Levi's Golden Birthday

Our little man is 8 years old on the 8th of December!  Levi is such an awesome boy and we are so happy to have him as part of our family.  He is funny and thoughtful and smart and compassionate and witty and easy-going.  I think his (biased) Aunt Sarah best summed it up when she said "It's like he's not even trying to be the best and yet he is!"  Levi continues to be a great little brother, although his time spent playing by himself because his sisters are playing something he isn't interested in increases every day.  But he is perfectly happy to be in his room or the play room by himself setting up an animal kingdom or making Lego villages or having his stuffed animals play Quidditch.  More often than not, he asks Dad if he needs help with an outside project before we have to ask him.  He is a really good helper and won't leave or get distracted until the job/chore is completed.  Levi loves pizza, making things out of scrap wood, riding his bike, fruit-flavored ice cream and frozen yogurt, Nerds, swinging on ropes from the trees, throwing perfect spirals with Dad, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and leading songs at church.  He doesn't like people jumping out to scare him, eating too many sweets before bedtime so as not to get sick in the middle of the night, being interrupted, eggs, the dogs play-fighting or seeing other people hurt.  Levi thinks about others before he considers himself and is the first one to congratulate a sibling or friend on an accomplishment.  His love for his family is very strong and he still gives multiple hugs and "I love you's" before leaving or going to bed.  When his temper gets the best of him, he dramatically rolls his eyes and grunts deeply and marches himself off somewhere to be alone.  He prefers having his unacceptable actions explained to him instead of just being sent off to his room, which is difficult for us when we are angry in the heat of whatever just transpired.  The older he gets, the more time it takes him to calm down, which makes me sad because it just proves that he's becoming less of a little kid.  But he still wants to sit on Mom or Dad's lap when we watch a movie and is okay giving me a kiss on the cheek when I drop him off at school.  Levi truly is a blessing and a good brother and great friend and good example to his classmates and a wonderful helper at home.  We love you very much, little buddy, and thank God that you are part of our family!

1. What is your favorite color?  Blue

2. What is your favorite toy?  LEGOs

3. What is your favorite fruit?  Blueberries

4. What is your favorite movie? Star Wars

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut butter and jelly

6. What is your favorite subject in school? Art

7. What is your favorite game? Hide and seek

8. What is your favorite snack? Granola bars

9. What is your favorite animal? Dolphin

10. What is your favorite song?  Behold Our God

11. What is your favorite book? Dragon Masters

12. Who is your best friend? Adele, Jackson and Xander

13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing

15. What is your favorite drink? Sprite

16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

17. What is your favorite restaurant?  Black Bear Diner

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Bacon

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Chicken and Ritz casserole

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Astronaut and the first man on Pluto

Award Ceremony

 At the 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony, Erika was awarded the Presidential Outstanding Academic Award and the American Citizenship Award.  We could not have been more proud of what a wonderful student and person Erika is!

End of 5th Grade

 There were several activities in June for Erika's end of elementary school journey.  She and the rest of the 5th graders enjoyed field trips to the newly designed public pool, trips to the middle school to see what that's all about, and the best part was three days at Twin Rocks Friends Camp for Outdoor School.  She is currently excited about middle school....hope it stays that way as the summer goes on!

Quick stop at Pacific City before Twin Rocks

And cheese samples and ice cream at Tillamook!

Outdoor school was full of friends, classes, lots of free time running around the camp, a fun dinner and tired girls each night.  I was fortunate to attend as a chaperone and I loved it!

Shark dissection: her favorite activity!

School's Out for Summer!

 We are so excited for summer to begin!!  It is a different kind of last day of school for us as it's Erika's last day at Crater Elementary.  On to middle school for her next year!

Last Day of School - June 2018

First Day of School - September 2012

Healthy Kids Running Series

 The kids participated in a five-week running series in April and May.  Each Sunday, they would meet and run a race.  Levi's age group ran 1/4 mile, Laurel ran 1/2 mile and Erika ran a full mile.  They did very well!  It was so much fun watching them run each week and improve each time.  Laurel came in first place each week...sometimes by 10 seconds!  It was incredible to watch!  Levi usually came in about 4th and Erika was the second girl to cross the finish line.  She ran with boys as well (Levi's age group separated boys and girls) and she ran with a friend of hers from school who really pushed and challenged her.  After the first race, Erika wasn't sure if running was for her, but she shaved two minutes off her time and by the end was really looking forward to running the mile!  We are so proud of them for trying something new and a healthy lifestyle they can keep with them for years.

Church Family Camp

The kids and I had a blast at our church family retreat at Camp Yamhill this past weekend.  Matt had to stay home with Griffey because he is too little to leave home alone for long.  But hopefully next year he will join us.  We went out Friday night in time for a hamburger dinner.  We had a guest speaker who did an amazing job encouraging us with a discipling mindset.  The kids participated in a "no talent" show.  Laurel did a cartwheel routine with her friend and Levi told a riddle.  On Saturday, we had more classes, games, and ended with a zip line.  We were so blessed to spend a beautiful weekend with our church family who loves us.  I am so glad the kids get to have all ages of people in their lives who value and support them.  God has truly blessed our lives with our church family.

Laurel did the "cookie face" challenge and won!  She was the first person to get a Chips Ahoy cookie from her forehead to her mouth only using her face muscles.  She was a rock star!

Erika tried knocking over plastic cup pyramid with a Nerf gun.  On her first shot, the pyramid fell down on top of itself in a beautiful motion!

Levi tried his hand at Jedi training.  He had to go against two other people and hit them with a pool noodle while blindfolded before they hit him.  He got out first but loved it.

The highlight was probably the zip line.  They all went down it and had a blast!  Erika had done the zip line two years ago but it was the first time for Laurel or Levi.  On the way down, Levi somehow managed to clip a tree branch with his helmet.  He brought the broken branch home with him for memories.