Happy 8th Birthday Jax

Jax's 8th birthday was a fun one! After coming off a super fun weekend in Boise for Memorial Day where he got a few gifts from his aunts, uncles and cousins he was really excited for his day.  We started the day off with bread dough pudding and then he was off to school for a few hours.  Dave took the day off work and took banana bars into his classroom around 10 for a birthday snack to share with the class and then he picked up all the kids from school and I met them at the Red Monkey for a birthday lunch after I got off work. We played shuffle board, talked and had a nice lunch together. We picked up his friend Joel in the afternoon and he stayed the rest of the day and had dinner and cake with us.  Popee and Memah and Papa and DiDi all came over for his birthday dinner. We had BBQ ribs, hotdogs, quinoa salad, fruit and ice cream cake for dessert.  He said he loved his birthday and his gifts (he got binoculars from us which he is really excited about). 

Jax is such a sweet, kind kid with literally the most kind heart. It amazes me just how much his heart cares for others. He has grown so much in school this year and has become quite the little reader. He loves to tell me all about everything he has learned and loves to learn new jokes and tell them to us. He is my most talkative boy as far as how much he tells me and he always wants to talk and tell me about his day without me even asking. He loves one on one time and is always wanting me to play catch with him or he will hang out in the kitchen while I am making dinner and talk to me. He is always the first to share with his brothers or sisters even sometimes giving up his stuff entirely for them. He is sensitive and very literal so you have to be careful what you tell him because he takes everything as truth.

He has really enjoyed baseball this year and I think it might be his new favorite sport right now. He also really loves music and dancing and wants to take guitar or piano lessons. He has great rhythm so I should probably look into that for him.  He will go into 2nd grade in a new school next year (Berney Elementary) since we will be hopefully moving into our house in late Fall. He seems excited about the new school but sad about leaving his friends. I think he will do just fine, he adapts pretty well to change and seems to make friends easily.

Love you so much Jax! Enjoy your 8th year.

 8 year stats

Weight: 75 lbs

Height: 53 inches 

Birthday Questions
What do you want the most for your birthday? binoculars
What do you want for your birthday breakfast? bread dough pudding
What is your favorite color? blue
What is your favorite toy? binos
What is your favorite fruit? strawberries
What is your favorite vegetable? carrots
What is your favorite movie? Rocky IV
What is your favorite animal? dog
What is your favorite book? Who was Davey Crockett
Who is your best friend? Joel
What is your favorite sport? baseball
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play baseball
What do you sleep with at night? lovie
What is your favorite thing to eat? quesadillas with salsa
What do you want to be when you grow up? nurse practitioner
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? play I Spy with binos

 What is your favorite thing to do with mom? play catch

Memorial Weekend : Boise

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Boise this year for my niece Elena's high school graduation. I pulled the kids out of school early on Friday after lunch and we drove to Boise (Dave had to work all weekend so he could not come). I was a little nervous about driving by myself but my parents would be leaving a few hours later so I figured if anything happened they wouldn't be far behind me anyway.  We got into Boise around 6 and picked up Maggie before heading over to Marni and Chris's place. We ended up going out for dinner and then to a playground so the kids could run around for a bit before heading back to Chris and Marni's for some late night time in the hot tub and smore's (for the kids) and drinks (for the adults).

 Colbi and Maggie the youngest cousins of the bunch, both of them are 3.5.

 Papa and DiDi trying out the teetor-totter.

Uncle Chris and Case.

 Hot tub time is the best time.

 DiDi, Madelyn (the oldest grandaughter) and Papa.

Elena's graduation was Saturday morning and since my kids were not cooperating I did not get any great pictures of us but it was a beautiful hot sunny day and after the graduation we spent a few hours swimming with all the kids before heading over to my sister's house for dinner. Sunday we celebrated my dad's 77th birthday with a big lunch and more swimming and playing with cousins. The kids were awesome, well behaved, nice to everyone and had so much fun playing with all their cousins. It was such an enjoyable weekend and so fun to have all my sisters and nieces all together at the same time.

 Elena with Papa and Jax.

 Family time. Yea its so easy getting a pic of everyone.

 Elena Dorothy Rebholtz. She is attending Texas Christian University in the fall.

 Cousins!
Madelyn (20), Elena (18), Lucy (15), Perry (10), Reese (10), Colt (9), Jax (7), Case (6), Maggie (3) and Colbi (3).

 Putting candles on the cake for our May birthday people.

 Memorial weekend was made even better by the amazing weather we had. The kids all got to swim a couple times in Chris and Marni's community pool.

 This is what my bed looked like when I would sneak out to run in the mornings with my sisters. Colt was on the floor.

 On the drive home we stopped in Union at my grandparents graves. My dad lost his dad and then his mom to cancer when he was 5 & 8. It was neat to show this to the kids and talk to them about Papa's mom and dad. They had a lot of questions for us.

Dave's pinning ceremony

Today Dave was pinned for completing his probationary year as a firefighter. He is now a full time firefighter and is loving his job.  The last year was a lot for our family, he was gone for 3 months last summer at fire academy, he had multiple tests and training he had to complete and pass after the academy that kept him away from home a lot. We are so proud of his hard work and looking forward to spending more time together this summer! We are so thankful for his job and the way it provides for our family and future!

 I was not able to make it to the ceremony due to work and the other kids but Colt went and pinned his dad.

 Colt and Memah hanging out at the breakfast.

 Perks of having a dad who is a firefighter.

Happy 6th Birthday Case

6 years ago after less than 2 hours of labor Case Michael Pemberton was born making me a mom of 3 boys.  He came out small (for my babies) but mighty and nothing has changed since then.  Case is high energy, passionate and athletic. He spends all his time running from place to place, turning cartwheels, riding his bike, flips on the trampoline, wrestling with his brothers, and always competing. His preschool teachers have both commented on what a nice quiet boy he is in the classroom but when you put him outside he is ALL boy and it could not be more true. While I don't see the quiet side of him much he is a mama's boy who loves to snuggle and wants ALL of me. He will start kindergarten at Berney Elementary next year and it is hard to believe that all three of my boys will be in elementary school.  He made so many friends in preschool next year so I think he will do just fine at Berney next year.  Happy Birthday Case-man!

6 year stats

Weight:  47 lbs

Height:  46.5 inches 

Birthday Questions
What do you want the most for your birthday?pocket knife
What do you want for your birthday breakfast? egg sandwiches
What is your favorite color? blue
What is your favorite toy? stuffed lizard
What is your favorite fruit? banana
What is your favorite vegetable? carrots
What is your favorite movie? Narnia
What is your favorite animal? lion
What is your favorite book? Ten Apples up on Top
Who is your best friend? Hailey and Trey
What is your favorite sport? soccer
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play catch
What do you sleep with at night? my lovie
What is your favorite thing to eat? sushi
What do you want to be when you grow up? fireman
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? go to the property

 What is your favorite thing to do with mom?  play catch and when you pitch to me

Case 6th Birthday Party with Friends

For his birthday this year Case asked if he could have a couple friends from his preschool over. Since we are still living in our duplex and we don't have a lot of room I suggested that I would pick up him and 3 friends from school and we could do a picnic at the park then go to Brights after for a treat. Case loved the idea, so after school on Monday I picked up Case, Colbi, and Case's friends Trey, Lane and Hailey and we went to the park for pizza and play. It was a super hot day (90 degrees) and the kids were sweating but that didn't stop them from having so much fun. After a couple hours at the park we headed to Brights for ice cream before taking his friends home.  It was a fun group of kiddos! Case kept telling me it was his best day over and thanked me over and over again throughout the day.  Colbi loved playing with his friends and Case was so great at including her and wanting her to be part of it.