It's A Wolf Thing

So... if you didn't read Twilight, that may not be funny. But I personally find it humorous to make the connection between my gargantuan boys and the wolves in that series.
And now that I have completely embarrassed myself:

This is waaaaaay old news, but Isaac received his Wolf Award in Scouts!

He actually completed all of these requirements back in the beginning of February, but they weren't able to give him the award until March. And I wasn't able to blog about it until, drumroll, please!.... May!


It is at this point of the post that I make a confession, something a little worse than the fact that I am a perpetually tardy blogger:
Shhhh... Don't tell anyone, but I'm scared of Scouts!

I'm not afraid of the actual boyscouts themselves, I'm just afraid of the requirements, the process, the uniforms, sewing on the patches, etc...

Honestly, I had NO idea what we were signing up for last February when Isaac turned 8.

So, all year long I just put off even cracking the book open to look at it. We got his bobcat requirements done and then I just sort of... tabled it. I was just sure we would open it up and the first page would read, "Sew a tent by hand and then sleep in it outside in the mountains." Or something like that. And we all know that when you give a task like that to an 8 year old boy, the person who really ends up doing the work is his mom. And if we are being brutally honest, I don't even sew the buttons back on our shirts. Matt does that.
And I certainly don't.... CAMP.
So, I just kept putting it off, hoping that he would eventually complete the activities during Den Meetings (or whatever you call that weekly meeting I take him to!) But in early January, I got an email from one of the Den Mothers (or whatever you call them!) saying that it was crunch time and we really needed to buckle down if he was to complete his wolf by the time he turned 9 next month.
Sigh.
Oh, fine.

So I put on my good mother hat, and opened the book. And you know what?
It wasn't that bad.
He had actually completed 85% of the requirements just through things we naturally do as a family or projects he has worked on with Matt. So, we buckled down and completed the last few assignments and, Voila! He was a Wolf!

So, the fact that they put a little pin on the Mother to give her an award as well as the Scout may have been a little undeserved on my part.

I know I make it sound inconsequential, but it really is quite an accomplishment. If you look at all of the activities laid out together, it really is a big accomplishment. And he did more than was necessary, earning a few extra silver arrows! What a great boy!

We sat down and made a goal to complete the Bear requirements by the end of the Summer so that we don't have the same January Mad Rush again.

At the end of Pack Meeting, they had some fun activities, and the boys were put into teams and had to climb this rope.

Those gargantuan genes I mentioned previously sure do come in handy sometimes!

He wasted them! Okay, maybe that's not a very "Scout Mom" thing to say, but it's true!! And I never asked to be a Scout Mom anyway!

After the boys got done, Daphne gave it a try. I think this inspired her to become a monkey climber (you'll see in a post to come soon)!

We had a great night and we are so proud of our boy! Really, it is so impressive that he accomplished this task in spite of his City-girl, Prissy, Shopping, Anti-Camping Mom. My goal is to be more proactive and supportive during the year of the Bear, and I think we are well on our way!

Nine Years Old....

Isaac is Nine Years old now....
Can you even believe it? He's had a tremendous year and has made so much progress. He's mastered soccer and basketball and school- just aces all around! I feel so grateful to God for providing us with inspiration to seek help and find some solutions to things... I feel like now he is the happy, successful and thriving boy I always knew he was inside. So year eight was a big one for us.

We told him he could pick any restaurant he wanted for his birthday... any restaurant at all. And he picked.... drumroll, please.....

Arby's.

Not my favorite choice, but well, he IS the birthday boy.
Then we came back home for some cake and presents!

My mom got Isaac the movie :Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which he had been asking to see. This book series has been a lifesaver for us, Isaac reads and re-reads the books over and over again. I have heard good things about the movie; Matt watched it with the kids and they all laughed and laughed.

And here he is with his Hoth Wampa Cave thingy Lego Set. (That's a Star Wars set for all of those who need a translation!)

And a new video game.... Unfortunately, the evening before his family party at Nanny and Papa's, Isaac sliced his ear open!! Ick!

He was playing at a neighbor's in the backyard. He was holding a very long piece of vinyl fencing on his back like a ramp and Daphne and the neighbor jumped on and somehow it shoved up into his ear, slicing it very badly. He was pretty calm when He came home to show me... he didn't even start crying until I saw it and gasped as if I had seen a ghost! (I'm sorta famous for over-reacting) Unfortunately, the urgent care clinics won't do stitches on ears, so Matt and he waited for over 3 hours at the Emergency Room. Boo. Happy Birthday to Isaac.

So, after we got him all stitched up, we headed to Nanny and Papa's the next day for a family celebration.

As you may remember, Isaac and Corbin celebrate together as Corbin is born on the 9th and and Isaac on the 10th of February. Well, last year, God sent sweet Penelope to Raegan and Dave on February 11th, so now their brithday event is a celebration for three!

Now since it was Penny's first Birthday, she was (rightly) really the star of the show... she wasn't sure about the cake at first but was thoroughly enjoying it after a few minutes!

Victoria and cousin Zach enjoying their cake and ice cream!

Daphne and Abby:

and the birthday boys!

Isaac got lots of fun stuff from family that day, including a $100 bill from Nanny and Papa! He wanted money to go snow boarding (which he does pretty well, but what an expensive hobby!)

Thanks, everyone! Isaac had a great day/week and we feel so very loved to have everyone care so very much. I am incredibly grateful to be the mother of such a precious, helpful, thankful and genuinely kind boy. I cannot imagine life without our precious Isaac, and we thank God for him every single day. We love you, Isaac!!

More and More and More Birthday Pics!

Last Saturday, we had Isaac's official 8th birthday party! He had wanted to go sledding, but we have had a reamarkably snowless February this year. So, 98% of me was pleased with the weather, but I was a little diappointed that Isaac didn't get to do the snow activities. So, in lieu of the sledding fun, we had a LEGO contest and a video game-a-thon... I was a little nervous that all the 8 year old boys would be bored by the Legos, but I know Isaac can spend hours creating things with them, so we went for it. (By the way, if you have a 4 year old of either gender, I think legos are one of the best toys ever invented. Forget the kits until they are older, but just basic legos are priceless.) And I think it was a success. Several of them ran into the house exclaiming their jubilation to see all the legos.

While some continued with the Legos, others took turns playing Isaac's new Kung Fu Panda game that we gave him for his birthday. It was 4 player, and everybody got a turn to play!

After some of that, we moved on to the birthday cake. I must say, Isaac takes after me in this respect... he wanted a triple chocolate ice cream birthday cake:

Everybody seemed to love the cake- I think there were hardly any pieces left unfinished!

Isaac received LOTS of gifts that he loved!

(we're still working on the thank you notes if you are wondering!)

I took pics of all the kids with their lego creations.

Here is cousin Lydia:

Cousin Corbin:

Cousing Austin:

Cousin Luke:

Cousin Zack:

Daphne Doodle: Isaac seemed to love the party and the other kids also seemed to have a great time! I was a little surprised at how exhausted I was afterward... Matt and I were about done for the day, so we headed to Cafe Rio for dinner! Yay- that was the party for Mom. :)

Happy 7th Birthday, Isaac!

Seven years ago, Matt and I embarked on an amazing journey together: we became parents! At 2:40 pm, we were blessed with the most beautiful baby boy ever to grace this earth, in my humble opinion. God sent Isaac to us on February 10, 2002 in a most miraculous way. I suppose that babies are born every day, but I know that each one of those births is an absolute miracle. I have never felt the Holy Spirit more strongly than when I partnered with God in bringing one of His children to this earth. Isaac's birth was remarkably like his personality- steady and predictable, relatively mellow (compared to the births of his sisters!) Isaac is an amazing boy and I truly thank God every single day tfor the wonderful blessing of being his mom. Some of my favorite things about Isaac:
He loves to help people.
He is quick to obey.
Isaac has a repentant heart- he feels true sorrow when he makes a bad choice.
Isaac's laugh is one of the best and happiest parts of my life.
Matt and I gave Isaac a snowboard for his birthday, which he loves! Matt took him up to Snow Basin so they could try it out and he was so great! Here are a few pics:

Isaac wanted to go to the new Chuck E. Cheese right by our house for his birthday, so off we went! I haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese since I was a kidand I must say, it was not as cool as I remembered. Isaac and Daphne had an absolute blast, though! Happy Birthday, Isaac! We love you.