Legoland Bound!

Next Saturday we will awake early for the third year in a row and travel to San Diego early in the morning.  David's team, Robozilla, has once again qualified for the First Lego League competition there. 

 Here is David with his teammates and Team Coach and Assitant cheering on their team in the Robot game.  We are so proud of David and his teammates who have been working hard since September for this day.  During the qualifier they won two trophies, one for the Robot Game, and the other the Judge's Choice award. 

This is David as a back-up driver to Austin during their Robot game round.  They scored the highest score of the whole day in this round. 

Can you tell where our team is in the crowd?  LOL.  Melody's head is still a bit green from all our spirit that day. 

Though winning is fun, we are thankful for the time David has had in Lego League and the training he has had from some awesome coaches.  You see, at the FLL competition, the Robot Game is not the largest part of your team score.  Teams are judged on core values, robot design, and a presentation on a problem they have researched and designed a solution for. 

Judges are throughout the competition, watching how teams treat one another, other teams, and how they work together.  We are thankful for all the fun and robotics knowledge David has gained through FLL, but we are more thankful for the character and values that have been cultivated. 

In a world where athletes and the musically inclined have the vast majority of venues for which to showcase their talents, we are thankful for a competition that showcases another kind of talent.  FLL is growing like crazy and those of us who have kids with engineering and problem solving talents are very grateful. 

We are all very excited for Legoland.  We know our team will do their best in the competition and show the awesome and talented young men they are.  If you're looking for us, you can find us cheering them on with our green hair and neon green shirts.  Go, go, Robozilla. 

Thirteen

On the 29th David turned 13!  A teenager in the house.  Sometimes it is hard to believe.  It seems like just yesterday that he was born and now he is taller than me.  I've finally admitted it.  

David and Mom on his birthday

Kevin and I are so proud of the young man David is becoming.  We are looking forward to watching him grow through the years ahead.  He is thoughtful and sensitive and such a help to us and his siblings.  He can make Melody laugh like no one else.  What a delight to watch your child grow not only in stature, but in maturity and wisdom. 

Birthday Cookie

We've had a lot of fun celebrating over the past few days.  We enjoyed lunch at John's Incredible Pizza Company at David's request and our traditional chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  We also got the bikes that have been in storage fixed up and David and Elizabeth have been enjoying riding bike. 

Chocolate Chip Pancakes - Yum :)

John's Incredible Food

And sometimes he's goofy, too.

12 Years Old

I'm a bit behind on this post. But, we are now the parents of a 12-year-old. Today David was promoted from 6th grade into Junior High and Youth Group. What a way to make a Mom teary-eyed and proud. When your kids are born it is hard to imagine the day they'll start Junior High, but then, before you know it that day is here and you know you've spent a lot of time preparing for them for that.

Last week was David's twelveth birthday. We celebrated the day with our traditional chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and David chose Applebee's for dinner. The next day we had some friends over to go swimming, so it was a fun celebratory weekend. This week David and I will take our trip to Disneyland and the Downtown Disney Lego store. That will round out his birthday celebrations and take care of the haul of money he made from his relatives. We are both looking forward to it.

We are so proud of David. He has such a sensitive heart and love for the Lord. His understanding of the world is getting so mature and I love to have conversations about important things with him. He is so helpful around the house and with his siblings. He can make Melody giggle like no one else can. He plays Lego with Joel by the hour and generally has an abundance of patience with a four-year-olds "rules." He has taken up tennis this year and really enjoys it and is doing well. He runs with Kevin several times a week and with a little lead time, is now beating Kevin home. Elizabeth joins them sometimes and it is a joy to see brother and sister running together. Hannah always enlists David to come play games on her Webkins so she can earn lots of Kins Cash. He is the best at gaming around here.

We are so thankful for the 12 years we've been privileged to call David our son. What a wonderful gift.