Bracken's 7th Birthday Week

Happy Birthday Bracken!  You have grown so much this year. Not only are you taller, but you have learned so much.  You've loved learning to play the piano and often figure out how to play new songs by ear. Jurassic Park, Cuckoo, and Star Wars are some of your favorites right now. You get excited about anything to do with wilderness survival, have really taken off with your reading, and are quite the scientist and speller. You watch out for younger kids and take good care of and teach them. Happy 7th Birthday kiddo!  We're so glad you're in our family. 

Brian was working the grave shift of his surgery rotation all week, so we waited to have our whole family celebration on Saturday. That just meant Bracken got a whole week of birthday celebrating! (Wed.- Balloons, Crepe breakfast and candles, playing in the morning, Thanksgiving Point with our friends Josh and Ava in the afternoon, riding bikes, pizza for dinner, and a late bed time with lots of stories. Thurs-Saturday A trip to Richfield. Saturday- birthday celebrating with dad, Melissa and Steve and the Mitchell's.)

 Crepe Breakfast

Opening presents from Grandma Sue...an explorer vest with lots of pockets and a survival book! The pocket knife is mine...it just mysteriously keeps finding its way into Bracken's pockets, bedroom and backpacks. 

Chandra threw a tea party for Bracken and even gave him half of the York Mint she earned from the library.

Bracken wanted to go to Richfield for his birthday, so we did!  We went swimming, he played outside shooting bows and arrows, bb guns, bike riding, lassoing goats, wrestling and lego building with his uncles. He got to ride Nebo (holding the reigns all by himself).

Campfire Cake for our Wilderness Survival boy.  

He put all of his candles out by pinching them or creating an air draft by smacking his hand down close to the candles.  Blowing them out must be for little kids. :)

On Saturday we came home and had a birthday celebration with Dad!  Time for more presents...the most exciting one being flint and steel.  We headed right to the backyard for him to make a fire and roast marshmallows.  He tried cotton balls, laundry lint and paper for kindling, and was very triumphant when it finally ignited...can you tell?

Then we went to the Mitchell's house to share another cake and ice cream.  The kids spent most of the evening in their dirt back yard trying to start another fire with the flint and steel.  Such a fun birthday week.  Happy Birthday Bracken! We love you!