Combined Birthday Party

We had a combined family birthday get together with the family that lives close for Tim and Big J. (who is now 11!!) It sure is nice to have family close by.

Isn't this the cutest little kid. He has a really adorable fake smile that he'll do if you ask him. This is actually a normal smile.

The kids and their cousins had fun playing together outside. We were glad to have good weather (it's always a gamble in March).

Good Grades Tradition

Each semester when the kids get report cards they can earn dinner. Ok, ok, I mean a special dinner . . . we do feed our kids dinner each day. If they have all A's and B's then they get to choose to go to dinner wherever they want. Tim and I are glad when they choose the same place because then we don't have 3 different dinners to go to. Not the case this time. Big J. chose Round Table, Little J. chose Olive Garden (mmmm . . . good food), and Big T. chose Pizza Factory. It takes a few weeks to get those all in but the kids enjoy it and so do we. It's good motivation for them.

Birthday Time

My oldest had a birthday and he is now 11!!! Since his birthday was Sunday we did some celebrating on Friday. He and I went on a sort of "date" and we had lunch and a treat and did a little shopping. Saturday night the family went out to Olive Garden because that's where Little J. chose to go since he got good grades (I'll do another post about that) so after we had the employees sing and bring a cake. We had a great time and I always enjoy getting compliments about how polite my kids are in public. Sunday we opened presents and had another cake. He got money, clothes, a book, a puzzle, hot wheels tracks, and his new Boy Scout Handbook. He'll be starting 11 year old scouts this Tuesday and so we're excited to start that grand adventure.

Cub Scout Awards

Last night Big & Little J. both got awards at the pack meeting. They have both been working very hard to earn badges, pins, etc. Little J. received his Wolf Badge along with a gold arrow point and 4 silver arrow points. He also received several belt loops (BB gun shooting, archery, golf, and others). It was a big night for us.
Big J. received his Engineering activity badge, Traveler activity badge, Handyman and Outdoorsman. He also received several belt loops from participating in Cub Scout Day Camp. He is well on his way to receiving his Webelos Badge so hopefully we'll have more awards to tell you about next pack meeting. Both boys are working towards getting their religious knot. I'm so proud of my little Cub Scouts!! Keep up the good work!

All-Star Soccer

Both Big J. and Little J. were chosen for the All-Star Soccer Team. The soccer league chooses a few excellent players who have good sportsmanship and work hard. Both boys were chosen from their team and they were very excited. The soccer league formed 2 teams from all the kids chosen and they competed in an all-star game. Big J. and Little J. were on opposite teams and they both played great. It was a fun game to watch (and not fun at the same time) since their game was played in the middle of a huge rainstorm. Everyone was soaking wet, the grass was totally muddy and everyone had fun. It was a fun game and the boys were proud to be on the teams.

What great looking brothers!

School Time

Big J. finished fourth grade and he did some fun projects this year. For one section, they learned all about volcanoes. This is his project on Volcanoes after reading the Magic School Bus book about volcanoes.After learning about volcanoes each kid in his class got to build a volcano (paper mache then painted over a water bottle - ie. magma chamber). Then they all got a chance to erupt their volcano in class.
At the end of the year Big J. did a book report. They had to choose a chapter book with at least 100 pages. He chose Eragon which has 500 pages and he only had 3 weeks to read the whole thing. I was so proud of him when he finished that huge book! (I don't think I've ever read a book that long - for sure not in 3 weeks.) As part of his book report he made a word search, filled a box with items representing things from his book to tell about and made a model. Here is his model of "The Varden" from the book. It's a city in a mountain area with dragon lairs nearby (the holes). (Hope I didn't mess that up since I've never really read the book.)

Growing Up

Now that Big J. is 10 we thought it was time for him to have his own room. Up until now the 3 oldest boys have all shared one room and we have had a toy room. Now Big J. will move into the toy room and Big T. moves up to the top bunk. We made part of the move before we left for a trip over spring break and everyone has done very well in their new places. The new room isn't quite done yet. We still need to swap a dresser and some toy cubbies and then we'll be situated. I think it will be a good move for everyone.

Birthday Time

Big J. had his birthday in March - - 10 - - double digits; am I really old enough to have a 10 year old son? I brought cupcakes to his class on his actual birthday and then he had a party with his friends at the house. At birthday time the kids get to choose where they want to go to dinner. He chose pizza. Now he is a Webelo and I have a lot to learn so I can help him earn his activity badges.

Tim's birthday was also in March. We went to dinner and then had cake back at the house.

Pinewood Derby

The pinewood derby was last Thursday and we realized that this was a special pinewood derby - the only one when we would have 2 boys racing. This is Big J's last year and and the other boys don't fall together because of where their birthday's land so this was a big deal. Plus, the boys did great! It was a double elimination race with a total of 16 cars. Towards the end both boys were still in the running so they ended up racing each other. They tied (since they race twice to make sure there is no lane advantage) and raced another time. Because of that race Little J. got 4th and Big J. got 3rd. They had a good night and we all had fun. They even got to race Dad's car that he built a few weeks ago. Can't remember who won -- I'll find out and let you know; I think it was the kids.

More lost teeth

Little J. lost his second tooth. He did not put it under his pillow because he wants to show Grandmas and Grandpas first. I was looking at photos and I realized that when we previously went to Disneyland, Big J. had a front lost tooth. Now that we'll be going to Disneyland again soon, Little J. will have a couple lost teeth too. We are so excited about our upcoming trip. The boys made a chain to count down and I added things to do each day when we take off a chain (such as: clean out the van, watch a Disney movie, make a list of things to bring for the drive, shop for food and snacks, etc.)