Nine!

Friday, May 10 we celebrated Luke's 9th birthday. 

We took the day off from school and enjoyed a day with a few friends and family. 

The week prior to Luke's birthday, Ethan was insistent that he wanted to buy a gift for Luke. He counted his money in his wallet ($7.65) and repeatedly asked to go shopping. Although, we've never done this before, we made it happen. I suggested several low price items that Ethan could buy so he wouldn't spend all his money. However, he was not swayed by my suggestions. He insisted on buying a lego set that cost $7.34 with tax. It was really such a sweet moment (that I NEEDED to see!) -- Ethan so delighted with giving his gift and Luke realizing what a sacrifice Ethan had made by spending all his money on him. I couldn't have planned it better. 

The week before, Darin and I had fun making a "Luke 9" sign out of legos. 

What a great surprise for our lego lover Luke!

Luke requested ice cream cake, so I kept it simple with a homemade strawberry/vanilla ice cream cake. No crafty creations for me this year. It was a bit of a relief!

Of course, wearing the traditional "9" shirt! I love this tradition!!!

 After lunch and cake, we relocated to mini golf with a few special friends. Our plan was to try out a new mini golf course. We had scoped it out, looked at pictures online and gotten really excited to try it. Unfortunately, this Mommy never considered calling since we had such a small group. Imagine the disappointment when we pulled up to find it was CLOSED for a company picnic!!! We had one sad 9 year old on our hands. I'm so thankful he bounced back and made the best of a change in location to a less exciting course. (Too bad his brother didn't change gears nearly as maturely! bummer!)

9 year old at the NINTH hole!

Golfing buddies and friends since 2004!

We finished up the day with gymnastics class and dinner out with all the grandparents. (So fun to have Grammy, Poppy, Grandma and Grandpa join us for our traditional birthday dinner.)

Phew! What a marathon day. Boy, do I love this 9 year old and the fine young man he is becoming.

Spoiled

I need to document this moment so I don't forget. I have no pictures, but I was completely spoiled this weekend. I was invited on a weekend away with 3 other women and my dear husband joyfully agreed to be solo dad for two nights and two days. No guilt. No complaints. Just a gracious, "Yes! You need this time." I enjoyed quality time talking, resting, reading and more. The weather was gorgeous for running, walking and sitting on the dock soaking up the sun while I studied God's word. And to top it all off?? I came home to a spotless kitchen and clean house! Did my husband spoil me or what? I am so thankful. Let me not forget this blessing...

Why I love this time of year...

We have had a lovely spring! Which means bike rides, park visits, picnics, 

lots of outside time and boys who rest well at night. 

Who knew feeding goats could be so much fun?

 When you have 6 boys playing together, climbing on rocks is irresistible...

 and it is SO hard to stay on the trail!

Super times with friends enjoying God's creation!

8

On Wednesday, Luke was counting down the hours until he would turn EIGHT. 

All day he celebrated his last day as a seven year old. 

We had a great start to our Thursday with Luke sleeping in until 7am! Shocking for my early riser... he must be maturing. :) I've tried to convince him all 8 year olds sleep in until at least 7am. 

Then some school, homemade waffles, and gifts -- in that order (his idea). 

He was so excited to receive special birthday phone calls from family. 

Luke requested a small and simple party with good friends at a mini-golf park. 

The invites

The cake - The 8th hole!

 The guests (I love that Luke wanted to wear party hats!)

The very happy birthday boy with his cake, ice cream and strawberries!

We enjoyed a wonderful game of mini-golf on a beautiful day! 

Five kids and four adults... we had the course to ourselves. 

The 5 kids played together and did a great job negotiating turns. 

Darin won the adult game and even scored a free game! Wohoo!

Luke asked him to wear the party hat and he was humble enough to wear it the entire game. 

Dear friends for almost 8 years!

Then dinner out at Plaza Azteca with Grammy & Poppy. 

What a joyful day! I love him so much. 

How is it possible he's eight?

Science Center Fun!

Last Friday, good friends invited us to join them at the Science Museum in town. It was the perfect day to explore inside while it poured rain outside. Not to mention, the museum was pretty empty. Awesome.

Ethan and I enjoyed a ride on a segway in the lobby. 

Luke and Aaron were a little too nervous to try it out. 

They had great fun building in the kids area. Here's my weight lifter! :)

He was pretty proud of his creation.

As to be expected, Ethan was up to all sorts of stunts. I didn't get my camera out fast enough to catch him "surfing" on these blue foam blocks. And of course, surfing on blocks includes wiping out, but nothing seems to phase this daring guy. I love his spirit! 

Luke was very serious about his building, recruiting a friend to help him find just the right pieces. 

We visited lots of other areas that are rich with learning opportunities, but the younger two boys mostly enjoyed just pressing buttons and running on to the next station. Overall though, it was the perfect way to spend a rainy Friday afternoon. So glad for kind and generous friends!

Sunny Day

Last Thursday we had an exceptionally warm day (sandwiched between two rainy days). It got up to 78 degrees... pretty spectacular for March 1st. The boys were very motivated to complete their school work so we could go to a farm/park nearby. They were pleasantly surprised when their good friends pulled up in the parking lot to join us.

The big draw was the new baby lambs. Darin, Ethan and Aaron got to meet them 3 hours after they were born last Sunday and Luke and I couldn't wait to sneak a peak! They were so precious. (Hard to get a picture between the slats.)

 Looking at the lambs and their mom. 

 There were three more lambs that were a little older. 

 Very dear friends!

 Don't you just want to snuggle those little lambs?!?

 Ethan could watch Clyde the horse for hours. 

And of course, the run down the hill! 

It was definitely a highlight of our day to spend time at the farm with friends, followed by a late picnic lunch and time on the playground. What a blessing to have special friends. 

Reaching for Apples

On Monday, we loaded our dear friends into the "Smith Bus" 

and set out on a field trip to Carter Mountain Orchard. 

The oldest two (only 4 months apart) have been friends since they were itty bitty.  

The next two (only 6 months apart) have known each other since birth and 

then Aaron came along two years later to add a little comic relief. 

It's great fun to watch them interact and see how comfortable they are with one another. 

We were ready for a group adventure apple picking! 

It was a sunny warm day and I tried the "close your eyes and open them on the count of three." Obviously my timing was off, but I thought this was cute anyway!

You see who is doing all the work? Thanks Mrs. B! 

Unfortunately the apple trees were pretty sparse down low,  

so it required the use of the "apple picker." 

It was tricky for the kids to manage the long pole, 

so they made themselves useful eating some of our stash.  

My three amigos!

The stroller was brought along mostly to carry the apples. 

We collected 42 pounds of apples all together. So glad for a little help pushing!

Precious friends lined up in birth order. :)