13 Years Old

 Parker-

Today you become a teenager!  I can't believe how fast the last 13 years have gone!  You have kept us busy this year with all of your activities and there is nothing I love more than watching you succeed in all of the things you love to do!  Here are some of the things I want to remember about you as you turn 13:

- You are getting taller every day! You are almost 6 feet tall and weigh 140 pounds.  You passed me up a long time ago and it is strange to have to look up to you when I talk to you.  You are wearing a men's medium and size 12-13 shoes.  I have a feeling you will be taller than dad in a few months.

- You are so smart and making good grades comes easily to you.  You work hard and study hard and always give your school work your best.  You have really missed being at school during the quarantine but have done a great job with your remote learning at home.

- You have loved participating in middle school sports this year.  You did very well at cross country in the fall and you also tried football for the first time.  You didn't love football but I'm glad you gave it a try.  I think you would have regretted it if you had never tried it.  Your favorite sport this year was basketball! You loved playing for Coach Ellis and your team played very well together.  I can't wait to watch you again next year! You also loved running track and were sad that Covid cut your season short.  

- You still love playing trumpet in the band.  You joined the jazz band this year and even though it took you a while to get used to a new style of playing, you now enjoy it a lot.  You even earned a chance to have a solo in one of your concerts this year.  You love Mr. Hiller and being in the Wind Ensemble under his leadership.  Your proudest moment this year in band was earning a spot in the Region Band- something that only a few 7th graders achieved.

-You are still an avid reader.  If you aren't playing video games in your free time, you have your nose in a book.  I hope reading is something you will enjoy all of your life.

- Speaking of video games, you favorite thing to do in your free time continues to be playing video games.  Two of your favorite games this year have been Fortnite and Roblox.

- You eat a lot!!  Your favorite foods are spaghetti, tacos, hamburgers, pizza, and chips and salsa.  You also love to drink milk.  You can go through 2-3 gallons of milk a week all by yourself. 

- Your best friends are friends you've had for a long time- several of them since preschool.  Kayden S, Kaden H, Cole, and Robert are all great friends and I enjoy when you have them over to hang out.

- You do not willingly give me hugs anymore but you still like to crawl up next to me and let me scratch your back.  It's not perfect but I'll take anything I can get these days!

You are such an amazing kid and I'm so thankful that you are mine! Watching you grow into a young man is an adventure every day and I'm glad I get to be a part of it!  I hope the teenage years are full of exciting and wonderful things! I love you to the moon and back, Mom

Happy 13th Birthday Parker!

We officially have a teenager in our house!  It wasn't the 13th birthday that he had planned, but we had a fun day celebrating Parker with our family.  We surprised him with a huge yard sign in the front yard.

I went and got Parker his favorite donuts for breakfast and then we let him open presents.

His birthday was announced on the Smith Middle School email that they send out each morning.

All of the cousins came over to swim and we ordered pizza for dinner.

The babies adore Parker and he is so sweet to play with them.

All of the cousins wanted a picture with Parker and his yard sign.

After dinner, we let Parker open presents and had cake and ice cream.

Parker and Holland

Covid ruined Parker's plans for a swim party with his friends but we will reschedule it as soon as it is safe to be together again.

 We are so proud of Parker and all his accomplishments so far!  He is an amazing son and I hope the teenage years bring him a lot of fun and happiness!  

Easter 2020

Celebrating Easter in the middle of a pandemic was very strange!  Our church is closed so we had to watch church online this morning.  We didn't get dressed up in pretty clothes but stayed in our pajamas all morning instead.

The kids slept in and then we open their Easter baskets.  The Easter Bunny had hidden eggs all around the house so we were still able to have our egg hunt with the kids.  (Parker participated but did not cooperate when I tried to take a picture of him!)

Cory and the girls swam for a little while this afternoon but it is still way too cold for me to even think about getting in!  

My allergies are acting up so just to be safe we decided to cancel our cousin Easter egg hunt and stay home.  It was a hard decision but you just never know these days what is allergies and what is Covid so it's always better to be safe than sorry.

It was not the Easter we had planned, but we were still able to worship together as a family and celebrate Christ's resurrection.  Hopefully this will be the only holiday we will miss out on due to Covid.  It can't last forever, right?!?!?

The Pool is Finished!

There were a few rain delays and setbacks but our pool is now finished!  It ended up taking about 6 weeks to complete due to the rain, but we are so excited that it is finished and the kids can't wait to start swimming every day!

After the gunite, they laid the tile and rock around the edges of the pool.

They finished the electricity and then it was time to pour the decking.  I was so ready for the mud around the pool to be gone!  Because of the rain and mud, I was having to give Maggie a bath almost every single day.  We ended up adding more decking than we had originally planned and budgeted for but in the end, it was worth it!  I was so pleased with how it turned out and can't wait to host a lot of swimming parties this summer!

The final step was spraying the mini-pebble tek to give the surface its texture and blue color.

And just like that, it was time to start filling the pool with water!  It took almost three days of constant running from two different hoses to fill it up.

The grass and sprinklers were finally installed this week and we couldn't be more pleased with the end result!  It has totally transformed our backyard into an oasis and I can't wait to spend our summer outside with friends and family.

The water is still freezing but the kids haven't seemed to mind.  They've been swimming almost every day and can't wait until they can safely have their friends over to swim.