Growing Up

There has been a running joke in our family that no one can break the "Hilary height barrier" .  Both Britton and Jenna grew like crazy until they hit my height and then for the last year or so neither one was able to push through it. While Jenna may be done for good Britton has finally broken through the barrier and is a good inch taller than me.  I'm thinking this next year will be his year of growth.

Jameson thinks he is grown up at the store now.  He likes to push the cart himself without help from me, "I've got it, Mom"

The weather really started to warm up this week and Jameson has been cruising around the neighborhood on his bike like a boss.  He has a very busy social life these days and would rather play with friends than do practically anything else. Since there are 4 boys his age within a stone's throw from the house he can usually find someone to play with.  He'll even play with the girls if need be. Keeping track of the boys can be tricky since they run from house to house with little thought for "checking in". The Moms have all come up with a tracking system, however, and we text alerts to each other each time they come into our house and when they go back out so we all have an idea of where they are.  It works well for the most part and Jameson has been surprised more than once by how much I know about his activities when he gets home. :-)  Before the tracking system went into effect I was telling Adam during dinner one night about my frustration with having him go from house to house without telling me first.  Jameson finally had enough and looked at me and said, "But Mom, that's just how boys be!" He said it in a way that made us all start laughing. I feel very fortunate to live in an area where my kids do have a bit more freedom to play outside and just be kids. They are having a childhood that is just about extinct these days and I love seeing them enjoy it.

Korinne finished her 1st year of orchestra with a concert on Thursday night.  Nine elementary schools came together for the concert.  They learn the same songs and then come together for one night only to perform.  There is always quite a group of both 1st and 2nd year orchestras.

Korinne with the cream headband and orange shirt.

Korinne enjoyed orchestra and is looking forward to playing again next year.

Adam left at 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning to go down south.  His Mom is turning 70 years old today and his Dad decided to surprise her for her birthday.  He took her to a small resort type place with a lake and cabins for her birthday and to scout the location out for possible future family reunions.  The real surprise came when 8 of her 10 children showed up, too, for a weekend of family fun.

Here is some footage from the surprise.  The quality isn't great, but you get the idea.

The cabins and water area.

Another brother (Micah) showed up after this picture was taken.

(Back to front, left to right) Adam, Josh, Stephen, Kim, Jaclyn, Kirsti, Bethany, Bonnie and Dave

Only Loren and Marci were unable to attend.

I'm sure they had a wonderful time hiking, playing horseshoes, basketball, swimming in the lake, paddle boarding and playing games.  Adam will be home around 5 p.m. tonight.  Jameson has been walking around for 3 days saying, "I miss Dad" with a puppy dog face. Ahhh.