It's Great to be Eight!

After years of looking forward to be old enough to be baptized, Ian finally turned eight!  And boy did we ever have fun celebrating.

We had initially planned a friend birthday party for the Thursday before his birthday.  His birthday was over the Memorial Day Weekend and we were afraid we would have a tough turn out if we didn't plan ahead.  UNFORTUNATELY, stomach flu hit and took down all but two in our family and after a week of vomiting, decided it would be best to postpone the friend party.  Your welcome friends.

Instead, we headed to the cabin, some of us still half sick.  Between rainstorms the kids were able to have a ball paddling out in the kayaks. 

And Ian had fun opening presents at the cabin and playing with them there.

From his brothers and sisters, he got a remote control helicopter, a simplified hymn book, an large inflatable frisbee.  Zac gave him solid tires for his bike (after fixing ten or more flats) and some bike gear.  And I got him the softest blanket I could find as a representation of the Gift of the Holy Ghost he would soon be receiving and a scripture cover.  He also got a suit to wear to his baptism from mom and dad.  We were fortunate enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Martineau along with Aunt Lyndsay and Aunt Kellie's families camping close by, so they came for cake and ice cream and left with a parting gift of stomach flu.  Your welcome family.

While we were at the cabin, Zac just decided to rip apart the whole upstairs and remodel.  No big deal.  The kids are hanging out of the window where he threw all of the construction debris.

When we got back from the cabin, we were able to focus on getting in that friend party.  We were hoping to have an outdoor swimming party, unfortunately the weather had other plans.  The day before the party, it hailed and rained like I had NEVER seen in my life and flooded our basement with hundreds of gallons of water that came in through a window well.  Needless to say, the weather wasn't great and the party was held inside.

Because we were going to have a water party, Ian thought it would be fun to have a Shark Cake.  We bought a little plastic shark toy set and he decorated the cake with a few of his friends.

Because we were stuck indoors, we had an indoor fishing pond to help us feel like we were still playing in the water.

But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what we played or did, so long as there was enough pizza, pop, cake, and ice cream.

Charlotte and Bronson helped me pick out the candles for Ian's cake and of course they picked trick candles.  This is the first time we have ever done trick candles for the kids and he wasn't expecting it!

The trick candles were great because they allowed for all the little kids to get a turn blowing them out when they kept re-igniting.

Ian had a great time with his friends and got some very fun and generous gifts.  It's great to be eight.

10 Things you Should Know About Ian

1.  He is full of playful energy.  He is always ready to wrestle, sword fight, play a game of basketball, or tackle down a brother.

2.  But he can be still and thoughtful too.  I am often told by his primary teachers and leaders that he is the best example to the other kids.  He actually listens and retains the information he gains from being at church and school.  He always has an answer to anyone's questions and his answers are usually far more profound that you can imagine.  I have had so many spiritual experiences with Ian where he has taught me so much.  Likewise at school, he is doing so well.  His teachers always rave about how smart and good he is.  He was at the top of his class with his Accelerated Reading points.

3.  He has been very interested in Star Wars this year.  It started at Christmastime when he requested a light saber.  How he even knew what a light saber was?  School maybe?  Santa did bring him a light saber and a Nintendo Wii Star Wars game where he started learning about some of the characters, which led to a two month long family quest to watch all of the Star Wars movies.  We are now all well versed in Star Wars.

4.  He likes weapons.  Mainly swords.  After requesting a foam sword for his birthday from his Grandma, Zac and I worried a little.  Was he headed for the Dungeons and Dragons crew, play re-enacting battles from the Middle Ages?  What is this sword fascination.  After his birthday one day, I asked him, what kind of sword guy are you?  A ninja?  A knight?  Captain Moroni from the Book of Mormon?  To which he replied definitely Captain Moroni, which led to a great discussion about what a good guy Captain Moroni was.  If Ian can be like Moroni, he can be a sword guy.

5.  He loves sports of all kinds.  He has played baseball, football, and basketball.  But his passion is definitely basketball.  Every recess during good weather, you will find Ian out playing basketball.  Once school let out for the summer, I told the kids that I needed some exercise and intended to play basketball in the mornings to get some.  Ian has been up at 6:30 a.m. every morning dragging me out of bed to play basketball.  We play for at least an hour a day and he never gets sick of it.  He is getting pretty darn good and I can't wait to watch him play this year.

6.  He is his dad's best companion.  If Zac is working on something, Ian is always at his side.  Especially if it involves machinery of any kind.  This year Zac rented a Mini-Excavator and I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked out the window and saw Ian operating the mini-ex, digging holes for trees with amazing precision.

7.  Because he helps his dad so much he can find any tool we own!  I can never find anything in Zac's mess he calls a garage.  If I need a tool it takes me ages to find what I need.  I have started asking Ian to retrieve tools for me because he always knows just exactly where everything is.  I am always amazed too that he knows the names and uses of every tool.

8.  Ian is extremely friendly.  Ian is always positive and jolly.  I don't know how better to describe him than jolly.  He has a belly laugh that no matter what kind of mood you are in, when you hear that kid laugh (which is often) you laugh too.  Because of his happy, positive, easy-going nature he makes friends easily.  When he had a birthday party, it was hard for him to do the invites because everyone is his friend he found it hard to narrow it down to eight (and initially I was thinking more like 4-6, but because of him having so many friends, I compromised).

9.  He is NOT afraid of anything.  I swear Ian is the bravest kid I know.  When our family was asked to give talks in our church a couple of months back, the older kids were about ready to run away rather than speak in front of a congregation of adults and children.  Ian on the other hand asked how long he could talk.  He got up there, looked people in the eye, and gave a wonderful talk without even reading it off the paper.  This kid is so easy going, it is pretty hard to find anything that scares or makes him nervous.

10.  Some of his favorite things this year... Food: Sloppy Joes, Friends: Greysen and Logan, Rylan, Jacob, Levi, Caleb, Ayden, Marcus, and Justin.  Treat: Muddy Buddies, Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Geronimo Stilton series.  Movie: Avengers.  Place to Go: Squealers.  Place He Would Like To Visit: Lego Land.

We love Ian so much and would be lost without him in our family.

Happy Birthday Buddy!