40 years old

I felt the love from so many on my birthday and enjoyed all the birthday wishes. I spent the day at home with kids, getting things done around the house, and the evening with friends at the Barlow basketball games—exactly where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I ended the day with my favorite cake (thanks to Mom!) and watching “I Love Lucy” with Greg and all four kids. I think I’m going to like 40. :-)  I leave in 2 weeks to head to Disneyland with Jane for three days. Can't wait!

Joel 4.0

Joel earned a 4.0 for the first trimester of 7th grade, and I was able to go to the Success Celebration at his school for students on the honor roll and their parents.  I've been to several of these for Kari and for Joel last year, but this one was different because it was only for students on the honor roll and all the grades were together. Joel does a great job of keeping on top of his assignments and earning good grades, and it was great to see so many of his friends having academic success, as well. The kids just liked getting out of class and having juice and cookies. :-)

Joel's 13th Birthday

It was a friend party year for Joel, and he requested a party at a gym where he could play sports with his friends. So, we brought pizza and ice cream to Mt. Hood Athletic Club, and he and 12 friends played dodge ball, basketball, and field hockey for an hour and half after they ate and did presents. They had a blast! It was fun for us to watch them play and enjoy running around together.

Later that night we had family over to celebrate with Joel. Got it all in on one day, his actual birthday. :-)

Sledding

We ventured up Mt. Hood to play in the snow on New Year's Day again this year. It was a gorgeous day. A bit of an icy drive, but we didn't have to put chains on. No one got hurt, and we had a great time enjoying the snow and the clear day.