12

Byron turned 12!

I can't believe how much this guy has grown this year.  The photo below kind of took the breath out of me.  

He woke up to balloons and nutella waffles with raspberries. 

I snagged him and Soren for a birthday lunch (they decided that they would rather go together to birthday lunches and get 2 rather than go alone and only get one....I am a sucker for sibling togetherness).  In and Out has been the choice for 3 years running.

That evening we drove down to Roni's For the Love of Birds, a bird sanctuary to hold some birds and fill out an adoption application.  Byron has been saving up to buy a bird of his own.  He has read countless books about caring for a bird...this guy is ready for the opportunity to rescue a bird of his own.

The Tin Roof restaurant is across the street (Roni's is in Sandy so it was quite a drive).  We walked across the street where Byron LOVED his fish & chips and we all loved the great desserts. 

That Friday we had Byron's birthday party. It was a super rainy day so we kept it simple. We assembled a huge ice cream sundae bar and the boys watched The Kid Who Would Be King, drove RC cars and played video games. 

12 Things that make me smile about Byron

1.  Byron treats everyone with equal kindness.  He doesn't look down on people or elevate others.  This quality is so hard to explain, but he isn't hustling for approval from popular kids,  he doesn't treat kids with disabilities like little kids, he doesn't treat babies like babies, he doesn't snub kids who are different or quirky....all are equal in his eyes unless he senses cruel, rude or obnoxious behavior in which case he simply walks away.  Byron doesn't need sensitivity or diversity training, it's just who he is. 

2. Patience...this kid is chalk full of it.  He can sit quietly and entertain himself for loooong stretches of time.  He is a teachers dream, and all 6 of his school teachers have told us so.  He can save his money for things he really wants, he can save his Halloween candy for months and months He just has this inborn ability to delay gratification and has great impulse control.

3. Byron is a great brother.  He looks out for Soren at school, he lets him play with him and his friends, he includes him almost always.  He also looks out for his older sister....he is more apt to tease or pester her, but man oh man he has her back if she needs it.

4. That hair....oh man he has fantastic hair and the cutest freckles. He gives such great hugs.  I will be so sad if he grows out of hugging.

5. Byron loves video games and D&D.  This in and of itself doesn't make me smile, but hearing him yell with excitement with his friends does. He tends to be so composed most of the time hearing him let loose is so fun. The ONLY time I have heard him ever use an accent is playing D&D I adore it!

6. Piano practice in the mornings.  Byron doesn't fight me too much on playing the piano, and I love to hear him play.  He does NOT enjoy performing but when he learns a song he likes you can tell he is having fun.  I hope music will be a gift in his life.

7. Speaking of music...he may not be obsessed with musicals like Miriam and Soren but he does know all the words to Hamilton and Percy Jackson, he is more selective but he is thorough.

8. Byron is athletic. He is fast and nimble. He is playing a lot of tennis this year, and getting so good at it! It pushes him because we aren't very competitive as a family, but I love the growth I have seen in him. He catches on to games quickly.

9.  This guy is a champion hiker and biker.  He is up for adventure and doesn't shy away from physical challenges. He is doing the Kids Adventure Race again this year.

10. Byron LOVES Nature.  Bugs, animals, fossils, hiking, biking, fishing...he loves it all.  His patient nature is well suited for the nature outside.  He can quietly watch and be still so that birds, or animals come near.  He can wait for the fish, he can catch the bugs.

11. Science Math and Technology are fun for him. He loves STEM classes and Lego Mindstorms has been really fun this year. He is bright, but never brags or elevates himself because of it.

12. It has been fun watching him grow and mature this year.  He is so compliant and good natured that it's easy for him to go with the flow which is great, but I worry that he will give up what he wants for others. However, when he knows what he wants (or doesn't want) he is starting to speak up.  Not in a rude way, but a firm way and I love it! I love that he is speaking up to me! I don't want him to ever give up what he wants because he is afraid to cause a fuss.  He has had his sights set on getting a bird for a couple of years now.  He has earned the $, done the research, asked to visit a bird refuge so many times we finally relented and now he checks the refuge FB page daily to see if a new bird has arrived. This kind of tenacity thrills me!

I feel lucky I get a front row seat to watch this guy grow up. 

Lego Mindstorms

Every Tuesday for 4 months Byron spent 2 hours working on Lego robots.  It was hard, but also so much fun.  Some Tuesdays he came home so exhausted, frustrated and hungry, but other days he flew out of the class so happy things worked out.  

Byron and Weston's team qualified for the State Championship at Lagoon.

At the Lagoon Comp Byron and Weston took 3rd place in their school, and Stewart took 2nd in the overall competition.  

Mother's Day

Soren's 3rd grade class put on such a cute Mother's Day celebration.  They wrote a book as a class about "uses for a mother" where they each contributed a page (Soren's was Hand Holder).  They interviewed us, we had cookies, and gave us the individualized books about moms they had been making all year.  I think writing a book must be 3rd grade curriculum because each of my kids has the same kind of book from this grade, but Mrs. Francom is so service minded it made sense hers would be a gift.  Her class puts on Grandparents Day and has a party for the Functional Skills class.  I love the thoughtfulness she passes on to her classes.

On Mother's Day I made my requests like last year.  

1. Let me sleep in.

2. Hike to a waterfall (we did Waterfall Canyon in Odgen)

3. I didn't require any fancy meals but I didn't want to cook anything.

4. I wanted to buy flowers for our front yard so no gifts that require spending $.

5. Watch Hidden Figures as a family

All my wishes came true! 

Although...being woken for breakfast in bed wouldn't have been so bad on this darling tray Soren had made in Cub Scouts.

I love it on the table year around!

Emily's Shower

We had such fun house guests in May.

So fun to have Craig and Lisa with us and also Cara, her fiance Nate ,plus their dog Sirius.

We love them all but Miriam especially loved Sirius.

Emily's Cinco de Mayo Shower was wonderful!

Delightfully festive, great food and fun people.

Then Ethan's blessing the next day so we had more great food, perfect weather, and fun people.  Especially little Ethan who was a little angel during the blessing prayer.

Soren's 9th Birthday

We celebrated with a family brunch to Our Home Kitchen the weekend before his actual birthday. It's now one of our new favorite breakfast spots!! 

Monday morning he woke up to waffles Nutella and berries, I had to run Miriam to an early ballroom practice so I brought the 9 birthday balloons home with me.

 I picked Soren up from school for a birthday lunch but first I surprised him by making a stop at Bountiful Music so he could pick out his new Ukulele. 

Then to Cutlers for lunch and to pick out his birthday cookies.

Our Caring Cousins charity this year was Pencils of Promise (POP) so as a family we read the book by the founder called "Pencils of Promise: How an Ordinary Person can make Extraordinary Change".  Soren was inspired by the stories shared in the book and decided (all on his own...no prompting from us I swear!!) to have his guests donate to the charity rather than bring gifts.

We took 6 friends + his favorite brother to Get Air for an hour of jumping fun,

then stopped by a nearby park for pizza and cookies.

I goofed and only put 8 candles on his cake....so we had to have him blow out one more!

I had to include photos taken and artistically manipulated by Byron.

9 things I adore about Soren at 9 years old:

1. His kind heart, this boy cares deeply about the feelings of others....especially his brother and sister.  He just about can't stand it if anyone is sad or hurt but he jumps out of his skin if it's his brother or sister.

2. His generous heart. This guy is a gift giver, note writer, treat share-er.  He LOVES to give or create gifts and surprises.  

3. Music.  Soren is our family DJ.  He loves music so much he listens whenever he can, and often suggests songs for us to listen to. He has 90% of the songs on the radio memorized.

4. Soren is a loyal and true friend.  He is like Charolette in Charolette's Web.  He will listen, and help problem solve, he's got your back.

5. He loves to dance and sing.  This goes along with music but his energy around music is contagious! His joy and enthusiasm changes a room...brings joy and life into it.

6. His determination in Taekwondo. This has really really pushed him this year.  It's 3 days a week and it's HARD.  It isn't easy to get him to go most of the time, but when he is there he puts in 100% and he walks out of class with more confidence.

7. His tenacity with 3D puzzles.  This guy has always loved hand puzzles but up until lately they have been more frustrating than fun. This year with the help from Darin he figured out the 2X2, then he spent his own money on a four pack.  He figured out the 3X3, the Pyraminx, and the Skewb.

8. His sense of humor.  Soren is witty, and clever and his laugh is adorable.  He loves telling jokes and he does it with such flare. His favorite movie this year has been Fantastic Mr. Fox...he has always loved it, but he rented it from the library again a few months ago and watched it so much he almost has it memorized. He's got great taste.

9.  Soren does hard things....everyday.  School and most extracurricular activities are not easy for this guy, he just doesn't love it and feels scared and worried most of the time. We are working on gratitude, re-framing, coping strategies and it's working, but it isn't easy.  Everyday he gets up and faces those big overwhelming scary feelings and shows up.  I admire him so much for that.

Ending LPA Concerts

Advance Musical Theatre put on Pirates of the Carabiner for their Spring Show.

The 9th graders were disappointed at first because they like to put together a Broadway Review,  but their director Jules does have a good feel for hilarious plays.  It was so funny, with great songs.

It was fun to see Miriam tackle an "out of the box" role for her...a deranged idiot pirate!  We know she can play the spunky heroine but she can totally do lunatic as well.

Legacy Prep Dance Concert

They got to perform all their dances throughout the year, do the 9th grade dance battle, and then Miriam and Logan put together a Latin duet.

This concert if the pay off for all the early morning practices, all the long competitions, all the dress rehearsals and costume fittings.  They got to dance, and celebrate, and cry their eyes out saying good-bye to Jr. High ballroom. 

We could not possibly get M flowers for every performance...there are just too many (although I have thought about making a bouquet out of dance tights or bobby pins and hair spray) but for this concert at the end of her 9th grade year we felt flowers were in order.