Ben is 8!

I can hardly believe that Ben is 8!  Where has the time gone?  Somehow overnight he turned from 

this

to this!  

Ben enjoyed his special day.  He opened up his cards before he went to school.  He was so excited about his $20 bill sent from Uncle Rob and Aunt Di (even more excited than the $50 check from Nana and Boo).  After school he opened up the rest of his presents before we headed off to Red Robin for dinner.  Perhaps his favorite gift of all was his handmade Harry Potter doll from Grandma Gillett.  It was a special request of his!  It was quite the task for her to pull off.....she would have been proud when Jacob yelled, "Harry Potter" the minute he saw it.  I made sure to take pictures and am determined to remember to share the story of his "doll request" for his 8th birthday at his wedding someday!      

After Red Robin we headed home for Ben's very first ice cream cake.  It was good!

After all the festivities were over, Ben told me I could now have the baby!  I'm still waiting.....  

It is truly a joy to have Ben in our home.  He is such a good brother and is adored by his little brother especially.  Here is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them...Ben and his little shadow.  Ben's math teacher summed up Ben's personality perfectly after only one week of school when she said, "Oh, Ben.  So sweet, kind, polite and oh so particular!"

Fall Soccer

Kate had a great time playing soccer this year.  She ran around the field (amidst the masses) with a permanent grin on her face.  Somehow she lucked out and got to be on the pink team.....every little girls dream!  

Ben was really fun to watch this year.  Things clicked and he was great at actually playing his position.  He is an aggressive player and never gives up.  As usual, David told me I yelled too much....I just can't help it!  His team did quite well, they made it all the way to the semi-final game in the tournament, but lost by one goal.  They were satisfied just to make it to the turf field under the lights.  

2012: The year of Harry Potter, the cheerleader and the frog.

Halloween went great this year.  Ben wanted to be Harry Potter (no surprise here).  He attempted to convince Kate to be Hermoine, but she told him she wasn't smart enough.  I was pleased when she decided on the cheerleading costume we already had.  And Jacob fit perfectly into our traditional frog costume....each of the kids have worn it now and I'll never get sick of it.  We started our celebrations with the ward Halloween chili dinner and trunk or treat.  I was soooooo glad when it was over....I was in charge!  Here are a couple pictures from the night.  

On Halloween, our neighborhood had a potluck dinner prior to trick or treating.  We have quite a group of kids in the neighborhood.  Everyone had a great time.  David definitely deserved an award for assisting Jacob the entire night while I watched from the street.