Celebrating Ben's birthday

Happy 9th birthday, Benjamin!

Dear Ben,

Happy birthday! Wow... 9 years. The time has flown by, but it also feels like you've always been a part of our family.

Through these years, you have grown into a bright, creative, caring young man.

At age 9, you absolutely adore sports. You like playing sports, watching sports, talking about sports, studying sports statistics, and making up your own pretend sports schedules. Football, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, tennis... professional, college... you love it all. 

Your favorite school subjects are math and spelling. At home, you enjoy building legos, drawing, riding your bike, playing with Travis & Libby, inventing games, and throwing your football.

We love you so much, buddy. Thanks for bringing lots of fun and joy to our home.

Estrella Winterfest

Enjoying January

After paying our (unpleasant weather) dues with a blistering summer, we're loving Arizona's warm January afternoons.

Strep throat, round 2

Travis was so excited for his class field trip to the Arizona Science Center today. Then, he woke up with a very sore throat and an array of symptoms that seemed a little too similar to his most recent round of strep in November.

Dr. Patel confirmed it: strep again. No field trip. Bummer.

Thankfully, Travis is pretty content with building legos in his room all day.

Firefighters

The other day, Libby and I stood in Safeway's checkout line behind some firefighters. They gave Libby a sticker and a temporary tattoo... then asked if we'd like a tour of the fire truck.

Charlie Bacon

The author Gary Hogg came to speak at the boys' school. Ben participated in a skit-- and was given a signed copy of Charlie Bacon!

We learned that Gary Hogg was born in Idaho and graduated from BYU. Two very exciting points to this kid! 

Ben loved reading Charlie Bacon; he's even writing his latest book report about it. 

Thanks, Mr. Hogg!

Unwinding

Ben's favorite way to unwind: throwing or kicking a ball.

Travis' favorite way to unwind: building legos.

Libby's favorite way to unwind: spending time with others. Legos and football both work great.

Long walk with Leo

When Libby's in preschool (and the boys are in class), I usually scramble to run errands or clean the house. While that's not the most fun use of time, some tasks are easier to tackle by myself.

Yesterday, I decided to take those preschool hours to recharge. I felt pretty tightly-wound after winter break and needed some time to just breathe. So Leo and I went for a long, leisurely walk. 

Turns out we do get fall colors here... in January. 

Ahh. Sunshine, fresh air, and solitude.

 Perfect.

Cousins' visit

Clarke, Charlotte, Brock, Cami, and Kyle visited from Idaho last week. We had a great time catching up, playing, and spending time with them. Thanks for braving that awful drive to come see us!