Birthday season is upon us again! Adam was very excited to plan his birthday this year. After breakfast in bed, a round of Monopoly with Noah and the previously mentioned bike ride and stop at Chick-fil-a, he opened presents, including some very carefully thought out gifts from his siblings.
Then the party got started! Adam had the excellent idea of an extreme geocaching challenge for his birthday, and Daddy and Noah worked super hard to make it happen at the nearby arboretum.
He and his friends were in it to win it!
They divided into two teams and spent nearly two hours using their phones and coordinates to find 10 geocaches that were hidden around the lake. They all did a great job working together, stumping the other team by putting the boxes back not *exactly* in the same place, and trash talking each other whenever their paths crossed.
It was a beautiful night and so much fun watching these energetic boys run all over the place. They definitely were ready for cake afterward.
Albeit melty, the famous ice cream candy bar cake hit the spot!
Time ran out before Adam could open the gifts his friends brought him, but we all had a great time laughing at the silly cards they gave him, including 'happy retirement' and 'birthday girl' wishes from Anna. Adam has a really fun and funny group of friends.
A few days later we went out for the annual Birth-date! But first, pictures.
Jason is definitely trying hard to defend his title as tallest man in the family. We'll see what this next year brings.
Not sure what the directive was here, but I do love how Adam is holding my elbow like we're at prom.
There's a normal one!
Adam wanted to see if he could pick me up.
He succeeded!
I sure love this buddy of mine. Some day he'll make an excellent boyfriend and husband, but I am fully soaking up being the lady in his life while it's my turn.
Dinner at Cheesecake Factory! No question about the amount of food he is able to pack away these days.
Things 14-year-old Adam loves-
Food- not all food, but lots of food at any given time. I have a sneaky feeling that Adam isn't done growing just yet.
Magic! Adam is getting really good at his tricks and he performs one for me every night when I tuck him in, in class at his teacher's requests, and for anyone who is willing to participate.
Singing and dancing! Adam joined ward choir in the last year (I'm the ward choir director, his choices are to sing or sit there) and he participated in the FSY choir and loves stake dances, especially line dances. He has decided that singing and dancing are not so bad, and I love that he loves the joy that comes with music.
LEGO. No changes there.
Playing the piano- Adam would love to play for an hour or more every day, and often does.
Laney- she still gets the squeaky voice love from Adam whenever he gets home.
Online screen time with Ben.
Learning new things- origami, building with wood, magic, baseball, robotics, science bowl facts, chess, jokes, family history and indexing, inspirational talks by John Bytheway- Adam's brain is always busy with something.
Adam loves being helpful. Or at least he recognizes the value and importance of it. The only toddler tantrum he ever threw was because he couldn't pick up the grocery sack full of cans and that made him so frustrated. Even now he always asks me how he can help and is often the first one to jump up and fill a request from anyone who might have one.
Adam took the teenage pledge from Leah last year to not be a doofus, and so far he has done an amazing job as a teenager. He continues to refuse a cell phone, 9th grade is the goal but so far he's enjoying being different than everyone else and I am not complaining one bit about all of the junk that he is avoiding by not having a phone yet. He is helpful, kind, in control of his emotions more than most of us in this family, happy to wake up in the morning, happy to stay up late reading or practicing magic tricks at night. We joke that we all have a crush on him- Adam is one awesome young man!
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