Josh turns 11

Dear Josh,

Happy Birthday to you! What a fun year it’s been. Some of my favorite highlights include going to the Great Wolf Lodge and watching conquer your fears and do the Wolf Tail slide. Also, cheering you on all summer as you worked so hard and became the U10 Tennis State Champ! I have never been so nervous in my life as watching you play in those finals. You gave it your all and all the hours of practice paid off. And remember that funny day over Spring Break when EVERYTHING went wrong? Another highlight of this year was our Disney Cruise. It was so fun to see you and Ezra be independent and have such a great time swimming, playing video games, eating ice cream and roaming the ship. My favorite thing was that you never stayed for dessert at dinner time because the two of you were so anxious to be off on your next adventure. You’ve also grown a lot in emotional ways. You have such a great gift to be able to see all sides of a story and to give good insight. I adore snuggling with you and having our “Limp Noodle” snuggle session at the end of every day. You and Dad have also loved reading Wings of Fire series and now you are on to Ender’s Game.

5th grade has been a fun year so far. You and Blake bike home from school everyday and I know that it can try your patience to wait for him. But I appreciate that you keep trying. You are doing 100 mile club again and just this week you reached 50 miles. I love watching you go after you dreams. Young Ameritown, the 5th grade field trip, didn’t disappoint. You were such a great Manager of the Bank, Mr. Banks 🙂 You are in a 6th grade math class. You were nervous at the beginning of the year that it might be too hard, but you’ve done so well and showed real grit as you stuck to it.

I love how you’ve grown your hair long this year. It looks so cute and really suits you. I like that you know what you want and that you stick to your guns in getting it. You are still a 4 Square Addict and have recently developed a great love for Studio C.

You are still in love with the Croissant, Egg, Bacon breakfast sandwich. I think if you could eat anything on the planet, that would be it.

We sold lots and lots of shave ice this summer. Our favorite day was on the 3rd of July when Chic-Fil-a was also there. Shave ice AND chicken sandwiches? What could be better than that??

You are obsessed with your latest creation–a PineTurtleApple. You draw them on every scrap of paper you can get your hands on and talk about them all of the time.

I just love and adore you so much. Never stop being you. Always be true to yourself in word and actions and never be afraid to let others see the real you. I love this quote by Dr. Seuss “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” And the world is such a better place for having you in it.

Love, Mom

Josh’s birthday party this year was a BLAST. We went to X-Arena on the day before your birthday for Ninja Warrior type play. We climbed tall ladders, jousted, swung around on harnesses, worked together in teams and all around just had a great time. A favorite was the Wrecking Ball. See Blake and Nolan in action in the video below.

We came home and ate pizza, had Texas Sheet Cake and opened presents.

For your birthday breakfast you chose an egg and bacon sandwich on white bread, which we then grill up like a grilled cheese. DELICIOUS. I wrapped all your lunch food in wrapping paper inside your lunchbox for a little birthday surprise. For dinner we had Mac and Cheese from Costco. Another favorite.

Your favorite presents were a Plasma Ball from G&G Cornell, and a watch from G&G Banks. And, of course, the traditional $11 for 11 years.