Brennan's 12th Bday!

It's Brennan's 12th birthday! His 1st birthday, 6th birthday, and now his 12th have all fallen on Friday the 13th, but it won't happen again until 2034 when he turns 23. Yikes! This year he also had off school, so it was an all-around great day. 

I spent most of the day laboring over these Birthday Cake Cookies.
They tasted good, but they were really dry, and the boys were too full to eat them. Fail.

He wanted to have friends over for a simple party, so he invited his four besties - plus Collin! - to come over about 5 pm. 

Clayton, Jackson C., Fletcher, and Logan

They watched - or talked and laughed - through Iron Man and ate pizza that Ryan brought home. 

Afterwards, they made ice cream sundaes. I was pretty proud of the spread of candies and toppings. 

We all sang to him with the candles in the ice cream too, which was fun. 

Then he opened his presents. He got a Pokemon not-Lego set, Rubik's cube character, and dinosaur stuffy. He also got Super Mario Monopoly, so they played that until the moms came to pick everyone up about 8:30 pm. 

They are a good group of boys, and I'm glad he has them to do middle school with. We all know how hard middle school can be.

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The biggest update with Brennan is that he finally admitted the weekend of his birthday that he couldn't read the Smartboard at school, so I took him on MLK Day to a well-check at the pediatrician, where he failed his eye screening and got his 7th grade shots. That same afternoon I lucked out and got him into the eye doctor, and we got his new glasses ordered. They haven't come yet, but I'm sure he'll love being able to see clearly again.

Brennan was also ordained to the Aaronic priesthood to the office of Deacon in January. He has done a fabulous job passing the sacrament so far, and I'm really proud of him. From time to time, his anxiety really gets the best of him (hives, itchiness, etc.) but he handled the sustaining, ordination, and first passing with perfection. Go Brennan! 

The day after his birthday, he got to go do baptisms at the temple for the first time! An older couple in the neighborhood kept Ethan and Kate at their house so we could all go together. There is nothing that brings me greater joy than have my kids at the temple with me. 

Brennan is a giant, measuring 5'7" and just less than 100 pounds. Buying him pants is as impossible as buying Collin pants. (Luckily, Brennan has adopted the Texan winter-style choice of wearing shorts year-round - yes, even in January - so that does make my life a bit easier.) Unfortunately, we really wanted him to have a nice suit for church. The first couple weeks of January, he just wore Collin's old one, but the pants are WAY TOO SHORT. Anyway, Ryan finally took him suit shopping... and 100% struck out! He's too thin for men's and too tall for youth. No surprise there. Shockingly, though, he was willing to be silly and try on this fabulous athletic jacket. 

"It'll be the jacket we get punished with wearing when we lose our real one at school!" 

Brennan is really exceling at the middle school too. He is taking all-honors classes and getting straight-As. He does all his homework and projects, and I very rarely hear much of anything about any of it. He is competing on the Academic UIL Team in 4 areas - Math, Science, Listening, and Spelling. Today was the first meet, and he brought home 2 medals! Go B!

He's known as the "man of little words" and doesn't believe in idle chit-chat, like Ryan. When he does say something, it's usually a funny quip that gets us all laughing. Or it's something horribly mean about one of his younger siblings, but I guess that's just life in a family. He's not nearly as quiet at home as at church and school, thankfully. 

He's loving art class and pre-athletics at school too. He plans to run track in 7th grade.  He is naturally athletic but he doesn't like to sweat or work very hard, so that limits his ability to compete. Haha.

He and Collin are now consistently beating Ryan in Mario Cart on the new Switch, and he does not like that one bit. It just makes me laugh! He enjoys watching YouTube videos that teach the course shortcuts and best car and tire selections, so I'm sure that's one major advantage. 

I don't know what our home would be like without B! He is our comic relief and gives Collin so much friendship. We are so glad he surprised us 12 years ago, coming without warning a week early. 

Happy Friday the 13th Birthday, B! Cheers to 12 years. 

Christmas Break

The kids had more than 3 weeks off school this year. The neighboring high school went to the state football championship game, so they got an extra day to start the whole thing off in December too. Crazy long and sooo needed!

WEEK ONE - Christmas

Adult Party: We hosted the first annual White Elephant & Ugly Christmas Sweater Party the first day of Break. It was only for parents, so our kids stayed upstairs watching a movie. We had gift cards as awards for the best sweater and best gift, and it was a blast! We look forward to doing it each year.

Secret Santa Shopping: Brennan has gotten in with the best little group of buddies this year. There are 5 of them, and they do everything together! It makes my heart so happy to see him with them. Over the Break, one of the moms picked all the boys up and had them make a wish list and exchange names. Each boy brought $20, and she took them to the mall to split up and buy something for their assigned friend. Then she took them all back to her house, where they wrapped their gifts, had pizza, played games, and opened their presents. So fun! Most of the boys spent the night, but I picked Brennan up about 9:30 pm. 

Collin isn't our only tall kid, haha

Toys for Refugees: I tried no less than 5 times to find our family a good service project this Christmas. We landed on this one, where the kids and I were SUPPOSED to wrap toys for refugees in our area. Unfortunately, the evening before, I received an email that all the gifts had been wrapped on the first day, so there wasn't any work left for us the following morning. So, instead, we headed to Walmart. Collin & Brennan picked out out a $25 gift for a middle-schooler, and Ethan & Katelyn picked out a $25 gift for an elementary-aged child. When we went to drop them off, they let us wrap them, so I guess we got in some service after all. And there was a playground next door to the church, so they played for a bit, even though it was freezing. 

Collin's Birthday: Collin turned 14, but that's all in his own post.

UTSA Basketball Game: We took the kids to a men's basketball game. Brennan actually had a mysterious, one-day fever this day, so he stayed home. We got loaded nachos (chili, yum!) and popcorn for fun. They lost and it was basically like watching a high school team, but teachers get discounted tickets and it was close by. It was also 4 degrees when we came out, so that was exciting. Ha!

Flooding Cookies: Ryan got the 23rd off since the 24th was a Saturday, but it was super cold (single digits), so we spent the day decorating cookies. I have always wanted to trying cookie "flooding" with royal icing, and so this year I bought all the tools to do it. I still need to practice more with getting the right consistency for the icing, but all in all, we had a great time trying a new skill. 

Christmas Eve: We usually go bowling, but the kids voted to go to Urban Air - an indoor trampoline and adventure park. The boys had all been before for birthday activities, but it was Katelyn's and my first time. So fun! I think I vote to do it every year! We ate at Burger Boy beforehand. 

In the evening, we made appetizers and listened to "The Tape." I made "Grinch Punch" for the first time this year, and I think we'll add that to our traditions.

Christmas Day: Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we opened stockings and then went to 9 o'clock church. It was only an hour. 

Afterwards, we had omelets and cinnamon & orange rolls, and then we opened presents. It was perfect! As usual, the kids each opened Something You Need, Something To Read, Something You Wear, and Something You Want. Last but not least, Ryan opened a new Nintendo Switch.

26th: Take it all down! I love undecorating the day after Christmas. The house always feels huge and clean, and Ryan had the day off because the 25th had been a Sunday. Afterwards, he and the kids spent the day playing Lego & Switch, and I got to read a bunch. Heaven! 

19th Anniversary: On the 27th, Ryan & I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary by eating tacos at Torchy's and doing sealings at the temple. We spent most of the night trying to figure out how we want to spend our 20th next year. 

WEEK TWO - Nana & Papa's Visit - New Year's

Ryan's parents flew in on December 28th. We had a jam-packed few days. 

Thursday: Nana & Papa got us a 4-way pickleball net for Christmas, so we played a bunch in the morning. We enjoyed an evening at Six Flags. Ryan and his parents rode some roller coasters, and we looked at the lights. Then we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 

Friday: More pickleball all day long, and Collin & I went to Trans-Siberian Orchestra while everyone else enjoyed pizza & Avatar. Collin picked Torchy's for our dinner-date afterwards.

New Years Eve: Brennan had a birthday party for a friend in the morning, and we enjoyed a bike ride to three of the Missions along the trail in the afternoon. Saturday night was New Year's Eve, and we enjoyed Fondue (yum!), Fireworks (the neighbors joined us in the green belt by the playground), and Football (Ohio State lost but it was a close, fun game). 

New Year's Day: Brennan was sustained and then ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. It was nice to have Papa there to participate in his ordination. He wore a suit and looked really snazzy.

Nana also brought a bunch of her skirts with her. I bought a bunch of matching shirts, so now Katelyn is all dolled-up again! Thank you, Nana!

Monday: We got up early and hiked Enchanted Rock. Our friends met us there too. Afterwards, we enjoyed Raising Cane's, Nana's favorite.

We also did a double date to see the Christmas lights on the Riverwalk and enjoy a treat at Sugar Factory. 

WEEK THREE - Relaxing

After Nana & Papa left and Ryan went back to work, I planned a few things for the kids. Brennan had a special activity at the Church to practice passing the sacrament. We went to a BMX bike track, but that was a total bust. We also went to the "UFO Park" (Raymond Russell) with friends. The last day of Break, I let each kid invite one friend over to play, and I had SEVEN kids all day! I also let them have a "Pinterest Craft" day. On Sunday, Brennan passed the sacrament for the first time. He wore his suit again, and I am so proud of him. 

Apparently, mountain bikes really are too large for BMX tracks, so...

...they rode in this field.

So many kids! So much fun!

Toilet Paper Roll Penguin

Slime Maker #1

Slime Maker #2

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And that's a wrap! I love the long Christmas Break we get here. It is nice to be able to hike and bike, since it is too hot all summer for those activities. It is also nice to have a reprieve from the early-morning wake-ups. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!