Mid Winter

After celebrating Christmas in Evansville we stopped in Indy to get the Smith boys for a couple days.

Warmish days call for evening walks.

We got so much snow! And it was mostly freezing until we got through February.

Ike earned silver for his solo and his ensemble this year.  He did a great job!

The guys before their winter dance.

Campus did look beautiful with all that snow :)

 Ike attempted to fish when it was way too cold. 

Celebrated Josh's birthday at Twenty.

My seedlings started popping up!

Dave is 16!! (and Thanksgiving)

How is my baby 16?? It is wild having such an old kid. Here's a little about Dave right now. He's still playing drums for worship every week, obsessed with golf, and has taken up guitar and is quite good already. He spends lots of time playing video games with his cousins and friends and likes to go support his classmates whether it is volleyball or playing in the pep band at basketball games. Dave is super funny and can be very sarcastic (gets that honest) and is so so close to getting that precious license! Only has to wait 3 short months longer. Really he is an awesome kid and we are so blessed by him!

Josh's mom put together this hilarious gift. A ton of money taped together and he pulled it out of a kleenex box. 

We celebrated both boys' birthdays at Grains and Grill with grandma and grandpa.

Splurged on a fancy dessert. 

I'm including Thanksgiving in this one since his birthday is basically thrown in with it usually anyway.

This was a light year for the Thanksgiving crowd but it was a great meal and we played some games before everyone headed home.

This one is just for me, I loved the way our living room looked for Christmas!

 

Ike's 12th Birthday

Ike had a fairly eventful birthday this year! First off we were cat sitting which he absolutely loved. We found this kitten that a student wanted to adopt so we took care of it for a couple weeks until she was released.

Out to dinner with grandma and grandpa for his bday!

Unrelated but Dave got his chair in for an early birthday present 

And then a continuation of his birthday celebration we went downtown for first friday.

 

Last Days of School

Ike had his very last school carnival this year. It's so sad he's not going to be at the elementary school anymore!

Here he is in all his glory from winning prizes. 

Gamma came up this weekend because the kids had some activities going on. 

Dave's final band concert of the year. They played some fun songs this time around!

It's official, last day of school!

Comparison shot from 5 years ago. 

We had a get together at Josh's aunts over Memorial Day Weekend.

These boys are so cute. They brought me breakfast on my birthday from 50 East. 

Me and my neighbor buddy Wesley. He likes to come help me plant things :)

 

Dave Turns 14

The years are absolutely flying by-cannot believe Dave is 14 now! His birthday was pretty chill this year since it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We went to dinner with Josh's parents at Jefferson Street Barbecue which Dave very much enjoyed (well we all did, ha!).

They surprised him with a new wedge of some kind (I can never remember the names of these random golf clubs!). 

He got another golf club from us as well, again I believe it was a wedge. :) As for a Dave update I'd say the main thing is that he love love loves golf. It's basically all he talks about. It's been so cool watching him find something he is so passionate about and he's gotten pretty good at it in a short period of time! He still loves playing video games with his cousins and friends and enjoys a good board game as well. He's doing remarkably well in school and has done great in his E-sports and robotics this year. 

Here are the boys with their new advent calendar and ornaments for the year!

 

Ike Turns 11

I always feel like a broken record on birthday posts, but man I can't believe Ike is 11 already! He is such a fun kid and I know I won't be able to describe him as a kid much longer which breaks my heart. But I am so excited to see how he grows in this next year.

Here's his birthday dinner/"cake". Ha he didn't really want a dessert so we stuck his candle in his bread, worked just fine!

 

As far as what Ike is about lately-he is obviously still super into soccer. He loves to play outside and play video games. He is less excited about reading lately (which I don't love) but he is still very excited about school, especially science and math. He wants to be a chemist one day and has his heart set on MIT for right now!  He is still absolutely hilarious and such a kind person. 

Ike and I on a birthday stroll. 

Dave and Ike were awarded the junior golf scholarship at Etna Acres so they can play for free for the whole year!

Styling in the birthday glasses :)

Dave Turns 13

It's pretty much impossible to believe Dave is a teenager. The years have gone by so quickly! He is such a great kid and we are so proud to be his parents! Here's a little about him at 13. 

Love this picture with Grandpa Boo. The kids go out with Josh's parents for every birthday. Dave almost always chooses Culver's. 

We actually celebrated his birthday in Evansville this year since it was the day after Thanksgiving. That meant he got lots and lots of cakes (and pies!).

Dad and Kyra threw a joint party for Dave and Tony since their birthdays are only two days apart. 

 

So a little about Dave. He has continued doing fantastic in school this year and is really thriving with moving up to the junior/senior high school. He has been involved in Esports playing Super Smash Bros and has absolutely loved that. He hangs out with high schoolers playing so that has been pretty cool! His robotics team has done well so far this year and they hope to make it to state again. 

Since he got a phone for his birthday (!) he has mostly watched a lot of youtube reals, ha! I'll have to ask him what his favorite show is right now, probably one of the Marvel ones on Disney+. He loved the new Avatar movie and is looking forward to lots of new ones coming out next year. He loves attending the youth group at church, especially the Wednesday morning coffee shop meet-ups here on campus! I think he was reading the Harry Potter series but recently started on The Giver since those were so long. He is so dang stubborn sometimes but he definitely gets that honest!

I really cannot wait to see what the future holds for this kid, but also want time to slow way way down.