10-TEN-10 Year Old

Dempsey Girl TURNED 10. We have no SINGLE digits in this house anymore...well except for Kevin. BUT. No humans. I can't believe that she is 10! We had a sweet birthday party where the only request was ice cream cake and time to play! When the party started they immediately started playing hotel/restaurant. They named all the rooms, had a menu, etc. They went in the hot tub, drove the riding lawn mower, and watching Jessie. For her birthday we did the standard treasure hunt and pick your dinner- Chicken Awesome. Demps and I decided to do a random run to the Troll Movie. Dempsey got the gift that she has BEEN wanting.....a bunny or guinea pig. Russell agreed to be the project manager- and I just support! It is a wonderful plan!

Dempsey feels things big time. Sometimes she has trouble telling us what is going on for her, but usually she comes around. SHE continues to love jumping on the trampoline, and asks for people to jump with her daily. She loves animals of all kinds! We went to a place where they had a bunch of taxidermy animals and she was like.."it's so sad about all these animals." Sometimes Dempsey struggles to explain how she is feeling, yet she has amazing skills at understanding how people might feel. I know the struggle-so I love to work with her. 

Oh did I tell you this story? Not sure if I did...but Dempsey said to me, "Mom-I don't need a sister because I don't not ever want to hangout with you....because you're my mom."

Also, the other day we stayed at a hotel. SAD NEWS.. but the hotel pool's heating element wasn't working. I brought the kids back to the hotel, while Russell stayed and hung with his friends. Dempsey was determined to swim, and I was determined to not. ME being cold is the worst thing ever for me. Dempsey told me, "Mom-I'm going to be brave and you should too." OF COURSE I COULDN'T let her down. I wanted to be brave too! LOL. So in I went with her. It was freezing. AND worth it.

Dempsey knows so many songs by Taylor Swift, Pink, and as the boys say "random happy stuff (songs)". Her voice is beautiful and amazing, and I just love when she sings!

We visited my mom's grave this past weekend and we stood by her gravesite and put roses in the vase. We looked at when she died and I said..."Yup, I was born in 83' so I was 10 years old." Dempsey knew what that meant since she was 10, she held by hand and looked at me and said, "Oh mom, that is so sad." I knew she knew what that meant. Guh her heart. 

Dempsey loves her Dad and me fiercely. She wants to see her grandparents all the time. She always tries to play/wrestle with her brothers, and sometimes they oblige. She has a great group of girlfriends, that she doesn't get to see enough!

I cannot believe she is DONE with the single digits. I heard her in her room the day before her birthday say to herself, "It's okay Dempsey. You can do this. Double digits. really soon." IT's a privilege getting to hear her internal dialogue outloud:)

Happy Birthday Dempsey!

Love 

Momma

Grizzly Tourney 2023

Grizzly Tourney 2023 in the books! This year was the first and only year where the boys were in the tournament together. For their last match they even got paired together, and they were both drivers! IT was amazing! Ryker's team continues to learn their lessons, and Ryker continues to want to do even better each time. AJ's team fought through some issues in the beginning to make it into the finals! They aligned with another Trail Ridge team and ended up losing. It was such a bummer! They did end up winning the Build Award. This does not qualify them for State, but it was still pretty cool! 

Honestly one of my favorite memories of the tournament was the day before when both boys were working on setting up for the tourney. It was so adorable! They were both working hard, joking with fellow classmates, and being funny around each other! I just love seeing them together and involved! It makes me so happy! 

Both sets of grandparents came and supported the boy-which I continually feel grateful! Robotics is a different kind of activity, so it's pretty neat that they have adapted and supports them:)

We continue to figure out how to entertain ourselves in between matches, because Robotics are LOoooooNNNNGGggggggg days!

Love,
Momma

Halloween 2023

Oh Halloween! It was a different year, but at the same time it was perfect! I proposed going up to Estes Park to participate in their annual Halloween festivities. We have heard that it a super great time, they close down Main Street and all the shops hand out candy! AJ graciously declined, due to plans of hanging with his buddies to go trick or treating. Ryker got invited to a friend's party and requested to go there instead of going to Estes. Luckily Dempsey agreed to come up with us! 

It's crazy to think that a few years back we were trick or treat with the entire family, and Ryker kept saying "Merry Christmas" or was it "Happy Birthday"? I can't quite remember. It was adorable. We had less than an hour of time before meltdowns happened! 

NOW---AJ was begging for me to come pick him up later than 930pm because he needed more time! Up until a weird/creepy truck following Ryker's crew, he had a wonderful time! And Dempsey! She had a great time with her friend Clare! I actually saw my parents dressed up. I legit cannot think of a time when they dressed up. EVER. It was awesome to see them getting into the spirit! Russell struggled to get into the Halloween spirit initially, especially because he wasn't inundated with Halloween spirit in the schools. BUT he persevered and got into costume. He even trick or treated and got his own candy!

I'm currently blogging while I listen to them do their candy trading-AJ, Ryk, Dempsey and Russell. They have going strong for at least 30 minutes. It's pretty adorable. "You like Twix-ok I'll trade 2 mini Twix for your Skittles?" "RIP HIM OFF DEMPSEY." "THAT Is not a fair trade." Since I'm doing the family blogging I'm occasionally getting paid in candy. Butterfinger, a warhead, a sucker, and some M&Ms. 

Good times,

Love,

Momma

Demps....is she getting bigger?

Oh sweet Dempsey! The only remaining member in elementary school, and it is crazy watching her get biggggger. On one hand I watch her staying little, but in the next breath her teenager self is coming out! Here are a few of my favorite things about her:

• Awhile back Dempsey and Russell were on their way to school. They were a little bit later than usual. Dempsey told Russell to go ahead and pull into the loop and drop her off. THIS IS HUGE. The loop requires her to get out and walk to her class, essentially by herself. She actively resisted this, even when she had a brother to walk with her. But all the sudden she was ready, and it was completely her idea. 
• Last week Dempsey and I made chocolate chip cookies. She also made sure we had our matching aprons on! I helped her make the dough, and then she looked at me and said, "Mom-you go ahead and sit on the couch. I'll take care of the rest of these." AND SHE DID!
• Dempsey requested that I dress up as Princess Daisy and match her Princess Peach. I WILL FOREVER MATCH HER FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. WHAT a freakin' honor!
• Dempsey LOVES LOVES LOVES jumping in the leaves. She was exstatic that the leaves were following and requested to rake every single day! It feels so amazing to have some great trees, with THOUSANDS of leaves!
• There is a picture of Dempsey from the Fox Trot. It was really neat to watch her this year. She started out running with her friends and then slowly her friends slowed down. Dempsey kept running with one of her friends. They stopped to get water and I heard Dempsey ask her friend, "Have you seen Charlee? I feel bad because I'm not running with her." Dempsey was able to feel this and then was able to tell herself to keep running. She ended up running 5 1/2 laps which was at least 1 lap more than all of her friends. Dempsey RARELY thinks about herself first, and it was really neat to see her push herself this year. 

What a great thing to watch her grow!

Love,

Mom

Ryker in the House

Ryker. GUH. This boy. There is so much amazingness going on with him. Here we go:

• We had a weekend morning where we were all by ourselves. He agreed to go hiking. It was so special! We tromped around, threw rocks in the water, threw sticks to Kevin, and just talked. Ryk is a thoughtful, emotional, and loving guy. It's so fun, and I feel incredibly lucky when he talks to me.
• Ryk just started robotics. He is taking it SO VERY seriously! He goes in during the ams (630am-740am). He stays afterwards. He is really learning how to do all the parts required for robotics.
• Ryk sold his scooter awhile back. I did the posting, but he handled the in-person transaction. He was helpful and honest. In return he got a $100 bill. It was all pretty darn exciting!
• He is playing trombone, and often shares that he is killing it in class! I have never had to tell him to practice...can you imagine?
• This guy is playing basketball for Trail Ridge. I was about out of mind with him sharing that he wanted to play. We ordered shoes, and got him all signed up. Realizing that basketball was happening right as he was trying to get his robot going, he was tempted to drop basketball. After a serious talk and assistance with figuring out his schedule and how he can manage both, he is really enjoying it. The other day he was honored during their recognition clap tradition at the end of practice. Coach Walker said that he was "an unsung hero." He mentioned how Ryker does all the small things and how those matter. He emails the coaches when he will miss practice due to attending his robotics practice. He hustles, and encourages his teammates.  I love watching Ryker and his time management skills blossom!

:)

Love him,

Mom

Update On This Guy

Oh gosh this guy. I sometimes look at this little photo of him and just can't believe what an honor it is to watch him grow up. A few things to note on him:

• He has been a great mentor to Ryker in robotics. I remember back in elementary school we would have to remind him not to "rob his brain" by giving Ryker answers on things. I see him letting Ryk have his own experiences with robotics and I'm really grateful for that.
• At Parent Teacher Conferences AJ's language arts teacher told us that she doesn't know if she has ever taught such a more respectful human before AJ. Per usual, other teachers doted on AJ. He is truly a silent leader!
• AJ has continued to be in NJHS, and this year for the induction he agreed to say the names of new inductees. Some of the names were a bit more difficult and AJ practiced with me the night before because it was important to him that he got the names right. He knew their families would be there and this was a big deal. 

Love this guy,

Mom