Happy 7th Birthday Jack!

 How is it possible that my baby is seven!?  Before I know it he will be off to college.  All these birthdays at once is tough on the momma. 

Jack was soooo excited to turn seven.  He woke me up at 6am to tell me that he was now seven - "I know I look at little different today because I'm seven, but don't worry - I still love you"  Is there a better way to wake up?

 Jack requested the exact same cake we had for William's birthday the week before - so off to Dairy Queen I went.  He was beyond excited about his new BeyBlade stadium.  The whole family is in agreement that this stadium is way better than his old one.  Which is great because he is constantly asking one of us to play Beyblades with him.

 Those eyes . . . I just can't help but crack up at his expression!  He loved his cake!

I know I'll blink and he will be eight - so I'll just do my best to not blink :)

Happy 9th Birthday William!

 Quarantine birthday #2 was for William.  I can't believe he is nine!  Last year of single digits for this guy!

By this point in quarantine our kitchen was out of commision.  Brian gave lots of birthday cake options and he picked an icecream cake from Dairy Queen.  Let's just say it was a huge hit.

William has grown so much this year.  He has adjusted well to his new school and made so much progress.  We can't wait to see what the next year has in store - we know if will be amazing!

Happy 12th Birthday Max!

 What a birthday!  Life as we know it has changed significantly in the last eight weeks.  Max's birthday was a the very beginning of the Coronavirus lockdown. 

 Brian and attended a funeral, so Max got to enjoy double celebrations - Cookie Cake at Nonna's house and brownies at home.  He was one happy guy.

Max is growing up so quickly!  I feel like he has grown a foot since all of this began.  We are so lucky to be his parents! 

Cabin Camping

Max's boy scout troop went cabin camping this weekend.  They were even able to bring electronics - pretty much every 11 year old boys dream come true.  These two have been scouts together since 1st grade! They are looking so grown up now.  I can't take it. 

 Other than the usual scouting type stuff the boys were able to make and launch rockets. 

 Once they were launched the rockets had parachutes and the boys tried to find theirs.  Max's rocket ended up in a tree, but he did report it went higher than any other. 

Safety House

One of our local fire departments has an amazing set up to help teach kids about fire safety.  We held a den meeting there on Friday when the boys were off school.

They started out exploring the fire trucks and ambulances.  Jack loved driving!

From there they watched a movie recreating a real fire.  They were smart and told the kids beforehand that everyone survived - it was pretty intense.

After the movie we went to a bedroom to talk about escape plans.  There was a fog machine that pumped smoke under the door.  The door also got warm to the touch.  The whole experience really was a great way to spark conversations about what to do in a fire.  We are very lucky to have such a great resource in our community!

Scouts Make Great Valentines

 Wednesday night for theri scout meeting Max's troop made valentines for a local retirement home.  They passed out the valentines to the residents as they enjoyed dinner.  It was even featured on a local interest new show this morning.  I'm so proud of this guy!

Jack's Class Party

I love attending class parties.  It is the teacher in me, but I just have so much fun helping the kids play a game, complete a craft, or read story.  I do have to admit that it's really nice just to show up the day of and not have to plan anything beforehand :)

 Jack and his friends made special pencil topper art creations that look like they are moving when you spin your pencil.  There was also a super fun relay race, a maze, and a station where they made a plant grow in a glove.  Hopefully those plants will have started growing by the time they are back at school on Tuesday. 

They finished by saying nice thing about their classmates.  It was super sweet.