Our Youngest is 11

I love all of my kids' birthdays, I really do. But today just seemed extra great. Maybe it's because Aaron's birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Maybe it's because Derek didn't have to work. Maybe it's because the kids are getting older, and birthdays take on a whole new meaning when you realize there are only a handful of them left before the kids are all grown up.

Aaron loves his brothers. He told us last night that if he had one day left on the earth, he would spend it playing with them.

13, 11, and 15 years old. They're growing up so fast.

Between church, lunch with grandparents, and his friends coming over this afternoon, Aaron had just a few minutes to open his presents today. His favorite one? A disco ball from Grammy and Grampy!

We've had disco ball parties in the bathroom and in his bedroom today. I bet you've never taken a shower in a dark bathroom, with only a disco ball to light it up. We have! :)

More minions from Grammy, and my only picture with my 11 year old son today.

As a mom, I've learned to become a student of my children. Aaron loves to go 4-wheeling, and he really enjoys spending time with his closest friends. That would be his brothers, his friend Carson, and another friend from our church. What a perfect way to spend his birthday! Everything came together to be a perfect day for Aaron.

Derek really went above and beyond for Aaron today. The boys drove 4-wheelers. They got stuck in a mud pit and high-centered on a hill. Derek saved the day every time! They explored the island and all of its trails, while Derek and his good friend each wore Go-Pro cameras to record all the fun they were having. I was there to supervise, and to provide snacks and water. I was also treated to rides by Braylen and Kaleb. I love to see their personalities come out through their driving. ;) Everyone stayed safe, and everyone had more fun than I ever could have imagined. A couple times throughout the day I thought about the day Aaron was born, and how I never thought we would be doing this 11 years later!

Hopefully I can post some pictures of the 4-wheeling party some day soon, but tonight I'm pretty tired. There are other things I would like to write about as well. We went to Colorado Springs for spring break, and Derek went snowmobiling with his dad, brothers, and Braylen for an early 40th birthday celebration in Breckenridge. Yes, Derek will be turning the big 4-0 this year!

For tonight, Aaron is 11 years old. I feel like we honored and cherished him on his birthday. Even his brothers took extra good care of him this weekend. I hope and pray they stay close throughout their lives. Our years with them in our home are so very short. Yes, these are the years we will one day look back on and long for.

Aaron blesses our family with his inquisitive mind and attention to detail. He is fearless, determined, and persistent. He tries extra hard to prove to us that he's not a little baby anymore. But you know what? He still brings me dandelions. I'll hold on to that as long as I can. :)

Happy Birthday to our one and only Aaron William!

Hockey rink cake, with lego goal posts and nets knitted by Aaron and me!

Family of 5

Meat Party in March

When life gets busy, as it always does, plans change and change and change! This year Derek and the rest of the crew FINALLY completed their meat processing in the middle of March. March! And as it turns out, they got it done just in time.

Aaron's favorite part of this process is making "noodles" out of the meat.

Derek's ever-faithful parents love to help out.

This would not be the same without Shawn. He's been with Derek from the beginning!
Hard to believe it will be 10 years this fall since Derek's first deer hunt with Shawn.

It's a lot of work, but they all have fun and make lots of memories while working together.

During this meat party Rebekah and I took her kids to the park, prepared the meals for everyone, and helped with dishes Friday night. We also escaped for a bit to her hotel to swim with her kids, along with Kaleb and Aaron. Fun!

Aaron and Kaleb spent most of their time on the big water slides.
Here they are in the kiddie pool. :)

So, why did all of this get done just in time? Well, Derek got sick. Really, really sick. The kind of sick where you go to bed at night and don't get out of bed for 2 days, and then it takes about a week to recover. I'm sure he had Influenza B, since our entire town was stricken with it recently. Turns out every adult working in the garage ended up getting sick. I stayed healthy, thanks be to God for that! (Good thing I didn't work in the garage--ha!)

Now, the deer sausage is not contaminated--I promise! I worked very hard for 2 days, baking all of the sausages in the oven. I felt like a walking sausage when the process was complete! Between the seasonings, cure, and the heat--the sausage is safe to eat. We have it all vacuum sealed and in the freezer for lots and lots of snacks! 

Now that Derek is healthy again and back at work, we're back to our normal schedules and plans. The boys are on spring break--yay! It feels like spring outside and we have some fun things ahead of us.

Before moving on to next week, here's a look back at the first half of March. We're in one of those seasons where we are either having fun or we're bored. Obviously these are some of our fun moments. :)

Fun at the hockey game with cousins and funnel cakes

Aaron's basketball team

Happy Birthday Great Grandma Muriel! She will turn 92 on 3/25.

Fun at the IMAX theater with the girls.
Aaron really enjoyed the movie--it felt like it was made just for him.

Aaron and Analise loved the rock and mineral display at the museum after the movie.

All tucked in, but not in bed! Silly Aaron.

Aaron's character award with Braylen along to watch the assembly.
It is so hard for me to believe we only have one more year at this school.

Kaleb called me Ma'am and tipped his hat before I snapped this picture.
When Derek works we find things to do around town. :)

40 Bags in 40 Days

During the season of lent, I decided to tackle a project I've wanted to do for years. It involves getting rid of stuff we no longer need or want. After living in this house for almost 12 years, it was time to do some purging!

Each day I focus on one specific area of my house, with the goal of removing one bag of things each day. I've cleared out a LOT of stuff. And sometimes I go back and just stare at an area that was once cluttered and is now clean. It feels SO good to get rid of stuff, I just can't believe it! From my kitchen cabinets to my walk in closet, my house (or is it my life?) is getting "lighter" one day at a time.

This past week I've worked on our very scary dumping zone of a "storage" room. I was actually saving this area for last, since it's the absolute worst junk pile in our house. Well, our radon mitigation system needed to be worked on, so Derek and I had to clear out the storage room for the work crew pronto! With the contents now dumped all over our family room, we got to work. It was HARD, messy, dusty work! We found our notes and textbooks from college, mementos from childhood and our dating years, wedding plans, boxes of loose pictures that are duplicates of pictures already in albums, bill stubs from 1999-2015, baby items no longer needed, etc. Sometimes we would get stuck in a time warp and talk about all the memories wrapped up in the "stuff" we were going through. That adds time to the job, but it ended up being really sweet time together.

I can happily say that the dreaded storage room project is now complete! I texted a picture of the finished room to my mom, since she's seen how bad it used to be, and she was amazed! It puts a spring in my step to see how clean it is, and know exactly what we have and where it is.

Today is day 20 of my 40 days, and I still have a lot to do. Some of my upcoming projects include the boys' closets, our stash of movies and CD's, my bedside table, hope chest, and the coat closet. Next week I'm devoting my time to digital clutter--especially our photos and finances. Yikes!

A lot of things had to come together in my life to give me the drive for this project. When I talked with a friend about this recently, she said it's a tangible way for me to move from one stage of my life to the next. I've been thinking about that, and I think she's right. I just don't know what the "next" stage is.

In other news around here, Braylen had another round of influenza-like symptoms this week. Aaron's hovering in the area between health and sickness, and I'm hoping he stays closer to the healthy side. :) Kaleb had a band concert last week and Braylen has one tonight. Last week we had a day off of school, so the big boys went to the lake with Grandpa while Aaron and I went with his cousins and grandma to a fun museum and IMAX theater. We also visited Great Grandma Muriel and wished her a happy upcoming 92nd birthday. Wow! Both of our grandmas turn 92 this year. Our littlest niece turns 7 soon...and we have another niece on the way this summer--woo hoo! This will bring the cousin count for our kids to 4 girls and 3 boys. All right!

We're almost to the middle of March, and since today is going to be 77 degrees, I need to get outside. Better get my chores done, so I guess that's all for today! :)

Growing Pains

We knew this would happen. For years we've watched our boys play together, grow up, and form new bonds with each other. From the beginning, Braylen and Kaleb were best buddies and roommates. Then, Kaleb and Aaron became roommates--and eventually, best buddies. Now, Aaron is finding out for the first time in his life what it feels like to play by himself.

Kaleb is growing weary of imaginary play with his younger brother. I can't blame him--he's 13 years old and in 7th grade. We knew this day would come. But Aaron didn't. He's cranky and lonely and just not himself these days. Derek and I don't really know how to help him through this. We can't force Kaleb to stay young for Aaron. We can't force Aaron to match Kaleb's maturity level and need for independence. They both need to find their new normal in the brotherhood, I guess.

Growing pains. Teenagers. Testosterone. Mood swings. I'm swimming in it over here.

March is hard. It's not winter and it's not spring. School routines are a drag, and yet, there's still a lot of work to be done to keep those grades up. Spring break is the LAST week of March this year. Didn't it used to be in the middle?

But Derek is on day shift. Better enjoy it while it lasts, cuz it won't last long! We have our health and plenty of reasons to be thankful. These growing pains will pass. Derek and I expect our older boys to bend their will at times to say yes to Aaron's requests. We expect Aaron to give his big brothers space, and learn to respect the boundaries they've set. We hope the relationships our boys build together now will carry through into their adult lives. We're trying to teach them that what they do in these moments matter for the ones that are to come.

And that is what's going on in our home right now. You know, it sure was more fun to write about the cute, funny things our sons did when they were little! :)

But we still have fun with them. It just sounds and looks different. When they wrestle I hear things like, "Why did you put my fingers in your pit hair?" And instead of playing with toys, they play Twister together. Which of course turns into more wrestling...boys!

Kaleb and Aaron giving Braylen a ride

What a crew

Aaron's rock project

Box of Valentine treats from Grammy & Grampy

Sugar cookies!!!

A plate for each boy

Aaron's 4th grade music program

American flag with plates!