Happy 11th Birthday

Dear Weston,
You are 11 years old.  Can I just say STOP getting bigger?  You have definitely hit that age of being more and more independent.  You now will stay home and babysit your brother and sister.  Which has been a big help to me as I was training for my half marathon.  It was fun even having you join me in running your first 5K.  As you spend less and less time with me I need to find more activities like this to keep you engaged with me.  I still say you should run a half marathon when you turn 13.  13 miles for 13 years.  Ha we will see.

Jacob and playstation continue to be your world.  You have created some pretty amazing things on minecraft its fun to see you create things in your real world into your fantasy worlds. 

You love to listen to music and sing and have a pretty good voice.  I often will hear you singing away while showering or playing video games. 

School continues to be pretty easy for you other then math.  Its been a lot of fun to have you back in my neighborhood.  Only one more year and you will no longer be in the shelter of me and our school.  I love seeing you each day as you go to the class next store or when you come in to have me tie your shoes.  :P 

Utah utes and football are still your favorite sports to watch and participate in.  You still play soccer but I fear you have lost your love for it.  Especially this year being put on a team with none of the kids you love. 

As you get to be more and more a "preteen" I miss my little boy more and more but you are going into a pretty cool kid too.  You are also so very handsome, just ask yourself that and you will agree.

Happy Birthday Wes!

Double digits

Weston,
How in the world are you 10 Years old?  I swear I just had you and now your are a decade old!  You continue to drive me crazy with your arguing and make me laugh at your sense of humor. 
4th grade has been an awesome year for you.  Mrs. Johnson has apparently taken my place as your favorite teacher, to not hurt my feelings you tell me I am your favorite all time teacher and she is your favorite 4th grade teacher.  But I know you really think she is the best!  Which makes me happy that you are enjoying her class, though you tell me you still hate school.

Your favorites in life haven't changed much.  You continue to love playing video games with your friend Jacob and making youtube videos as epic kid gamer. 

I appreciate that you help me with Taylyn when I need it.  She continues to think you are the worlds greatest brother though Cason is starting to give you some competition.  I love how gentle and caring you are toward her!  You really do have a big heart.  I am missing your snuggles more and more. 

Kaydence continues to be your best friend though you have a lot of friends at school.  You are well liked and love to be the class clown.  Luckily you are starting to learn when it is appropriate and when its time to settle down thank goodness.

Anxiety about new things continues to give you grief.  Often once you try the new thing you are usually fine its the anticipation of the unknown.  Which I fully understand.  Some days I fear you are much too much like me.

Here is to an awesome 10th birthday and can't wait to see the things you can do in the next 10 years.

Loves:
football
pizza
video games
jacob
minecraft
cod
your sister
four wheeling

Dislikes:
veggies
mostly anything not pizza
going to bed
going outside

You're 9

Dear Cason,
Today you are 9.  Your last year in single digits.  Cason your sweet heart and kindness continues to make me proud of you.  This year has been such a great year as I have been you teacher this year.  It has been so neat to watch you flourish with friends, increase in your learning and just see even more what a great kid you are.  Reading still continues to be a bit of a struggle but you never give up!

You continue to have the same loves as you have the last year.  Balto, legos, and talking continue to be your lift.  Recently you have gotten into minecraft and you have taken your love of building and creating to the video gaming world.  Though you are well rounded and will spread your time between video games and actually playing with toys and using your imagination.  You continue to research legos on youtube then want obscure, discontinued legos much to your frustration and dad and I's.  Last spring dad bought you and Weston a 4 wheeler of your own and you are quite obsessed with going to the sand dunes and getting to ride your own four wheeler.  Do you pretty well at keeping up with dad!

I love that people still stop me to tell me how amazing you are at school!  You love to talk and tell stories much to the entertainment of those around you.  During one fluency timing about treasure hunting mid timing you turn to the teacher and insert "good luck with that" in response to the passage saying they were going to look for treasure.

Two years ago when at the beach you tried kayaking and feel in love.  This summer you finally got your own kayak and now you keep asking when it will be nice weather again so you can do kayaking and camping in our new trailer.  You pretty much love being outside if it involves kayaking, 4 wheeling, or being in trailer or boat.

Dad took you to explore old mines with some friends and go repelling and this is your new obsession.  In fact we are having a mining 9th birthday.....I love that your interests continually change and grow yet you still have many old favorites.



Keep being you!

Favorites:
legos
kayaking
mining
repelling
youtube
4 wheeler
balto
talking
talkis
sleep

Dislikes:
cheese
most foods
having to read with me
spelling
Weston bugging you

Its Great To Be 8

Dear Cason,
Happy Birthday my sweet little 8 year old.  Cason you truly are such a sweet, kind hearted little boy.   You always say things to make me feel better.  I can't believe how big you are getting.  First grade was a struggle for you at school.  And though 2nd grade is still a bit of a struggle you are doing much better.  Your teacher read you the story of Balto and you watched the movie and you have no fallen completely in love with Balto.  Weston's friend Kaydence gave you a stuffed Balto and he goes every where with us.  You are completely obsessed, you watch all the movies in the series, have read all the books and have several stuffed Balto dogs.  Some day you want to have a husky of your own.  Can't wait to see if you really do as an adult.

I love seeing you start to play games with your sister more and the imagination you have is amazing! Taylyn you have decided is pretty fun to have sleep overs with and you get upset when she picks Weston over you.  Most the time she doesn't though and you two are little buddies.  That is as long as she doesn't touch your legos!  You continue to be quite the talker anytime you get someone one on one.  People stop me all the time and tell me what a great kid you are and how funny you are.  They love the things you tell them and the stories!

You desperately wanted the Flying Dutchmen lego Pirates of the Carribean ship for Christmas.  Sadly it was discontinued so you made do with a cool Pirate ship instead.  I had so much fun building all your lego sets with you that you got for Christmas.  That is all we did all Christmas break.

Favorites:
Legos
Balto
boats
ships
Pirates of the Caribbean
Transformers
dressing up
Sleep overs with little sisters

Dislike:
Weston bugging you
cheese
most things I make for dinner

Happy Birthday Weston

Dear Weston,
Happy Birthday Weston!  9 years old, wow!  This is a fun year for me.  When I moved to the school I am at now you were almost 3.  You kept telling me I am going to be in your class momma.  Well here you are turning 9 years old and you are in my class!  When you said that so many years ago it seemed so far away, and yet some how the time has come and you are in my class.  You are a third graders!  One of the many things I love about you going to the school I teach at is that I get to spend so much time with you.  I get to see you right until school starts and right when school ends.  I often get to see you in the hall or in the lunch room.  Well this year I get to see you all day long!  I loved you were so excited for the first days of school because I was going to be your teacher.  Now I know the novelty of it wore of with in a few weeks for you.  But I love seeing you learn and grow.  It broke my heart to see you struggle at times but it was nice to know it was generally on things all the other kids were as well.

 You are such a sassy boy!  You can wipe out a comeback or smart alec comment as good as any adult.  Yet though this drives me crazy on the regular it also generally has me laughing.  Stubborn is a good word to still describe your disposition.  When you get something in your head there is no changing your thinking or you will stick with it just to drive me crazy!  But you are also so loving.  You would move the moon and the stars if your baby sister asked you too.  You pick at Cason and tease him like no other yet when he is struggling you are the first one to help him out.

Your friends love your personality and though you generally think its your way or no way you are a pretty darn good friend.  I love seeing how well liked you are by others and how nice you are to everyone.

I hope you have a great last year in the single digits.  Next year is the big 1-0!  I love you so much!
Love,

Mom

Like:
Pizza
Football
Utah Utes!!!!
Call of Duty, Minecraft, and roadblox video games
Starting to like FNAF toys and game (the roadblox version)
Snuggling with anyone who will let you
You are a big help to your sister
Love to watch minecraft videos on the i-pad

Dear Cason

Dear Cason,
It's that time of year again for me to write you a letter on your birthday.  Cason you continue to bring so much happiness and joy into your Dad and I's life.  You truly are the sweetest little boy.  It seems that you have the uncanny ability to know when I am having a bad day or feeling bad about myself because you will be there with a ready compliment.  Not many days will go by without getting a "you're beautiful mom!" or a "you're the best mom ever!" I often feel inadequate to be your mom but you have all the confidence in the world that I was meant to be your mom. 

We can often butt heads when it comes to certain things.  And when you set your mind to something there is no changing it.  Which unfortunately has lead to many a meltdown especially since starting school.

Ah school!  Cason you have learned so much and grown by leaps and bounds since school started.  At the beginning of the year you knew a handful of letters barely, no sounds, didn't know how to spell your name and could only count to 10.  Now you can count to 75 (most days :)), know all your letters, sounds, sight words, are reading, writing, and you know your phone number. 

Your vision has given you many a challenge and I worry about you most days.  You struggle more then the average person but you just keep being so upbeat.  I know you will do geat things despite this obstacle you have been given.

 

I have never met a person who doesn't mention how you love to talk!  You can go on and on and on about anything when you think you have found a captive audience.  You generally prefer it to be an audience of one or two.  In a group setting you are on the more reserved side.  Everyone who knows you just loves you!




You are so adventerous!  It was so fun to take you to Lagoon this summer because you loved all the big rides.  I can't wait to take you to Disneyland.

 

Again I don't know how I got blessed with you but I am so thankful I did.  I love you so much.

Some fun facts about you right now.
you love:

• Legos
• Transformers
• Minecraft
• Talking everyone's ear off
• Octanauts
• Watching transformer videos on the i-pad
• still loves his blanket
• giving cuddles

Things that are a must

• has to take something every where he goes
• has to have a snack after Kindergarten as he is always starving
• I have to carry food for you where we go

Happy Birthday Cason!

Dear Cason,
Hey big 7 year old!  Seeing you go off to 1st grade this year was so hard for me.  I don't know what it is about you going to school all day.  But for some reason it makes me feel like you are such a BIG kid!  The beginning of the year was really a struggle for you.  I am so glad to see you getting the hold of this whole all day thing.  It was so neat that you entered the reflections contest.

You made two different airplanes.  One of your airplanes won 2nd place how cool is that!  You were so excited about your special pin.  You are such a creative boy.  I love to see the lego creations you come up with.  You can spend hours on end building legos or playing transformers.  Lego ninjago seems to be your current favorite type of legos.  You also really like to watch videos of this series on netflix.  I sometimes wish you would be a little more kind to your baby sister.  To you she seems to be more of a bother.  I often hear you yelling at her to get out of your room and not touch your legos when all she really wants to do is look at them.





Fear is not a word in your vocabulary when it comes to rides!  You love going on all the big rides.  This fall you were able to get onto Colossus because your hood made you look taller.  That made your entire night!
You still love to talk anyone's ear off that will give you that time.  (Sometimes when when they don't have the time you still do it).  You are such a sweet, special boy.  Dad and I love you so much and just love the great things you do!

Some fun facts about you right now.
you love:

• Legos
• Transformers
• Ninjago
• Talking everyone's ear off
• Octanauts
• Watching transformer videos on the i-pad
• still loves his blanket
• going on rides at Lagoon
• giving cuddles
• four wheel rides
  
  
  
  
  

Weston's Minecraft Birthday Party

 For Weston's 8th Birthday he wanted to have a Minecraft birthday party.  It was pretty fun planning his party.  My mom and I made his cake.  It turned out pretty amazing.  We found some on pinterest and then made our version of them. We couldn't decide on just one and since we had so much cake and figurines we made TWO cakes.  Look how great they looked and they tasted so good. 

 

 Cake 1

Cake 2

Weston helped me make creeper and spider balloons for decorations.

For favors Weston picked Minecraft parody songs and we made CD's for everyone they also got TNT twizzlers.

 The two cutest attendees of the party.  I just love Taylyn and Quincy they are bound to be best friends.

One of the games we played was Don't Eat Steve which is the Minecraft version of Don't Eat Pete

 

 

 

 Weston also wanted to play pin the pickax on Steve.  I drew Steve and he colored it.  Weston was very hands on with this party this year.

 After playing games the kids opened presents.

Time for cake and singing Happy Birthday!

 

 

For lunch the kids ate pizza, Weston's all time favorite.

As you can see someone really enjoyed her creeper cupcake.  She was a green mess.

8 is Great!

Dear Weston,
Happy 8th Birthday Weston!  Wow 8 years old.  You seem so old and grown up at times and yet me sweet little boy at other times.  I love that at 8 you still would rather cuddle next to me then sit alone or sleep alone.  I love that you are so big that you can do so much independently.  We are so alike that at times it scares me.  Most of our conflicts come because I think we are one in the same.  You amaze me every day with all you do.  Though you stuggle with your eyesight you are very smart and preform well on most academic situations.  You generally only need to be taught once how to do something and you have it.  You definately have a subborn streak (I will blame your father for this), once you have something in your mind there is no way to change it or get you to move on.  I love your current obsession with mindcraft.  Reading all about it in books, watching youtube videos or playing minecraft is your favorite activity.  Weston, you are the sweetest brother to Taylyn.  Such a protector of her and always watching out for her.  I wish you could be as sweet to Cason as you are to Taylyn.  Cason and you are like oil and vinegar some days and others you are best friends.  I guess this is the nature of brothers.  Pizza is your all time favorite food.  Whenever I ask you what you want to for dinner, without fail I hear, "pizza".  For some reason you love to scream like a girl which has resulted in a very hoarse sounding voice for the last 6 months.  You love animals and are such a caretaker.  You just want to love on Daisy even when she just wants to runaway.  I love you so much Weston and I hope your 8th birthday is as great as you are.
Love, Mom

Watch Out Here Come the Zombies!!!!!

I am finally getting around to posting about Weston's awesome 6th birthday party if I do say so myself.  This is what the invitation looked like that I mailed/e-mailed out.  I created them on my handy dandy scrapbook program.  Don't you just love the grey chevron?

Weston really wanted a gun party.  I started brainstorming ideas.  I though western at first and he wanted no part of that party.  Then I though why not a zombie killing party.  Weston loved the idea.  So I went with it.  With his party being in October I was able to find great things for his party.  And let's face it don't we all love the ideas on pinterest.  I decided to not make the cake this year.  I love making the cupcakes and cakes but mine just never turn out tasting the best.  They look adorable but that is about it.  So I thought make things easy get a cake from the world's greatest bakery.  So that I called Dick's up and said I need a zombie cake.  I then went wild with the zombie theme for food.  We made mummy hot dogs for the kids.  Zombie guts (pasta salad), zombie virus, (sherbet and soda), pudding with dirt (cookie crumbs) and worms, and then chips and salsa. 

Our yummy mummy hot dogs.

The yummy Dick's cake.



Dayton trying to eat my jello zombie brain.  (Don't you just love who real it looks?)



The table set up.  I am in love with how it all pulled together.

Weston and Cason were so cute they helped me put the dirt on the pudding and the worms.  My little helpers.

For the kids gifts Jon made marshmallow guns for the kids to shoot.  Here is their ammo.

Another close up of the BRAINS

I had the kids go outside and shoot at paper zombies I had printed and hung from the ceiling of the garage. 

Weston shooting his "gun"

All the boys after their target practice. While the boys were practicing. Jon and our good friend Kenton went upstairs to turn into ZOMBIES. This is them coming out our front door.

Kenton came out first and he had the walk and moan down PERFECT



Here comes Jon.  Bella wasn't too sure about this!

Jon and Kenton eating BRAINS
Oh my gosh I wish I could upload the video.  This kids were hilarious when the guys came out they all started screaming.  Weston was scared at first until I was like its just Dad and Kenton.  Then all the kids had a blast.  The guys were the PERFECT ZOMBIES. 

Cason saying to Parker.  Don't worry I can fix it.

After the zombie shooting we went inside to eat cake.  Weston was embarrassed having all the attention on him as evident by the picture.  His I am super shy face was on.

We then went outside to open gifts.  All our friends were extremely generous with the presents they bought. 

 

Look at the look of PURE Joy!

While we were waiting for all the kids to come we played a few rounds of hot brain instead of hot potato with a little brain I got at the dollar store.

The zombie killers posing with our zombie poster.

We also played pin the zombie on the zombies. 

I think the party was a complete success!  Weston said it was the best party he has had.  And his favorite part was shooting his dad and Kenton.