Fourteen

Dear Weston,

Somehow your fourteenth birthday has managed to sneak up on us. It kind if caught me off guard, to tell you the truth, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. What a privilege it is to have known you these fourteen years! You are smart and sweet and funny and charming and thoughtful and resourceful. You are a good friend, an excellent leader, a shrewd investor, and a delightful person. You have made my life fuller and richer in so many ways, and I'm thankful I get to be your mom!

You have continued to work hard on your Scouting journey throughout this last year. You have attended many camps, held several leadership positions, and are just on the cusp of completing your Eagle Scout rank. Some parts of this journey have not been easy, but you have learned some important lessons and have carried on with your integrity in tact. You should be proud of all you have accomplished.

Your new loves this year have been speech and debate, and you have thrown yourself into them with passion. You competed and performed well in one tournament in the spring, which kind of gave you the bug. And you have just finished the first tournament of the new season, with another trophy for your efforts. You have a real talent for speaking, persuading, entertaining, and forming reasonable arguments, and I hope you will continue to develop these talents and use them for good in the world.

You have had a lot of great opportunities this year, which you have taken advantage of. You invested in the stock market and are quietly letting your wealth grow in the background; you won first place in a state PSIA speech contest; you spent a week crewing a boat in the Florida Keys; you traveled to Washington DC by yourself to visit Dad and navigated the city for a couple of days on your own; you met with city officials while planning your Eagle Scout project; you made new friends and tried new activities and set goals to push yourself. I love the way you embrace life and the way you give it your all. You are brave and bold and one of the best people I know!

We had a big change in our family this year as Dad went to work first in DC and then in New Delhi. I am sure this has not been an easy adjustment for you, but you have handled it bravely and with grace. And, you've been a tremendous help and encouragement to me and a great example for your younger brothers during this time, and I want you to know you are appreciated. I'm so very thankful for you!

Weston, you are such a wonderful young man, and I love getting to do life with you! I appreciate all the ways you have matured in the last year and the many amazing ways you show up in the world. I'm so proud of you, and I hope the year ahead is your best on yet! Happy 14th!

Love,
Mom

My favorite 14-year-old

May Memories

Rangers' Game

Max acted as a math tutor and
also came up with a creative way to
do his own math scratch work.

We celebrated Clay's 8th birthday!

Jeff and I got to have a series of dates
in McKinney while the kids were
doing end-of-year teasting.

Jeff was officially invited to join the
199th training class of U.S. diplomats!

Clay and I got take a little trip to
my sister's to visit with family.

Mother's Day

We had some fun playing around
with our new ice cream maker.

Clay loved getting to launch rockets
with the Cub Scouts.

Ruth had a fun swim party with her
 friends to celebrate her birthday.

The last Scout meeting of the year
was a big one. Weston received a
couple of merit badges and was elected
SPL (leader of whole troop), even though he
  wasn't even running for the position.
Max received his Scout status and
was elected as Patrol Leader for his patrol.

Clay's last Scout meeting was also
fun, and he got to go through the face
painting ceremony recognizing that
he completed all the Wolf requirements
and is ready to start down the Bear path.

Our little baker was busy all month
making cookies, monkey bread,
and a birthday cake for his cousin.

We were thankful to have family
in town to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.

We had so much fun hiking and
hanging out on the Katy Trail.

A fun evening at Pokey O's

We were delighted to discover Earl's.

We had a blast celebrating Weston's
half-birthday at Main Event.

Ruth turned 17, and we celebrated in style.

We got to spend some quality
time in the closet waiting out a tornado.

After a busy month, we were
glad to begin our vacation in Florida.

Seventeen

Happy birthday to the person who made me a mother seventeen years ago! You have taught me so much, and it's been incredible watching you turn into the amazing young woman you are today. You are intelligent, thoughtful, creative, responsible, capable, caring, self-motivated, independent, and mature beyond your years. You work hard to accomplish your goals, and you consistently make smart choices. I'm so very proud of you and know without a doubt that you have a bright future ahead!

We spent a couple of months in South America last summer, visiting famous sites like the Amazon, Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, Easter Island, and the Andes. You bravely spoke Spanish with the natives, ate a grub in the Amazon, and drove a standard-transmission car on Easter Island. Besides that, you seemed to enjoy the sightseeing and the family time.

Last summer, you obtained your driver's license and, along with it, so much more freedom. You have been responsible with both those things and have never given us a reason to be concerned. Dad and I love that we can trust you completely on and off the road!

You ran cross country and track again this year. In addition to keeping fit and enjoying the activities, you have also made some great friends through HSAA, and it's so good to see you building these strong relationships. You are a faithful friend and have so much to offer!

You have also continued your involvement in CAP, which has pushed you into a variety of leadership roles this year. You became the First Sergeant of the squadron and recently made Chief. You have also staffed several camps, and, in a couple of days, you will attend a Powered Flight Academy. Adult leaders and parents of other cadets have told me how you add value to the organization, and from my perspective, it has been nothing but a positive experience. I have seen you gain confidence and leadership skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

This year, you took most of your classes through NCTC, and though you were often the youngest person in your classes, you consistently impressed your professors by your class participation and performace on assignments and exams. You stayed on top of the material and studied hard, which allowed to you receive an A in every class. You also made a 1440 on the SAT, which is really fantastic and should help you move in whatever college direction you choose.

Ruth, I am so thankful that I have gotten to have you in my life for seventeen years! You are a delight to know, and you make me proud every single day! I hope that this coming year is your best one yet! I love you!

Love,
Mom

The Great Eight

Sweet Clay,

How can it be that you are eight?! It seems like it wasn't that long ago that you decided to join our family, but here we are eight years later, unable to imagine our lives without you! You have added joy and love and wonder to every single day, and it is truly a pleasure to know you and to spend my days with you!

Just two days after your last birthday, we hopped on a plane to South America, where we spent a couple of months visiting Peru, Argentina, and Chile. You took to it like you've taken to all our adventures--warmly and with enthusiasm. Not many kids your age can say they've explored Machu Picchu, viewed the Nazca Lines, fished in the Amazon for piranhas, sandboarded down massive sand dunes, posed with moai statues on Easter Island, skied in the Andes, or eaten guinea pig. You eagerly embraced every moment and had the time of your life!

You started second grade in the fall and continue to be a wonderful student at home and at Arrow, where you took art, history, Lego robotics, P.E., guitar, and dance. You work hard in all your classes and approach most subjects with genuine interest and zeal. Your independent reading has also exploded this year, and you can rarely be found without a book in your hand. You have especially been enjoying the Magic Tree House books and the Great Illustrated Classics.

You continue to be active in Cub Scouts and embody all the principles of the Scout Law, which states that "a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent." In addition, you participated in a Ninja Warrior class in the fall, took golf lessons for a couple of months after the first of the year, and improved your swimming skills with another round of swim lessons. You truly love to try new activities and are always thinking about what your next thing might be.

You love to cook and often ask to help in the kitchen or to prepare meals and treats from your growing stash of cookbooks. You are even planning to attend Cake Camp this summer, and I know we will all be the beneficiaries of your creations.

You are obsessed with toy weapons and costumes, and just about every day your imagination carries you off to creative worlds that transcend our own. And, you spent at least half of this year sleeping in your "fort," a sanctuary under your bunk, with blanket walls, that had you happily sleeping on the floor rather than in your bed.

You love to play board games and have beat me soundly a number of times at Ticket to Ride, which is one of your favorites. You have also learned to play Settlers of Catan, Boggle, Dungeons and Dragons, and several card games. You are often the instigator and organizer to bring the whole family together for a fun game night.

Clay, you are an absolute delight! You are kind, generous, loving, smart, funny, curious, enthusiastic, and creative. You dispense hugs (and "extra hugs") and smiles freely, and you make every day more beautiful and exciting! You are the kind of person I want to be, and I'm thankful I have the opportunity to learn from you every day. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for you. Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Love,
Mom

Mr. Cinco de Mayo

Aprilcadabra

I'm not really sure how April just disappeared, but it was here and then it was gone, just like that! Once again, we filled the month full. I'm thankful for these highlight reel posts because sometimes I get so caught up in the day-to-day living of this crazy life that I forget to appreciate all the wonderful moments along the way. These posts are such great reminders of all we have to be grateful for.

Clay and I did some drawing to kill time while waiting for the other boys at a Scout event.

Girls' Weekend in Big Bend

Clay was a big helper in picking out and moving tile into the house
for our big bathroom remodeling project.

We basically scrapped the bathroom we had and started over.
We are so happy with the finished product!

Clay took some refresher swim lessons to get ready for our beach trip this summer.

Jeff and I had a couple of dates to Local Pint.

Max led the morning exercises.

I had the opportunity to be part of Central Elementary's Career Day,
and I absolutely loved every moment of it!

Ruth got to attend a fancy Sweet Sixteen party for one of her friends.

These two turned up matching my Central Elementary mug,
and we thought it was photo worthy.

Clay found a "sushi" recipe in his cookbook to make for us.

There is not much better than chunking rocks in a body of water!

Weston was selected to be a member of the Order of the Arrow,
which is a special service oriented group of Scouts.

The boys had a field trip to LLELA to learn about small pond creatures.

These three rolled themselves up in a giant sibling burrito.

Supporting their baseball playing brother

We were thankful to get to spend Easter with family.
We were also thankful for all the amazing wildflowers on the way,
including a solid red field of poppies.

Clay bought himself a multi-tool, which he is very proud of!

Ruth got a job at City Vet, working in their kennel.

The flowers at our house were very happy!

Last day of Arrow for the year:
Weston wore every name tag he had neglected to wear for the last ten weeks.
Clay dressed up like Leif Erikson.
Max dressed up as and gave a presentation on Robin Hood. 

Arrow's Spring Handmade Market:
Clay sold slingshots; Max sold chocolates; and Weston sold loaded popcorn.
They all sold out of their products and felt very rich by the end of the evening. 

At Arrow's End-of-Year Celebration, each of the boys got to
demo something from one of their classes.
Clay performed with his dance class.
Max sang with his history class about the plague.
And Weston participated in a mini debate and gave an impromptu speech.

The kids were gifted a couple of drones, which the boys took to immediately.

Max got to spend some time on the mound in a couple of games.

We had fun hanging out with Mimi at Bumbershoot BBQ/Gnome Cones.

We took Mimi to brunch at Cafe Komali and hiking on the Katy trail.

We played pub trivia a couple of times at Vetted Well and had so much fun.

We kind of went crazy at the library's book sale. This is only half of what we bought.
We bought somewhere in the neighborhood of 172 books, 11 movies, and 1 puzzle.
The deal of buy one bag at $4, get a bag for free was just too much for us to resist.

Clay couldn't believe the whole store was celebrating Cinco de Mayo
when we went to pick out some things for his birthday party.
I think he thinks that day is just for him!