Noah J turns 11!

We finally got to a have a belated birthday dinner to celebrate our Noah J turning 11!  We were on vacation for his actual birthday and he was so, so sad to miss our normal celebration routine.  So now that things settled down and we were available we finally got to have some fun!

Of course the morning started with name pancakes and his favorite Orange Julius.  Even Owen ate a pancake which is not his fave.  He was super excited about all the decorations!

And then we had everybody over to eat dinner and open gifts.  You know I let them choose the birthday dinner without any interference.  So this year his choice was buttered macaroni noodles with cut up sausage in it!!  Yup.  His idea of gourmet!!  Homemade cornmeal crescent rolls, fresh fruit with dip and some Mist Twist topped it off and he was one happy boy!

Of course he had already gotten his gifts from us and from my parents on the trip so he only had a little bit but he was still thrilled.  He was super tickled with the stash of Star Wars themed origami Joseph made for him!  And then the big daddy of a new PS4 remote topped it off!  I think you can tell how darn tickled Owen was with that remote!  We had quite a time keeping him away from it cause he did not want to give it up after he got his hands on it!

We rounded out the night with some gaming, balloons, and of course some Star Wars masks.  Grandma makes the best wookie!!

Oh, and chocolate cake! He insisted he did not get an awful store bought cake, but a scratch made double decker chocolate cake.  So that is what he got! 11 years in and I know how to make this boy happy!

I adore him so much!  I constantly want to run my hands through his shiny hair and smoosh his little freckled face.  I'm so thankful he is mine to love!  I never dreamed that such a difficult little toddler would grow into such an understanding and precious young man.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this boy!

God's Little Girls Pinning Ceremony

Annie had the best time in her God's Little Girls group this school year!  We met twice a month and had show and tell, devotions, crafts and lots of fun!  Since we are surrounded by boys it was super important to me to find a special place for her to get some girly attention and this was perfect for us.  The boys stayed home and watched Owen (Josh was here too!)  so it was truly girl time!  They work on projects all year and then have a ceremony at the end to receive the pins they earned.  She was super nervous (which is a new thing for this girl!) but so, so happy!  Check out her outfit she picked!

Don't you love the one red glove with the ring?  I feel bad cause I might have made her feel too self conscious about it because after we got into the chapel; I noticed she took it off in front of her friends.  Note to self:  No longer make even slightly joking comments about her choices in clothing and accessories!  I want her to always have the confidence she has now and I want to make sure I'm not one of her stumbling blocks.  Anyways, like I said, she was nervous!

You can see it in her face here.  I even heard her tell the leader she didn't want to go up on stage!  It is so surprising to me because even just a few months ago she wouldn't have thought twice about it.  We  always love to remind her that she is "Brave Annie."

But she did it!  Love her little impish smile!  She cannot wait for next year and neither can I.  We had quite a crazy year and weren't able to focus as much attention as I would have liked on earning pins but we shall remedy that next year.  So much fun and such a blessing for us  both!