Fourteen!

 My boy turned 14 a few days ago. How can he be 14? I still think of him as this cute little guy!

This was Ian on his 6th birthday. He had requested an Indiana Jones birthday party. He got an Indi hat and some Indiana Jones Legos.

This year Ian asked for a real fedora not the cute costume hat that he had back then. I had gotten another cheep costume version for him a few months ago for his Halloween costume but he wanted the real thing. 

 I did my best to find one that looked like an Indiana Jones fedora. He was happy with it!

 He got to play another round of Axis and Allies with his dad. I don't think the rest of us want to play this game. It takes way too long to play!

 Yummy Dinner and finish off with Lava Cake and cookie dough ice cream.

 Not the greatest pictures of my birthday boy. I think I need to get out my actual camera and stop relying on my phone's camera. The lighting is always horrible.

 A few days later, Ian went to the orthodontist and got all the metal taken off.

 He was supposed to get them off in November but when we went the ortho found a small gap that he said needed to still be closed. So another month. Then in December we went again and the same issue so when we went this time we fully expected to leave without having them removed again but Ian got lucky this time.

So this is my handsome 14 year old. Now with a braces less smile! 

Where does the time go?

On January 2, 1997 I entered the MTC. That was 21 years ago how can that be? Half my life ago!  I was just a 21 year old girl headed out on an adventure. I had no idea what lay before me I just knew I was supposed to go and wanted to serve. I wish I could say I went only because I love the Lord and wanted to serve him but I know I went somewhat selfishly. I knew a mission would help me grow. I had seen friends leave to go out on missions and come home so much stronger. I wanted to increase in my understanding of the gospel and have more confidence in myself and my abilities. I certainly feel like I got those things and so much more!

Cub Camp and then Scout Camp

 We volunteered to help at Cub Scout Day camp again this year.

Henry was put in charge of sling shots or wrist rockets as they were labeled.

 Sophia and her friend were in charge of teaching Marbles.  They didn't have an adult to help them out and they were able to handle this class for three days of teaching 8-10 year olds the fine art of playing marbles.

 Ian was a den chief which just means he got to go around with a group of young scouts and act as an assistant den leader.

Molly played at the Tot lot and I spent the three days making pancakes on the camp stove out in the 107+ degree weather each day. It was pretty miserable but we all made it!




The very next week Ian headed out to scout camp.



He spent a week out in the wilderness with this group of boys.





While Ian was away we tried to find ways to entertain ourselves.  We loaded our bikes onto the car one day and headed to the nearby BMX bike park.

 Sophia's bike had a flat tire and we forgot to bring the pump so they had to take turns on Henry's bike.

 Molly gave it a good try. It was hard and she fell a lot.

 We also decided a trip to Menchie's was in order.  Everyone needs frozen yogurt on Hot Summer days.

Molly gets a hair cut

 Molly gave herself bangs last year and it had taken a looooong time to grow them out.

This year she decided to take a big chunk off of the back so I ended up having to trim it all into a bob.

It actually turned out really cute!

Lego Detective's Office

 Henry has been dreaming of getting a HUGE lego set for years. He has been talking about and wanting this particular modular building for a really long time. He finally earned enough money to buy the set. He even found a used but complete set on Brick Link and decided to give it a try.

 He almost lost his mind waiting for it to finally arrive once he had placed the order.

 He really wanted to make a time lapse video of him building it but after about a half hour of building realized this was not a quick build and gave up on that.

 Hard to believe this set took a whole afternoon and into the next day to build. My boys usually whip sets together so quickly. This obviously is a much more complicated set with lots of details inside and out.