Ten!!!!

Ten years ago at 5:18 am, I became a mom. So much joy on that day, I thought that life couldn't get better than having that little baby to snuggle. Well, time quickly marches on and I will tell you that that little baby boy has brought an immense amount of joy in our lives, every single day. As fun as it is to have a baby and how sad it makes me some days to think that he is growing up, I have to say that having a 10 year old is wonderful. I wouldn't trade him for anything in this world.

At church yesterday, we discovered that a guy in our ward owns a Delorean. Braxton LOVES Back to the Future, so he was pretty excited when he was able to sit in the car and we took this picture. Afterwards he said, "That was an awesome early birthday present." Isn't it so great that the simple things in life make him so happy. I just love that kid.

He is the best big brother a little sister could ask for. She follows him everywhere he goes. He reads to her, they sit together and laugh and laugh, he will even watch Tinkerbell movies with her just to make her happy.

There are days when Braxton will tell you that he thinks Emma's main purpose in life is "to ruin his stuff and mess up his room", but most days they adore one another. Emma thinks Braxton hung the moon and it makes me so happy to know that she has a brother who will take care of her and protect her through out her life. I am grateful everyday for the blessing it is to have this amazing boy in our family. He will not sit in my lap and snuggle like he used to, but he does still enjoy sharing a book and a hug. He loves to write stories and draw cartoons. He loves life and I love to watch him enjoy living it.

Happy Birthday Braxton!!! Yes, you are now a whole decade old!!

Easter 2011

Today we woke up to snow!!! Can you believe it? We had such a beautiful winter and now we are getting snow. Luckily, it didn't stick on the ground and didn't cover the eggs that the Easter Bunny left us outside.

When Emma was first placed with us, my friend, Mare gave her a beautiful purple dress. She wore it on her first Easter. I, of course, bought Braxton a matching shirt and tie that year. They looked so cute. Last year, her dress was white with little pink flowers, I bought Braxton a pink tie to match. Again, so cute. I bought Emma's dress first again this year, knowing that I would buy the dress and then buy a matching shirt or tie for Braxton (it's all about the dress, afterall). Well, this year, Braxton informed me that he didn't want to match his sister because wearing the pink tie last year was too embarrassing. He was a good sport and let me buy him a nice Easter-y green tie. There is a little flower on Emma's dress that has a green left that matched Braxton's tie. See, we all win.

I tried to take a nice picture of the kids in their Easter outfits, but it didn't work out so well. Emma was a little too hopped up on sugar and wouldn't cooperate. They did look very cute today and ate way too much candy.

Oh and here's a special shout out to the Easter Bunny for not bringing any of my favorite candies this year so that I can stay on the wagon. Thanks Easter Bunny!!! (I miss you Cadbury Mini Eggs and Starburst Jelly Beans xoxoxo)

Blue and Gold Banquet

We had our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet on February 24th. Braxton received his Bear Badge that evening. It's been fun being his Bear Leader this year.

The boys had a Cake Bake-off. They had to bake a cake with their Dads. Moms were not allowed to help. They decided to make a Pac-Man cake. There were few problems in the kitchen, but the cake turned out fine. The cupcakes, well, I wouldn't have recommended eating those, but Cub Scouts will eat just about anything. :)

Science Fair 2011

Braxton had his Science Fair at school last week. His class did 2 group projects and he did an individual one. The group ones were the M&M Lab, does an M&M dissolve faster in water or another liquid and the Tennis Ball Lab, where they bounced different brands of tennis balls to see if more expensive ones bounced higher. Very fun.

His individual one was "Does Jell-O Preserve Fruit?" He took three different glass bowl, he added an apple slice, an orange slice, a grape and a slice of banana in each bowl. In one bowl, he added water, in another Jell-O, the third, he just left the fruit alone. Over 7 days, he took notes and pictures of the changes in the fruit. The answer to the question is Yes, Jell-O does indeed preserve fruit. All the fruit turned brown, but the Jell-O fruit did stay fresher longer. Only 7 kids in the whole school got interviews with the judges, meaning that the kids who got interviews were in the running to be the winner. Braxton was one of the students who had an interview. We were so excited for him. The neat thing is that 3 out of the 7 students who had interviews were in Braxton's class, including the boy that won the science fair. His teacher does a great job with teaching science and doing labs with them.

Braxton and his display board

Pig dissection (that science in the country)

Making marshmallow domes

Emma ate most of the marshmallows

The fruit on the first day

Bowl 1

Bowl 2

Bowl 3

The Fruit on Day 7

Bowl 1

Bowl 2

Bowl 3

Go Bobcats

This was Braxton's first year playing tackle football. His last game on on October 23rd. It was hard work, but he had fun. He played Defensive End and Tight End. I thought it was funny that most of the kids want to be on the defense and not the offense because they want to tackle. His team was called the Bobcats, they did great, only 2 loses. I didn't get to watch very many games because I chased Emma around the park, but I did enjoy being in the nice crisp fall air.

Braxton is #1

Lining up

Making the tackle

I would like to know who the genius was who decided that white was a good color for football pants. I went through a whole bottle of "Shout".

Trophy Time

Braxton and his coach

First Day of Fourth Grade

Braxton started school on August 17th this year. Seems so early. He was a little nervous at first because he didn't know who his teacher would be, but then on the 16th there was an ice cream social at the school where we got to meet his new teacher, drop off his school supplies and see his desk and classroom. He REALLY likes his teacher and there are friends from last year in his class. Even though I was sad for school to start, it is nice to be back on our schedule. We had such a fun and busy summer, it's nice to have routine again. Although that first day, Emma spent a lot of time knocking on Braxton's bedroom door and calling to him. She just can't get enough of him, as you can see in the picture.

Happy Birthday Braxton

Every year on the 4th of July, I sit and ponder the 4th of July in 2001 when my life changed forever, when I became a mother. What an amazing day that was. I cannot believe that it was 9 years ago. I remember the nurse told us, "You can see the fireworks from your window." We didn't even care. Who needs fireworks when you have a beautiful baby boy to snuggle. What a miracle!!!

I Almost Forgot......

Since I am behind on my blog, here are some other things that happened here in the past two months. Braxton got his Wolf Badge back in May. He worked so hard and we are so proud of him. So, I guess since he is nine now, he is officially in the Bear Den. I was his Wolf Den leader, so I will miss him.

The first week of June, Braxton went to a day camp at his school called Camp Invention. Their motto is "Creative Genius Unleashed". He LOVED every minute of Camp Invention. He learned so much about science, which he loves. I forgot to put my card back in my camera, so I didn't get very many pictures, which is disappointing because they did a lot of fun things.

Here is his major invention. He and another boy invented it. At the end of the camp, they poured vinegar into a bottle, which moved down to a funnel and into a container that had baking soda in it. If the invention was successful, there would be a reaction. The baking soda was fizzing, so they did great. It was really neat, kids are so bright.

Braxton and Jacob and their invention.

Fare Thee Well Third Grade

Today at 11:30 am, my Braxton was no longer a 3rd grader. I cannot believe how fast the year flew by, I remember the first day of 3rd grade like it was yesterday. I am so proud of him. Moving to Colorado was probably a bigger adjustment for him than any one else in our family, but he has done really well. He made some great friends and I think he now feels like Rice Elementary is his school. He even said to me while we were walking home that he wishes we were still going to be here for 5th grade.

I love summer vacation. I am a selfish mom and like the fact that I don't have to share my son with the school. We have a lot of great things planned for the summer. Swimming lessons start next week, we leave for South Dakota tomorrow for a fun trip, we have a couple of trips planned to Utah and then we go to Nova Scotia in July for almost three weeks.

Braxton and his teacher, Mrs. Foster. She is wonderful!!!

Braxton and Miss Phillips. Miss Phillips was the student teacher in Braxton's class. She graduated this month and will be teaching kindergarten in Littleton in the fall. We love Miss Phillips and know she will be an awesome kindergarten teacher. This is Braxton's principal, Mrs. Koehn. While we were taking this pictures, she was trying to track down some students who took the bus but their dad had come to pick them up. A principal's work is never done, I suppose.

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you very much for such a beautiful day!!!