Rockwell Turns 7!!!

I can't believe my buddy is 7 years old! Rockwell is such a cool kid. He is responsible well beyond his 7 years, he's so much fun to hang out with, and he is an awesome big brother.

 Rockwell doesn't let anyone sway him, he's very confident in his decisions. Tess and Damon adore him and copy everything he does. He works very hard in school and loves learning new things, especially in science.

Rockwell is a rule-follower. He always tries to do what's right. He has a super contagious laugh and a really fun sense of humor. I love watching America's Funniest Videos with him and Paul, and listening to them both laugh and laugh at all the same stuff.

Rockwell loves to scare me with fake spiders. He loves to be outside and be active. He loves Pokemon, popcorn, and soccer. I am truly proud of the boy he chooses to be, and am so grateful I get to be his mama.

Paul took Rockwell to the Harlem Globetrotters game for a special birthday outing. They had a lot of fun. Rockwell loved the one-on-one time with Dad, and thought the Globetrotters were really funny.

We had Rockwell's birthday party at Classic Fun Center this year. It was perfect! We had the place to ourselves, it was cheap, and there was very little prep, and no clean up. We all loved it.

Flynn, Joshua, Rockwell, Wyatt, Boston

Olivia, Eden, Brig, Austin, Mac

The kids got to ride their scooters on the skating rink and do all the bounce houses and jungle gyms. They were all such good kids who were polite and played well together the whole time. I loved when they all went into the middle of the skating rink and had a dance party. Rockwell said it was a super awesome party!


As soon as Paul got home from work on Rockwell's birthday we opened presents.

We gave him a bunch of t-ball gear, so we went over to a park and played with his new stuff. He got a new soccer ball from Olivia too, so we played with that and also played on the playground.



Rockwell chose to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. This is his favorite place because of the peanuts.

We told our waitress it was his birthday, so they brought him ice cream and had him sit on the saddle while we all yelled a birthday Yee Haw. I forgot they did that and was interested to see what he would do. He climbed right on and thought it was great.


We had a great day celebrating Rockwell. We sure love him!

Everyday Adventures

We have actually had a few warm days lately. It has made us all so happy. The kids loved playing outside.

  

The students at Paul's school made a huge sign of his angry face for the basketball games. They hold it up when their team blocks a shot and chant, "Barth says no!!" So funny!

Paul sure does a good job with the students. He puts in A LOT of time, effort, and energy at the school. It's been pretty busy for him lately, so we take what time we can get. The kids love to at least say hi and get a hug through the window if we drop dinner off for him at the school. 

I love that he runs home for an hour if he possibly can just to play with us. He always makes sure to remind the kids to thank me for all that I do for them and to behave the rest of the night. He's stretched very thin with his job, calling, and family. I love that he does his best to make the kids and me a priority. We sure appreciate all he does and love him lots!

This is one of Rockwell's favorite spots right now. When the heater is on he lays over it and makes a "warm house."

He was trying to make orange juice by sticking a straw in his orange. :)

I don't even remember how this happened, but we all ended up laying on Rockwell's bed one night. It was one of those times where I was just overwhelmed with how grateful I am for each of them. We're so lucky to have each other. I love this little family of mine!

I'm not sure why, but Paul loves to put our children on top of the fridge. They have all thought it is awesome.

Paul and I had a fun date night with Al and Keith. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and bowling afterward. Luckily we weren't in any hurry because dinner took forever. We got free dessert and dipping sauce though, so we didn't mind. We had a lot of fun laughing at our bowling names. Keith was Cheese Pouch, Al was Lightbulb, I was Toots, and Paul was Greasy Ray. Good times!

Rockwell and I went to his Parent Teacher Conference last night. It is so fun to meet with his teacher and just listen to how awesome he is! It was so cute to see his jaw drop as she went through what levels/scores she would like kids to be at right now, and then tell us that Rockwell is well beyond most every one, some even 100 points above where the goal is. She had him read me a story he had written so I could see how well he's doing. He was so excited to tell Paul that Mrs. Smith said the 2nd grade teachers are going to LOVE Rockwell next year and that she wishes she had 12 Rockwells in her class. I was extra proud though when she went through the character section (respect for others, following rules, being self-motivated, etc.). She told us 4 is the highest point she can give, but she wishes she could give him a 20 in all of those. I just love his teacher and how she makes Rockwell feel about himself. He wanted to spend the money he's been earning from allowance at the book fair. After such a good report about all the hard work he's been doing, he got to stay up late reading his new books and eating the popcorn Mrs. Smith gave him. 

Around Our House

I've gotten behind again, so here are some fun/cute pics from the past month or so, in no particular order. :)

Paul went to St George for a conference a few weeks ago, so it was just these three and me for a few days. We sure missed Dad and were so glad when he came home.
  

Tessa is mostly loving her dance class. Every now and then she has a bad day and won't participate for about half the class. But the rest of the time she loves it.
  
Damon's a champ and puts up with being stuck in a stroller every dance class.


Rockwell celebrated the 100th day of school by dressing like a grandpa. He looked awesome!

Some of the first graders have been able to check out chapter books from the school library for a couple weeks now. When he brought the first one home, he thought I was going to read it to him. When he realized that the plan was for him to read it on his own, he had a hard time accepting that. There were tears shed. It's so hard to see your son not believe in himself and his abilities. I had to explain that Mrs. Smith and Mom and Dad all knew that he could do it, and that's why he was allowed to check a chapter book out at all. He still wasn't thrilled about it, but he started reading it to me every day. When he got to about the eighth chapter, he told me that he could tell that he had already gotten better at reading since the first chapter. It made me so happy to watch him start to believe in himself. And I'm so happy that he understands that he gets better at things by practicing them and putting the time in on the hard work. Now he loves reading the chapter books, and is so excited to tell Dad when he's finished another one. I'm very proud of him!


Katie and her kids came over for a late-over one night since Paul was working and Ben was out of town for work. We got Cafe Rio for dinner, the kids had a blast playing, and they watched a movie while Katie and I got to eat treats in our jammies and visit. It was a super fun night.

Damon actually didn't get jealous of me holding Kenzie once that night. It was so fun to have her climb up on my lap and read with me. I love that girl!


Damon had us laughing so hard while I was reading books before bedtime one night. He was looking through the stash of stuffed animals by Tessa's bed, picked up a porcupine, looked around and saw the kids were both distracted by the book. He unzipped his sleeper, put the porcupine inside his pjs, and then zipped it back up hoping the kids wouldn't notice. I was dying! Then he loved that we were all laughing so hard, so he did it over and over again with different animals. He is such a funny kid!


Could these two be any cuter watching Paw Patrol together?!

They have so much fun together. Damon is copying everything Tessa and Rockwell do now. Mel brought Tessa some headbands the other day, and she loved that Damon let her put them on him too.

She also brought Rockwell and Damon some Michigan blankets that her boys have grown out of. They're just the right size for my boys now.

Tessa always loves when Mel comes over and reads books with her.