Lincoln's 10th Birthday

Here I am, a month late again.  For some reason I just can't get these birthdays blogs out in a reasonable amount of time.  Better late than never, I guess.

My middle son, Lincoln, turned 10 in June.  I really cannot believe this child is 10.  He acts way older than his age, so he seems like he should be older, but the idea that I now have 2 out of 3 children in double digits is mind boggling to me.   They really need to stop growing up so fast!

Lincoln chose to go rock climbing for his birthday. The day before his birthday we headed to Mall Sport, which is a mall totally dedicated to sports and outdoor activities.   They got to to climb on the bouldering wall for 30 minutes and then had two attempts to climb the tall vertical wall.  They have all improved so much since taking rock climbing classes.  I am always so impressed at how strong they are.

He wanted to show me that he could hang from the top with one hand.  

After rock climbing, we went out for Lincoln's birthday dinner.  He chose T.G.I. Friday's.  It is so funny that they have so many  North American food chains here.  They are such a novelty to my kids. They love that they can get club sandwiches and chicken fingers there.  You would think growing up in Asia, they would want rice & noodles, but nope they still want the things that kids from the USA eat. It makes me laugh.  

Birthday morning!  He chose pancakes for breakfast.  

 Time for presents!

 He was very surprised to get the next Fablehaven book.  We had it sent from the States.  It just came out and the library doesn't have it yet. He couldn't wait to start reading it.  

Even in Chile, the fidget spinners are a craze. He was also very excited to get this. 

 Birthday dinner: Chicken kebabs and cheeseball. 

And we finished off his birthday with a Harry Potter cake.  

Happy 10th Birthday, Lincoln. I hope this year brings all you wished for.  

Greyson's 12th Birthday

How in the world have we gotten to the very last birthday before he becomes a teen? It just does not seem possible.  I have watched him  change so much over the last year and have noticed the little boy slipping away and being replace by a young man.  It is bittersweet,  I am excited to see who Greyson will turn into, but sad to be saying goodbye to my first little boy.

We started the morning of Greyson's birthday off with a donut cake. We like to have candles with every meal on our birthday, so he started off his morning making a wish.

Later that afternoon he opened presents from us and from his Gigi & Papa. This year he is all about camping gear, ropes, carabiners, tools, & tool boxes.  He did get an awesome Lego architecture set from my parents that he was very excited about.  

Greyson requested a YouTube cake this year because he loves making videos for his YouTube channel.  I always get nervous when they request their cakes, because I really don't know how to decorate cakes.  Thankfully this one was easy.  

Greyson loves rollercoasters and has been wanted to get back to the amusement park after going with a friend a couple months ago, so we all made the trip to Fantasilandia. It's a small park, but had a pretty good selection of rides.  The boys got to ride all the coasters and rides they wanted without any wait at all.  

Lincoln went of his very first upside down ride.  

Britton taking me on an afternoon drive. 

Greyson and Ben are on there somewhere, 

And they finished our fun day with icecream.  

Happy 12th Birthday, Greyson!  Now, let's slow down a little, ok?

Britton's 7th Birthday!

Britton staying up until midnight to celebrate the very first minute of his birthday. 

A few weeks ago, Britton celebrated his 7th birthday.  He was lucky this year to have his birthday on a weekend and was able to spend his whole day with all of us.  We started off like we do every year, with a decorated table and a special chair for the birthday boy.  He also had a donut cake for breakfast.

After breakfast we headed to a near by mall that is all about sports.  They have a great rock climbing wall and bouldering wall, and that is what Britton really wanted to do on his birthday.  All three boys love rock climbing and will be starting in a rock climbing club.  It is such a great workout.

 All 3 boys on the bouldering wall

 Getting the harness on to tackle the big wall. 

 Britton in the red

 Lincoln

Greyson up top in the black shorts and blue shirt

After rock climbing we went to the Lego Store so Britton could pick out a couple gifts with his birthday money.  He has been all about Nexo Knights lately, so that is what he chose. 

Back home to open presents.  His favorite present from us...a cozy blanket and zebra pillow.  His reaction was hysterical.  

And we finished the night off with cake and ice cream.  I cannot believe my youngest is 7! We had a wonderful day celebrating Britton.  I cannot wait to see what year 7 has in store for him!

11 Years Old...How did that happen?

There is no way I am old enough to have an 11 year old!  I just had him.  No matter how many times I tell my boys to stop growing up so fast, they just don't listen.  So here we are.  We have an 11 year old.

We started Greyson's birthday weekend off with a pool party with his friends.  He had a blast.  There were lots of laughs, silliness, and good times.  

We were having trouble getting the candles lit.  It was so windy.  Every time we would get one lit another would go out.  

Present time.

How many kids can you fit on a raft?  

Birthday morning with birthday waffles.  So many candles!

 Next, we headed to the mall to go ice skating. They have all improved quite a bit!

Lunch at his favorite place, Carl's Jr. 

Back home for presents.

He was very excited over the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.

He wanted a "disco" light for his bedroom.

He asked for a Dairy Queen cake. 

Happy 11th Birthday!

 Grey and I ended the night with a birthday massage.  He loves this tradition.  

Here is our 11 year old.  Hoping this is his best year yet. We have lots of fun in store for his 11th year!