Sam Turns 12...Really.

It's so hard to believe my first born is 12!
It seems just a minute ago he turned 8 on our first September in Abu Dhabi.
He shares his birthday with Grandma Cook so we always like to combine the celebration. Fortunately we had both sets of grandparents here with us as well as Sam's Aunt Joleen, Brad's sister.
Sam had a combat themed party. (Every Mother's dream.....hmmmm) All his friends brought their Airsoft guns and protective gear and went out in the green space in our backyard to fight it out. I was only hoping they would wind up with the corpse of our not-so-friendly skunk that has been visiting our yard, spraying our poor dog and being really aggressive.
No skunk, but lots of fun and everyone seemed very happy with the party. Even one of Sam's best friends, Mohammad, was given the day off from fasting for Ramadan so he could partake of the pizza and cake to help Sam celebrate.
The cakes met Sam's request of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate...Chocolate cake, filled with chocolate pudding, covered with chocolate frosting.
I added my attempt of camo frosting on top to carry out the theme.
It's such a delight to have family near by to help celebrate special days with us and our kids.

Dr. Hotpants Runs a Serious Relay

Beginning at Brian Head ski resort and running through the gorgeous mountains and monuments of Southern Utah there are 200 teams running almost 200 miles in 48 hours.
Brad is on a team and ran the 1st leg of the race for his team this morning.
I took Max and went to Brian Head to see him finish his leg of the race and bring him home for some rest before he started his next assignment 7 hours later. He ate, showered and napped then ran another 6 miles this evening, watching the beautiful sunset on our western mountains. He will sleep now and be up running again at 4am. It's inspiring to see him and the other many runners along the route. Awesome!

Flag Football 2010

Brad is coaching Charlie and Jack in flag football. He is so patient and caring with these young kids, many of whom haven't ever played football. The priorities are to get a center who can snap the ball and a quarterback who can receive the snap...That's just the beginning of the play. If they can get that done without a fumble they need to get a play off, either with a hand-off, pass (it would take a miracle) or the QB running around the defense. The latter brings up the subject of an offensive line...No blockers..NOT SEXY. Everyone wants to carry the ball, run for a TD. Totally understandable for 7 year olds.
They are all so adorable and occasionally the stars align and they score. It's a blast to watch and just reinforces my belief that the sexiest man is one who is being a father.