Ember - 14 years old

 EMBER TURNS 14!!

And just like that Ember is 14! This may be the last year that she is shorter than me. And she is not only growing physically, but she is becoming more grown up and mature in every aspect of life. It is wonderful to have a front row seat to watch the beautiful (inside and out) young woman that Ember is turning into more and more each year.

At 14, Ember is 61 inches tall and weighs about 89 pounds. She continues to enjoy having her own room and still keeps it nice and tidy without any reminders from us. Ember goes to bed between 8:30-9:00 each night depending on school night or the weekend and wakes up on her own to an alarm on school days. She often will sleep in till 8:30-9:00 if we don't have anything going on. We still will sing her "Let me Call you Sweetheart" at bedtime. She no longer calls for her Daddy to come touch her fingers but she still likes him to go into her room when she is ready to go to sleep.

Ember has always been responsible overall, but she is growing more responsible and independent each year. We do not have to worry about if she has done her homework, grabbed what she needs for after school activities or taken a shower. She does what needs to be done with plenty of time to spare and to the best of her ability. She is intelligent and bright but also loves to be goofy and silly at times as well. She is organized and prefers things go a certain way in many aspects of life. Other times, she is more laid back and ready to jump into last minute plans with no hesitation.

Ember's favorite things revolve around doing the things that she enjoys with her family and friends. Ember enjoys sports very much and enjoys playing on a team or simply practicing the sports she likes with someone. She is often hitting a volleyball around or kicking a soccer ball back and forth with someone. She still enjoys riding her bike and scooter around the house or to the train tracks and back. She will randomly do a workout with her brothers or an ab routine with a friend on Facetime. Ember still loves to read books when she has down time. Trips continue to be one of Ember's favorite things. Her top choice remains Mexico but she loves going on hunting trips, to Lake Powell, to Lost Canyon or to any amusement park as well. Ember continues to be daring and enjoys trying new things. She likes swimming and ice skating. She enjoys trying new tricks at Levitate and going to the movie theater. One of her favorite things each year is the special time that she gets with her dad at the Daddy Daughter Ball that the City of Flagstaff puts on. Ember likes talking to friends and her cousin on Facetime and hanging out with friends whenever she has the chance. She enjoys going to our church's youth group and especially likes the worship. Ember has been recording herself singing songs on an app for fun and enjoys listening to various types of music. Ember still greatly enjoys doing her own nails or nails for a friend or her mom. She is taking more time these days to get ready for the day but isn't obsessed with her looks or what to wear. Ember still enjoys baking and cooking when she has a chance to do those things. She will play game like Solitaire, James Bond and Speed with her brothers. Some of her current favorite foods are: breakfast burrito, avocado toast, soups, bread, Caesar salad, almond butter, yogurt, salt and vinegar chips, ribs, pizza, and almost any kind of fruit.

Some of Ember's biggest struggles revolve around pride and control. Since Ember is so organized and structured, she dislikes when things are out of control or not going as she would like them to. This can lead to her being argumentative and thinking that her way is best. She can lack grace and patience when things don't come as easy for others as things tend to come for her. Ember dislikes being rushed. Her setting her own alarm each morning has really helped with this struggle. She also doesn't like having to wake up early on the weekends. We can tell when Ember is "hangry" and it is amazing how just eating a little snack can transform her attitude and countenance. She has grown and matured in so many ways throughout the years but there is always more room for growth. 

It was another great year of growth and new things for Ember. She continues to do well academically and be above grade level in both reading and math. She is a good, diligent student and often helps others around her. She has guitar as one of her electives at school and has enjoyed learning the basics of playing an instrument. Ember took on the challenge of reading through the whole Bible this year starting in January and has stuck to it so far. Ember takes her Bible and notepad to church and takes notes each week on the sermon. She went on her first youth group trip to Lake Powell this summer with our church and had a great time there. Ember got an iPad last Christmas that she uses to communicate with her friends and family and play games on when she can have screen time. Ember was allowed to start wearing mascara at the beginning of the school year. She was in her first formal wear at her cousin Kiley's wedding and got to hand out programs as the guests arrived. Ember got her first big game kill while hunting when she killed her first javelina! She went to her first spring training baseball game and got to try the Canyon Coaster in Williams for the first time. She made the Varsity junior high volleyball team and the Junior Varsity high school volleyball team this year which kept her busy with practices every day and some out of town games as well. Ember got braces put on right before her 14th birthday and will have them on for a couple of years. 

Ember truly is a special girl. God has gifted her in many areas of life and given her a kind and caring heart towards others. She has some spark to her which makes her want to stand up for what is fair and right but she definitely has a softer and sillier side as well. She is growing and changing so much each and every year but, at the same time, she is still so much like she was as a little girl 10 years ago. We are thankful to be her parents and love her so very much! 

BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES: 

Ember choose chia pudding for breakfast! 

Next, Ember opened her presents. Since she wasn't having a party this year, she wanted to update her bedroom some. She spent the morning changing out her comforter, rearranging pillows and blankets and picking out pictures for her new cork board that Dad helped her hang.

We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch! 

Ember chose smoked ribs for dinner. We ate a fairly early dinner and then went Trick or Treating in Bellemont with friends. She dressed up as Piglet and some of her friends dressed up as other Winnie the Pooh characters. 

We had ice cream another night to celebrate Ember's birthday again! 

Ember's 14 Year Interview:

Favorite color? Light pink, light blue, light green and light yellow

Favorite hobby? Doing nails or hanging out with friends

Favorite food? TJ's Takis, soup, Italian food, BBQ

A food you don't really like? granola bars

Favorite thing to watch? Dude Perfect, Ryan Trahan, Jordan Matter

Favorite place to go? Mexico and Lake Powell

Favorite book? The Bible and Hunger Games

Favorite song? Worship songs and Morgan Wallen

Favorite restaurant? Pane Vino (Mexico) and Chick Fil-A

Favorite thing to do each day? Sleep

Favorite thing to do with Mom? Nails

Favorite thing to do with Dad? Hunt

What makes you happy? My friends

What is something scary? Being embarrassed

What are you really good at? Sports, singing, making my friends laugh

Who is your best friend? Emmerson, Adeline, Collette, Evi, Evelyn, Carlotta, Thea, Alexis

What do you want to be when you grow up? Something you have to go to beauty school for

What do you think about before you fall asleep? My day and good thing I'd want to have happen to me

Here are some more pictures from the last year! 

Reece - 11 years old

Reece turns 11 years old!

Wow! Reece is 11! He is gifted in so many ways and we are thankful to watch him learn and grow each year. He is uniquely special and we love him so much! 

Reece is about 55 inches tall and 67 pounds at age eleven. He continues to share a room with Kade and Reece still sleeps on the top bunk of their bunk bed. He faithfully wears his sleep mask every night and falls asleep quickly. He goes to bed around 7:45-8:00 on a normal night and still is our earliest riser. 6:00 am is sleeping in for Reece. 

Reece is always moving and always making noises while at home. He loves to be active and loves having someone to do something with him. He is quieter and more shy in bigger groups but not that way at all when he is comfortable. He can be super engaged and helpful with unique or new tasks but has a hard time finding the motivation to do his weekly chores without complaining. 

Reece's favorite things still mostly revolve around being outdoors and active. This last year he played flag football, basketball, soccer and started cross country. At home, he loves being outside playing basketball, kickball, sharks and minnows or kicking his soccer ball around on the turf. He loves riding his bike and scooter. He still often will make a fort and catch bugs and lizards in the backyard. He has been playing/practicing volleyball often with Ember as well. Reece loves doing things with his friends - whether that is playing at our house, playing at one of their houses or going to a park or Levitate. He continues to love hunting and fishing and will always jump at the chance to do either one of those. Reece loves our yearly trips to Lake Powell and Mexico and he is always excited to go camping. He is adventurous and likes doing the Flag X ropes course, jumping off 20 foot cliffs at Lake Powell and Clear Creek and doing the zipline and swing at Lost Canyon. He loves to swim and he enjoys skiing at Snowbowl as well. Reece likes going one on one with Dustin or I - whether that is to a store, to shift change at the laundromat or to Home Depot. Some of Reece's current favorite foods are: cereal, baked oatmeal, bananas, corn dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, frozen grapes, fig bars, Zbars, pizza, smoked pulled pork and a tortilla with honey in it. He still remembers to get a piece of gum every day and really likes fruit juice otter pops in the summer time.

Reece doesn't play with toys as often as he used to, but will still occasionally pull out his Lego box and create something from his imagination with those. He will sit down and play with our magnetic tiles or his snap circuits at times as well. Him and Kade are often wrestling and throwing balls around their room at each other or at their small basketball hoop. Reece enjoys dribbling his silent basketball around his room and the house. He will get out a remote control car or his drone randomly and play with those until the batteries die. Reece still really likes Monopoly. He has also been playing Speed and James Bond often with his siblings. He likes to try and make a card tower and will occasionally sketch. Reece doesn't necessarily enjoy reading but when he HAS to read he likes "The Wild Robot" series and "The Bad Guys" graphic novels. He also enjoys the "I Survived" books.

Reece can be very easy going but just as often he can be a complainer that tends to only notice the negative and not appreciate the positive. Reece doesn't enjoy working on school work/homework that (in his mind) is too difficult for him. He isn't a fan of doing his laundry and other chores each week. Reece dislikes drawing unnecessary attention to himself. He is often complaining about a certain body part hurting him. 

It has been another big year of firsts and learning for Reece. He got drawn for his first tag this year - a javelina tag. Unfortunately once it was his turn to hunt, we didn't see any more javelinas. Reece was a ring bearer for the first time at his cousin's wedding in April. Reece decided that he wanted to try cross country and completed a challenge to run 100 miles over the summer. As a 5th grader this year, Reece got to go on the 5th-12th grade trip to Lost Canyon for the first time. He had a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a river trip in the Grand Canyon with his dad and others for a week where he got to try multiple new things. According to his teacher, Reece is doing great at school. He works hard and diligently to finish his work and then he is willing to help other students. He continues to be one grade level ahead in math and at grade level for reading/ELA. He has grown in participating and being more comfortable with being in front of his class with the spotlight on him. He is kind to his friends and classmates. He continues to grow in his knowledge of the Bible and scripture memory. We continue to pray that God softens Reece's heart and that he will be saved while still young.

Reece consistently makes us proud, challenges us, frustrates us and makes us laugh. Like everyone, he has his good days and bad days and everything in between. We truly are thankful for who God made him to be and for the honor it is to be his parents. We love you, Reecey Boy! 

Birthday Fun:

We did a same day birthday party for both boys in mid-August. We rented and set up an inflatable water slide in our driveway and set up our slip n' slide in the backyard grass and let the kids go wild and play! 

For Reece's actual birthday, he wanted an apple pecan oatmeal bake for breakfast.

Dustin picked Reece up from school and took him to a special lunch at Chick Fil-A. 

We had his birthday dinner of choice on my birthday! He wanted a charcuterie board! We had mango helados with Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday treat. 

Reece has been saving up for an archery bow and finally saved up enough to get one with his birthday money he received. 

Reece's 11 Year Interview:

Favorite color? Orange

Favorite toy? Silent basketball

Favorite food? Meat

A food you don't really like? Tortellini

Favorite thing to watch? Dude Perfect

Favorite place to go? Florida

Favorite book? "The Wild Robot.

Favorite song? "Up" - Forrest Frank and Connor Price

Favorite restaurant? Chick Fil-A

Favorite thing to do each day? See friends

Favorite thing to do with Mommy? Going on one on one dates

Favorite thing to do with Daddy? Going to shift change at Supermat

What makes you happy? Seeing Mom and Dad after not seeing them for a while

What is something scary? Being in front of a group

What are you really good at? Running and getting hurt

Who are your best friends? Sam, Shep, Chance, Weston, Nolan

What do you want to be when you grow up? Helicopter pilot

What do you think about before you fall asleep? Nothing - I just sleep

Here are a few more pictures from the past year:

Kade - 8 years old

                                                                       Kade turns 8! 

Another birthday and another year with our fun-loving, silly boy. Kade keeps us laughing and always keeps us guessing about what he is going to do next.

Kade is about 44 inches tall and weighs 43 pounds. Him and Reece continue to share a room with bunk beds and Kade sleeps on the bottom bunk. He usually goes to bed around 7:45- 8:00 after we sing "Silent Night" to him while scratching or tickling his back. He will then repeatedly say "Good night," "See you in the morning" and "I love you" until we get to the bedroom door and close it. Kade often wakes up around 6:00 am and plays with Reece in their room for a while. When he has a chance, Kade will sleep in till around 7:00-7:30 am. 

Kade still continues to be a happy little boy. He loves to be silly and make people laugh and has the best faces and facial expressions. He is kind to those around him and desires to make good decisions. He will randomly walk up to us with his arms open and say "Huggy?" He is happy to help when asked. He is up for just about anything life throws at him. He just gets a little too silly and out of control at times in trying to make the people around him smile and laugh.

Kade loves to be around other people -whether that be his family or his friends. He loves having playdates and asks to have them often. He gets so excited when he has someone to play with when we go to Ember and Reece's sports practices and games. He spends alot of time outside. He loves playing kickball with Reece, riding on scooters and bikes and rollerblading. He likes playing "sharks and minnows" with flag football flags on the turf. Kade loves catching lizards or bugs and making habitats for them in containers. Kade loves going on trips - whether it is camping, Lake Powell, Mexico or a new adventure. He loves swimming. He is starting to enjoy things like fishing and crawdad catching more and more. He loves going to Levitate or the Aquaplex. He really likes getting "special drinks" and popsicles and he never forgets his daily piece of gum. Some of Kade's favorite foods are: cereal, breakfast burritos, chia pudding, bananas, berries, corn dogs, salami, pizza, frozen grapes, pulled pork, ribs, and a honey tortilla. Kade continues to have the biggest sweet tooth of our kids and will never turn down a treat. 

When Kade isn't playing outside, he's usually good at finding something to do inside. He has been really into building forts with blankets. He still loves building with the Picasso magnetic tiles. He enjoys doing Legos. He will randomly pull out craft supplies and make something creative.  Reece and him will still often do trick shots with the small basketball hoop in their room. One of the things he does the most is wrestle and giggle with Reece on the rug in their room. Kade loves fidget toys and little trinkets. He will play with infinity cubes, slinkies, squishies, small cube puzzles, etc often. He has acquired quite the collection. Kade got much better at reading this past year and enjoyed reading "Splat the Cat" and "High-Rise Private Eyes" books over the summer for the summer reading program. Other books he requests we read to him often are: The Bad Guys, Grumpy Monkey, I Just Ate My Friend and Dragons Love Tacos 1 and 2. Kade is getting more and more able to play and enjoy card games. He has been playing Speed with Ember and Reece and is able to occasionally beat them. He still will play War and Solitaire often as well. He, of course, till loves playing Shawn and other silly games with his Dad. 

Although Kade is agreeable and positive over all, he has some things that frustrate him or annoy him. He doesn't like always having to tag along to drive his siblings to and from their various sports practices and games. He is not usually excited about having to take a shower. He will sometime get easily offended by something his siblings say to him as a joke. Some foods he doesn't like are hotdogs (he'll eat them but would rather not), tomatoes and salmon. 

As stated above, Kade has grown alot in his ability to read this past year. He is always eager to try to figure out bigger words himself and can get most of them. He is still continuing to do well at math as well. He is excited when he knows his weekly Bible verse and loves trying to answer the questions during our nightly devotion time. He got the award of "Prayerful Heart" from his teacher at the end of first grade. Kade is growing in his adventurousness. We did the Lava Tubes and he wasn't scared at all during that. He also jumped off a MUCH bigger cliff than he would previously when we went to Clear Creek recently. He played flag football for the first time and improved immensely after just one season and helped lead his team to win the championship ring. Kade got to be a ring bearer and wear a suit for the first time this past year when his cousin Kiley got married in Florida.

Kade truly is a sweet boy to be around and greatly liked by many. He is creative and genuinely funny. He is an integral part of this family and it wouldn't be even close to the same without him! Happy 8th birthday, Kade! We love you very much.

BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES:

We celebrated Kade's birthday the night before his birthday this year because of the FCS Lost Canyon trip starting on his actual birthday for Ember and Reece. Kade wanted pizza. So, we got delicious pizza at NiMarco's.

Then we went back home and had ice cream sundaes for dessert! 

The next morning on Kade's actual birthday, he wanted chia pudding for breakfast.

Kade opened a few presents! He got a new Razor scooter, a silent basketball, a new metal slinky and some money and gift cards. 

The weekend after Kade's birthday, we rented an inflatable waterslide and had a birthday party for Kade here with some good buddies.

Here is Kade's 8 year interview! 

Favorite color? Green

Favorite toy? Remote control car

Favorite food? Chia pudding

A food you don't really like? Soup

Favorite thing to watch? Boonie Bears

Favorite place to go? Costa Rica

Favorite book? Magic Treehouse

Favorite song? "Okay" - Forrest Frank

Favorite restaurant? Texas Road House

Favorite thing to do each day? Scooters 

What do you and Mommy do together? Hug

What do you and Daddy do together? Shawn

What makes you happy? Funny stuff

What is something scary? The dark

What are you really good at? Soccer and playing

Who is your best friend? Cam, Jasper, Trenton, Declan, Jaxon, Otto, Brixton, Emiliono

What do you want to be when you grow up? Laundromat owner

What do you think about before you fall asleep? Happy stuff

Here are a few more pictures from the past year: