Birthdays 2

My Newest Happy Place

 D surprised me by staying home from work on my birthday this year. He sent me on an "as long as you want"  run (such a treat~) where I found a new ridge trail with a view. Then we spent the day together and bless him, he let me decide where to eat (even though it ended up being a crappy coupon-motivated choice -- I'm sure I'm the only wife who gets genuine praise for choosing NOT to save money as he keeps my "thrift gene" in check.) It was lovely to spend some relatively uninterrupted or pounced-upon time with my sweetheart (and of course, Sum and Des, affectionately dubbed Family #2.)

 I proudly share a birthday with two of my brothers. Well, one is the day before mine and one the day after, but we always do a big family party with 3 cakes and I've sorta been missing it. So here was my Instagram shout out to Weston and Marty this year.  :)

 Who can help but feel fully loved with a card such as this?

Or heaps of the world's best chocolate posted straight to my door. (Sidenote: Mer, I may or may not have banned Darren from joining in my late night indulgences, as he tends not to slowly savor each bite like I!)

Conveniently, all seven of our birthdays are spread out once a month from April to October. Will pulls up the rear and ended the birthday run with a shabang.

 

 Cheesecake, shopping spree for treats, shaving cream wars, body paint, the chocolate bar game, endless Nerf wars...

It was his dream combination of friends, Nerf, music, sugar and mess. You can bet I was finding remnants of that "epic" sleepover for weeks afterwards (!)

 Will is the forerunner in this fam and also the guinea pig. I'm grateful for his GUSTO (definitely inherited from his namesake, my Dad) enthusiasm, energy, fairness and strong sense of right and wrong. He's compassionate and sensitive, yet totally full-throttle. An awesome combo.

never was a boy happier to get a little brudder

cool dude's b-day lunch, the boy can put it down

We also commemorated 9/11 helping post flags on the Embassy gates - always a breathtaking display, representing each life lost that fateful day.

And we recently had our 13th wedding anniversary. My mom, a numbers gal who remembers the dates of baptisms, her and Dad's first kiss and even our engagement, left a voicemail with congrats.

Which was a good reminder because... well, we had both forgotten. Aaaahh, at least it's not a reflection of our love. (And truth be told we were climbing out from under the rubble of a week long camping trip at the coast.)

So we celebrated the next day with a family candlelight dinner re-telling all the details of our engagement and wedding then sharing favorite things about our family with each other. Will, newly inspired by his awesome breakfast at Scouts campout, even brought us Cowboy Hash in bed.

I had fun finding D pics. It has been a great 13 - looking forward to as many adventures in the next 13!

The Dad Magnet (bottom: late to church yet again)

Rugby Fever

 We sort of made Will play rugby this year. He had chosen Aussie rules football (AFL) and soccer the previous two years, but we didn't feel his Australian sporting experience would be complete without being on a real rugby team. Well, despite a frustrating and rocky start, not knowing the rules nor a player on the team, our determination paid off and so did his. His team not only made it into the Grand Final, but WON. Made even more exciting by being the first team in his club to win the championship in over 10 years! They had multiple newbies too, so it was definitely a win worth celebrating.

The boys were to be doubly commended for rallying after a setback mid-season. Their assistant coach got a bit over zealous with the youth ref who was making some terrible calls during an away game. Just so happened the teen's Dad was a cop - they took it to the Club and the assistant was fired, then the coach resigned, taking with him their two top players. The team almost fell apart. And yet... they pulled together for a fantastic end of season. Way to stick with it Will!

Des thinking he's gonna be all over this someday

Officially recognized at the Club

Watching the local Brumbies last season. It sure made it more fun when we knew a bit more about the game. (I kept smiling at these signs - a "try" is like a score/goal/touchdown.)

who cares about rugby when cute Georgia's around??

William Pollock

Art is not his favorite subject. He's never excelled at or been drawn to artsy/crafty/creative things. Unless... they involve BUILDING stuff or are outrageously MESSY. His recent school art exhibit gave him the chance to really go at it in the messy department.

Inspired by none other than Jackson Pollock (a school field trip allowed him to admire this original at the Australian National Gallery here in Canberra) he let loose with the paints and I must say we were all impressed with the end result.

I like that it required practice and time and patience and planning and waiting (for each of those layers to dry.) He liked that he could just splat and spray and dribble and plop to his heart's content and see what blossomed on the canvas.

Maybe there's a little artist in there after all...

I loved seeing him so proud. And he was certainly a hit at the fancy art show - all night he had a crowd admiring his "work" and asking questions. Love that kid.

Double Digits

I can't believe we have a 10 year old. Amazing. I die a little inside every time he takes another step toward maturity; crushing on a girl or particular about his hair or excited about his first deodorant. But I remind myself it's all good - this is how it's meant to be so I better just enjoy the ride while we're still on it.

 I love this boy. Poor soul has had the brunt of all our parenting experiments, but is thankfully ever-forgiving. Totally into music, he's starting to hone the moves to match his grooves. He's an active one - always has been. And while he keeps us on our toes, I love his socialite tendencies. Always the first to suggest an activity or pull out a game. A bit of a sensory kid, he craves touch and roughhousing and abhors uncomfortable clothing or haircuts. He's clever, conscientious, helpful and fun. Life gets boring, albeit quieter, when he's out of the house.

Will's festivities fortunately came before all the recent hullabaloo. Normally we keep things low key, but he offered to forgo gifts from us if we'd host his party at Laser Zone, and even agreed to pay for the pizza himself. Deal. It was a blast. And his friends were crazy energetic. And I was so glad to come home to a clean house. 

never shied away from the center of attention, this one

intently reviewing all their laser tag stats over pizza

 Almost every one of his friends gave him a different Nerf gun, so you can imagine the action that ensued around here in the days following... And his best mate cousin sent him this outrageous slingshot (that now we can't find because Dad hid it when the kids ran home in tears after Will hit a car on his first go, not knowing it would shoot way beyond the field, and the guy turned around and chewed the girls out because Will took off in fear - sad story. Don't worry, Mer, we'll try again when Dad remembers where he hid it and Will gets his nerve back after the trauma.)

Happy Birthday, my crazy boy. Although I sort of want to force you back into that little tow-headed toddler body that captured all our hearts, thanks for still letting me love on you so much despite your rapidly growing stature. And thanks for being a superb big brother and solid example to all your little sibs (except when you slingshot a car and let them take the heat for it.) You rock.