Ben's Birthday, World Down Syndrome Day and Ben's Brigade Fundraiser.

Today is Ben's 6th Birthday.  It has been a wonderful journey and we have been blessed to have Ben in our lives.  I will admit that it has not always been easy, (like today at the Doctors office with his annual blood draw), but it has always been more than worth it.  So enjoy this video that covers Ben's first 6 years, includes some facts about Down syndrome and an invitation to join us tomorrow,   March 21 and celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing lots of socks, where ever you are.

And if you happen to be in South East Nebraska, join us on Saturday March 22,  for the 

2nd Annual Ben's Brigade Birthday Party and Fundraiser

Teenagers!

Can you believe we have had a teenager in the house for over 2 weeks?   Not just a regular teenager.  A teenager who saved most of his Christmas and Birthday money to buy a phone.  He controlled his impulse to purchase the first phone he saw,  researched, found a good deal on a phone and has a better plan then I do.  I have to admit that I am jealous!  But the constant beeping from all his text messages is starting to get a bit old.  :)

So proud of this boy.  Even through the hoodie wearing, texting, sulking, moody days he is able to keep up  with quiz bowl,  basketball, band, choir, and 4-h, all the while staying on the honor roll.  Keep up the great work John!

Too Close to Being a Teenager

Belated birthday wishes go out to John, our oldest son, who turned 12 last week.  He is growing up so fast, and some times I think he already has the attitude of a teenager.
For Christmas he wanted an iPod touch.  However, since I have a strict policy that I will not buy better technology for my kids than I currently own, I told him he could save money and buy one for himself.  This had to be a safe bet right?  There is no way he could save/ earn over $200 very fast, so I thought he would be saving most of the year.
I was wrong,
He had it earned/ saved/ was gifted $275 by Christmas Eve. 

He ordered one, and got it the week before his birthday.  But a day before it arrived he made a big mistake.  He lied that his homework was done and played PlayStation before going to his game.  The rule at our house is that homework and piano are done before TV, video games or sports events.  At his game I found out from another mother that some very difficult homework had been assigned.  So on the way home from the game, I asked him about it.  He said "Oh yea, that was too hard, and I needed help, so I don't have that homework done.  
What?
So in addition to losing PlayStation privileges, I also refused to set up his iTunes account which meant no apps for his iPod touch.  (It worked out pretty good because I was not about to put my credit card information on his account, and risk having unlimited amounts charged to it.)    It was torture for him to be able to see all the cool apps he could get, but not download any of them.   Finally for his Birthday we got him a small iTunes gift card so he could finish setting up the iTunes account and download a few apps.  The iPod touches are pretty cool even with out apps, but even I have to admit that some of the apps are way cool.  I can't wait to use it to find some learning apps for Ben. 
Anyway here are some pictures of my oldest, taken at some of his basketball games lately along with one of my favorites from this summer. 

I just wish I could talk him into a hair cut like this one.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Happy 8th B-day Noah!

We celebrated Noah's Birthday, Saturday with a scavenger hunt for the boys in his class.  OK.  It really was not a scavenger hunt.  It was more like a contest with clues.  We split the boys into two teams:  Black and Tan and gave them hats in their team colors.  Then had them read a clue that told them what task they needed to do, and how many points they could earn by successfully completing each challenge.  The tasks were to throw a football through a hoop, shoot baskets, putt a golf ball, kick a soccer ball into a net, dig treasure out of the sandbox, fill a cup with water using a spoon, and climb over the jungle gym.  Here are pictures of each team while they were on the jungle gym.

After playing the game, ( the black team won ) we had cake and ice cream, and opened presents.  The boys finished the party with a game of kick ball.  It was a bit hot out, but I think they had fun. 

I know Noah did.

On a different topic, we have been seeing a lot of wild animals around lately.  We had a wedding after the birthday party, Saturday, and saw a bob cat that was hit and killed on our way to Lincoln.  Turns out it was our neighbor that hit it on his way to the reception.   Then we saw a coyote, standing in the road just north of our drive way, that ran into the corn field next to our house.  I had always told the boys when they were little not to wander into the corn because coyotes lived in there.  At least now the boys know I was not making that up.  Plus the coyotes have been making a lot of noise at night, so I knew they were around.    Yesterday I saw a beaver or a ground chuck run into the barn.   And I usually have a deer who watches me water the garden at night from the tree line across the field.  It makes me little nervous about little Ben being out side playing and straying away from me.  He likes to explore and is going faster everyday.   Not that most of those animals would hurt a 2 year old, but a bob cat or a coyote?  I think I will carry a golf club or a baseball bat with me the next time we go outside.