You Know What They Say...

It's great to be 8!

Uncle James came into town for the weekend to celebrate Jamie's 8th birthday on January 21st. Jamie requested his favorite meal: spaghetti, salad & garlic bread. Then we opened presents & had a big two-layer cake that I made from scratch. It was huge & far too big for us to finish. I guess when it called for 5 cups of flour, I should've clued in. 

 The matching ring-cap shooting toy pistols & holsters were a big hit. We had to get Anna her own so they could uphold the law together.

 On Monday, we went to Boomer's to ride the race cars & bumper boats. Boomers lets you do anything you want for free on your birthday. So this is a must:

 {getting wet.}

 Adam snapped a photo of my mom, dad & I. 

James is an absolute joy to be around. He is super sweet, kind to others, & thoughtful. He tries so hard to be patient with his little sister. They get along famously, most of the time :). He is learning so much this year in 2nd grade. Multiplication, diagramming sentences, & all about our solar system.  He still struggles a bit with reading. He LOVES to be read to, Adam & he just finished reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia set by C.S. Lewis! But he is not eager to read aloud. So I got him Diary of a Wimpy Kid & he's been reading it at night to himself before falling asleep. I have no idea what he is really understanding or if he is getting every single word, but he tells me all about it every now & again, so he's picking something up which is fabulous. Life with this boy just keeps getting better. We love you, James Newell, and are SO glad you are a part of our family!