Ian is a 10!

Ian had his 10th birthday and now he is in the double digits!  I can't believe how fast time is going

Ian finally hit the age where he went for taste and not some extravagant decorated cake for mom to make.  He realized that he much prefers pie to cake and picked out a couple of different kinds to share at his party.

This kid is always a goof. 

The birthday candles on his birthday pie were all colored flames.  It was very cool.

What did he wish for?  I am sure it was something elaborate and expensive.

His brothers and sisters worked hard this year to save up some money to buy him some awesome presents.  Tanner got him a fidget spinner.  Ashlyn got him a basketball, Charlotte got him some BYU basketball socks, Bronson got him some water shoes that he had been wanting, and Whitlee got him Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book.  Dad got him a RipStik and mom got him a BYU bedspread set.  His friends were also very generous and he got a pocket knife, a cool water balloon set, and some great Nerf guns... which came in handy for the birthday party which was at Battle Zone, a Nerf Gun Arena! 

We had never been to Battle Zone before.  The kids were in heaven.  They had some bouncy house type toys, some trampoline areas,  

A big arcade type game that responded to steps.

But most importantly, the Nerf Gun Arena!

The kids were split into two games.  A simple Nerf gun was included with the price of admission, but most of the kids had their own special weapon that they brought from home.

If you got hit, you had to go sit out until the last team was left standing.

Ian generously allowed his siblings to join in on the party and they had a blast!

Bronson was in Heaven!

Ian's cute group of friends, Ryan, Jacob, Landon, Ian, and Logan.

Ten Random Facts about our Buddy:

1. Now that he is 10 and in 5th grade, he gets to start real live padded football this year and he is so excited.  He is hoping to play a defensive tackle.  He has lofty goals to tackle the quarterback and he is growing so fast and so big (same shoe, pant and shirt size as his brother 3 years older!) that he might just do some damage to the poor opposing quarterback!

2. Being 10 and starting 5th grade also means that he gets to move up to a new school this year and will be attending Middle School!  Ack!  And since the middle school is so close to our house, it means that he gets an extra 30 minutes later in the mornings before the bus comes and gets home 30 minutes earlier than his brothers and sisters.

3.  Ian is so funny.  He is such a jolly and easy going kid.  He is always quick to joke or play a trick.  But what really gets everyone laughing is when Ian cracks himself up.  Sometimes he does something to make himself laugh and his deep belly laugh is so contagious that he gets everyone laughing even if they don't know what in the world he is laughing at!

4. He has the most unique eye color I have ever seen.  His eyes are a pretty green with hints of hazel and a dark brown star around the pupil.  I could gaze into those puppies all day to see all of the colors and patterns.

5. This kid has so much confidence in himself.  There is nothing out of reach for him.  He believes that he could do anything and do it well.  Sometimes, Zac tests him by saying something like, "Ian, do you think you could fly an airplane if you had a chance to sit in a pilot's seat for 10 minutes?" and Ian always responds with an "Of course, I bet I could figure it out."  He lives life like he is the best at everything and I am jealous of his confidence.

6. The biggest compliment that you could ever give this kid is to tell him he is a hard worker.  He works SO stinking hard.  If Zac or I ever have a big project he is always the first to run to it and the last to leave it even if it means extensive manual labor.  He loves to help his grandparents and absolutely beams if he is told what a hard worker he is.

7.  Ian is in love with everything BYU.  He has a BYU shirt, socks, and bedding.  He has drawn BYU pictures and hung them all over his room.  He has visited campus and been to a BYU men's basketball game.  He loves to watch any BYU sports.  His biggest dream is to go there someday and play basketball.  Some of his BYU heroes are Kyle Collingsworth, Tyler Haws, Tanner Mangum, and Taysom Hill.  He bleeds blue!

8. He is absolutely not a breakfast person.  He really doesn't like breakfast foods.  In the morning, he is known to be found eating corn dogs, leftover pizza, or grilled cheese sandwiches.

9. Ian knows where every tool is that Zac owns.  We don't even try to find tools because Ian always knows and he is the only person who does know.  He even knows better than Zac where everything is.  Even better, he is starting to learn how all the tools work and has been building some really cool projects.

10.  Ian also knows how all the electronics in the house work.  He has had a huge fascination for buttons and wires ever since he could crawl.  I don't even think his older siblings know how to run half of the entertainment system downstairs and someone is always yelling, "Get Ian! He can run it!"  And if he ever doesn't know how something works, he has the tenacity to work at it until he has figured it out.  The unknown doesn't scare him.  He is always up for a challenge, eager to learn and catches on so quickly.

I love this boy more than words can express.  He has such a soft heart and really loves his siblings.  It is so fun when they start getting into the double digits because you can really start seeing their personality and catch a glimpse of the man he will become.

We love you Ian!  Happy Birthday!