We survived another year! Everyone is a little bit bigger, and some things have gotten somewhat easier, but chaos generally rules at our house and there’s always lots of noise and lots of boys!
Highlights for Jared include: participating in open water swims throughout the summer at the local reservoirs. His favorite distance was the two mile swim! (It was fun for me because I was often able to be a safety kayaker and watch the races from out on the water.) Jared was able to go on a special fishing trip for an entire week to Oregon with his Dad and Brother. He came home with lots of fish and a full grown beard! One of the biggest accomplishments for Jared was the delivery of three Firehawk Helicopters. After eighteen months of working on them, we were able to go in as a family the night before delivery to check them out. The boys were so impressed, and they were a little disappointed that we could not keep them. They kept asking why Dad had to sell them. Firehawk Helicopters are multi-role helicopters whose primary role is to fight fires. It not only has firefighting capabilities including being able to obtain and carry water to the fire site, they can also be used for medical evacuation and transportation for Search and Rescue.
Jacob is 14 and in the eighth grade. After nine years at the same school, he is looking forward to moving on to High School! (Me, I’m not so sure!) Highlights for him include being a part of the team that won the Championship Game for Soccer for his Middle School team. Having been a part of the team for four years, it was so fun to see the boys celebrate, especially knowing where they started four years back. Jacob loves soccer, he participated on his Middle School Basketball team, and he loves connecting with his friends on-line to play whatever game happens to be popular at the moment.
Titan is 13 years old and has now earned the title of teenager!! He also was a part of the Champion Soccer team, and we loved watching him play defense! He is never afraid to take on boys bigger than he is, and he has a fierceness that makes it fun to watch him! Titan played Middle School Basketball and did a great job, often playing as point guard. Titan went to Oregon to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Moyer over the summer. He was spoiled with fresh fish, playing at the beach, and lots of attention. Right now Titan’s loves include soccer, futsal, D&D (a role-playing game) and food. This kid can eat and eat and eat! His favorites include salad, sushi, Qdoba tacos, chili, cilantro lime rice, and anything sweet!
Beckett is nine years old and in the third grade. He has decided that he really like lacrosse. He loves to chase after and hit people, so we are thinking this is the perfect sport for him! Beckett loves all things Harry Potter, and he loved listening to all the books on audio. (And I loved listening along side him when we had them in our Overdrive account.) Beckett is super creative and loves to engage his younger brothers in play, especially when it involves swords and Nerf guns. Right now Beckett is loving getting his hands on Graphic Novels. We make frequent trips to the library so he can pick up new ones.
Caleb is seven years old and in the first grade. Having him start full-day school was quite an adjustment for me and the triplets. They surely missed their favorite playmate for the first few weeks of school! Caleb is super easy going and generally happy with anything. He has loved playing basketball at the rec center, but constantly entertains us with his skipping down the court and silly antics. He is loving reading, and it is so fun to see him pick up books and dive in. Caleb participated in swim team over the summer, along with his older brothers. Caleb’s favorites include building Legos, reading books snuggled in my lap, playing games on the computer, and playing with his brothers.
The triplets are five (yes, five!! How in the world did that happen??) and in preschool. All three are in separate classes and loving it! They have already informed me that next year I will home all alone by myself! They all have such unique and different personalities. Most days they are best friends and happily play together and love each other. They love to play outside, especially when they have a pile of work trucks and shovels. They all love Legos, and for the most part they can build their sets with limited help. The triplets are like Hobbits and usually have a second breakfast after the older boys have left for school, and then they tell me they are hungry for the rest of the day. All three can ride two-wheeler bikes since age four (and Zeke was age 3 3/4), and that has been really fun! The triplets love to swim, and we try to make it to the pool at least once a week. It’s awesome because we go when everyone else is in school and the pool is empty! The triplets are all obsessed with their wearing their pajamas. They often don’t change out of their pajamas until it’s time to go to school. And then I have one or two of them who wear their pajamas under their clothes so they can change back into them as soon as we get to the car. They definitely keep me on my toes on a daily basis.
McKade is Mr. Chatterbox and talks my ear off all day long! This boy has something to say about everything!! He also doesn’t ever stop moving! We often find him doing handstands all over the house. Some of his favorites include: Spiderman, listening to Spiderman and Superhero books on Playaways with his headphones, listening to and singing along to music, building things with Magnet Tiles and blocks, and reading books.
Bowen is our early bird, and I don’t ever have to worry about missing my alarm because he is ALWAYS up before the sun! Bowen loves to look through Lego books and will read through the same Star Wars DK one over and over again (so much so that it is totally falling apart). Bowen is obsessed with fire trucks and firemen. Every time he sees a truck or ambulance drive by he always tells me that he is the driver. I will not be surprised if some day this boy grows up to be a firefighter!
Zeke is our Mr. Independent. He likes to do things his way on his own! He loves pretending he is a kitty and will often be a kitty for any of his older brothers. Zeke loves art projects and has the most patience to sit down and create things. At school his teachers often have to encourage him to move to other centers when they have opportunities to choose. Zeke is a little lover and we often find him showering Jared and myself with kisses.
As for me, the highlight of my year was investing in kayaks. We spent many happy days over the summer out of the house at the local reservoirs soaking up the sun and playing in the sand. The boys have asked many times over the last few weeks how much longer until we can go back and kayak again, so I know they loved it too! We are grateful for the memories we have made and the fun we’ve had together as a family and look forward to new changes and more opportunities for adventure!