mix up random ingredients to see what happens. Life in the kitchen is definitely more exciting with you by my side.

10 years old
Wearing your favorite shirt and standing by the lobsters at your favorite restaurant.

11. You are growing into a fine young man with many talents and abilities, and we are blessed to call you our son!!!

Busy Busy Busy!

Spring soccer for Kaleb and Aaron fill up 4 of our 5 weeknights, while Braylen's doctor appointments fill up our afternoons. Poor Braylen hurt his back somehow this winter, and running track has aggravated it greatly. Between our medical doctor, chiropractor, and PT--he has lots of appointments to keep. We think this back pain is from his rapid growth this past year, but no one is really sure. One exciting doctor visit recently was to the orthodontist to have his braces removed! He has a great smile and is very lucky he only needed braces for 6 months.

Aaron worked on his space project during spring break, and finished it last week the night before it was due. (That's how we do things around here!) He made his own planet Jupiter and was very proud of the finished product. :) 3rd grade is so much fun. I've decided it's the last fun and easy grade level, and I can hardly believe my last 3rd grader is just about done with 3rd grade. (sigh)

Aaron's Jupiter space project

Since Braylen is not able to run these days, Kaleb took his place in the color run with Aunt Pam and Analise last weekend. Again, poor Braylen, but Kaleb had a REALLY good time! He had no training or practice--just a willing spirit. That must be enough when you're 12, because Kaleb had no trouble at all running this 5k! He finished with a time of 33 minutes, 56 seconds, and placed 127th out of 428 runners! Hopefully next year he AND Braylen can both run this race.

Here they are before the race

At each checkpoint they were "colored" with a different color of cornstarch.
See Kaleb in the middle with the green hat on?

Checkpoint #3--my runner looks more colorful now!

After the race!

Thanks Aunt Pam for a fun morning!

After the race they had more fun with some color!
Kaleb kept his "color" on most of the day before finally cleaning up.

Aaron's birthday is tomorrow...so more on that next time!

Spring Break Fun & More

It is April and it is snowing. After living here for many years, I think I would be surprised if it was April and NOT snowing! At least April snow comes and goes quickly. This afternoon the flakes were the size of 50 cent coins, making it pretty easy to catch on your tongue. Aaron, Kaleb, and I had fun trying it out. :) Tomorrow it will be sunny and in the 50's.

Our computer is slowly coming back to life. Thanks to my husband and our external hard drive backup, I now have everything back except our files/pictures from January through March 7th. We still hope our computer store is able to retrieve that. To prevent this headache/heartache from happening to us again, we signed up with an online backup system recommended to us by my awesome brother. After what we've been though since early November, CrashPlan is worth every single penny to us!

Braylen had his first middle school track meet on Tuesday! Thankfully it was not snowing--just a little chilly. He loves to run and I really enjoy watching him run. It was my first time at a school track meet as a mom and not as a runner. I still had butterflies in my stomach when the races were about to begin, and it felt strange to be in the stands and not on the track. Funny how I can be 37 years old and still feel like I'm 14. With a lot of "last moments" coming up this spring as Braylen finishes up middle school, this was one of those "firsts" for me as we begin many years of watching our boys run in track meets. I like celebrating some firsts along with our lasts.

For spring break this year we traveled to Colorado Springs again. Only this time, we stayed with Derek's sister instead of in a hotel. We all had a great time together, and I hope our boys remember these times when they're grown. I let Aaron pack his own bag and guess what he brought? 18 stuffed animals, a pencil sharpener, 6 Minion Happy Meal toys, 2 Smurf Happy Meal toys, 2 Zhu-zhu Pet hamsters, a notebook, and several other misc odds and ends. Lucky for him I added clothing to his bag before we left. :)

Some highlights from our trip include...

Setting up Uncle Dave and Aunt Sarena's new select comfort bed--Aaron is trapped!

Nobody had to share a bed and that was wonderful!

See his pile of stuffed animals?!!

Ready to hike up Cheyenne Mountain in his new shoes.
1/3 of a mile up the mountain =200 feet increase in elevation.

My 3 hikers

It's a long way down :)

Tallest to shortest at the top of our hike

Braylen took lots of pictures this trip!

I thought this was pretty neat--flowing water and frozen water in the falls.

At Garden of the Gods with our nephew on Derek's back

Family picture--see Derek holding Danny's feet?!

Braylen found the ultimate walking stick!

One of our favorite places to climb around and explore

We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a of course, and discovered Gunther Toody's Diner another day. YUM!!! (Dad, you would really like it!) Sarena made us some delicious meals and breakfasts, and we took her and Dave out to BJ's on our last night in the Springs. It's always fun for me to try new places when we're there.

One of the highlights of our trip was playing outdoor laser tag Saturday morning! We were on the same team, battling it out with about 20+ other people. After the first game, I decided I was not used to running around in such thin mountain air. So I parked myself behind a fort, and picked people off with my laser gun. Who says this mom can't have fun with the guys?!

Yes, we all have red sensors on our heads. :)

We played boccie ball and frisbee at a nearby park. Pike's Peak is the snowy
mountain just peeking out from behind that house in the middle of the picture.

What a great vacation!

April is a very busy month for us this year, but I am looking forward to it. We have lots of soccer games and track meets, birthdays and parties, a visit with one of my cousins, turkey hunting, school projects, another band concert, and Braylen gets his braces off this month!!! Happy Spring, even if it is snowing outside! :)