Madden Birthday Party

 This year Blake wanted to play Madden with his friends for his bday. It must be that age because all of the boys love Madden. His dad created a little tournament bracket for them to play in and they had so much fun. We also ordered pizza and had cake. Then Hunter (Blake's bestie) spent the night with us! It has been a big week of celebrating! :)

Blake is 11!

 Happy birthday to Blake 1-1!!!!! I seriously can't believe that I have an 11 year old. That makes me feel so old! Haha. But I am so proud of Blake and the amazing kid that he is! 

11 Year Old Recap

• He LOVES the 49'ers
• He loves football - might be his favorite sport right now
• He still plays baseball and bsaketball
• He does piano lessons once a week
• He is in 5th grade in Mrs. Mattison's class- Josiah, Benson, and Landon are his friends
• He loves playing with neighborhood friends - Rylan, Howard, Logan, Josh, and Camden
• He is in First and Fitness this year
• He is the Captain of Safety Patrol
• He loves playing Madden on Xbox and watching his favorite Youtubers. 
• He loves traveling - especially to Utah
• He is the BEST big brother! 
• His least favorite chore is taking out the trash
• He is almost done losing his "baby teeth"
• He weighs about 75 lbs and is a little under 5 ft tall. 

For his birthday this year we are having the grandparents over for dinner and cake on his actual birthday. Then we are having friends over tomorrow for a Madden gaming night. I also took him lunch today at school - with cupcakes for his school friends. :)

Pirates Basketball

 Blake's basketball team, the Pirates, have had an amazing season! They are ranked #2 out of about 12 teams. Blake has really come out of his shell this season - averaging about 4 -6 points a game! He is doing so well! We have loved watching him...and of course his biggest fan is Kinsley! 

I love how much Blake and Kinsley love each other. It is like they are so proud of each other and support each other - despite their large age difference. I knew that having two kids would be wonderful, but this beats my wildest dreams. My heart truly melts everytime I see them together. I know that time will work against their bond sometimes and there will be years that they aren't as close.... but I hope they will always love each other as much as they do now. They will always have each other and that gives me so much peace. 

Marbles

 We LOVE Marbles Museum. It is the coolest interactive museum for kids. Blake has been there a million times, but this was Kinsley's first time. Blake loved showing her all of his favorite things. They had a blast at all of the little exhibits! Joyner and I were a little overwhelmed because there was SO much going on and so many kids, but it was still fun! I think we all needed a nap after this one! Haha. 

Tumble Gym

 Blake was with his dad this weekend, so we decided to take Kinsley to the little Tumble Gym to see how she liked it. Oh my gosh, I think we wil lhave a little gymnast on our hands! She loved running around and exploring all the gymnastic things. Typically she will be super shy in a new place. Not here!!! She jumped right in and had a blast! It was so fun to see her doing something she really enjoyed. I hope we can get her into a little class this summer. :) 

Oh Captain, My Captain

 Last November, Blake was accepted into his school's Safety Patrol. He has really taken this leadership position seriously. His counselor promoted him (and 2 other kids) to Safety Patrol Captains. I am SO proud of him! He has done such a great job this year balancing everything. As a mom, I couldn't ask for a better son. He stays on top of his school work and works really hard...even with math, which is tough! He is the best big brother to Kinsley. He juggles sports, playing with friends, piano, and time to relax. I hope that he will continue on this great track as he gets ready to go to middle school! We love you, Blake!! 

Hello, 2023

 Welcome to 2023!! I always love a new year - there is something about the "fresh start" that gives me so much motivation towards new goals and adventures! 

• This year as a family we have a few simple goals...
• Blake wants to become better at football 
• Blake will be conquering a huge transition to middle school
• Kinsley plans to learn more words and maybe take a dance or gymnastics class! 
• Joyner and I want to start up a little candle business on the side. 
• And overall as a family we want to try to travel more this year! 

I feel like our years get busier and busier as they go by... but they are chopped full of wonderful memories. We can't wait to see what 2023 has in store for us. And I am going to do better at blogging this year and doing the regular blog posts for each adventure! :) 

This year for New Years Event we went to the Chinese Lantern Festival! It was a BLAST! We love this tradition every year. Blake loves the interactive parts - this year they had the swings, a walk in kaleidoscope things, and some light up floor pieces. Kinsley also loved those things...so much that she SCREAMED when it was time to leave... all. the. way. to. the. car. Whew! Haha. But we had a great time - then we came home and had game night for the rest of the night while we waited to ring in the new year! We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us.