Jacob's Birthday

 Jacob is officially DOUBLE DIGITS! He turned 10 on December 20th, a Sunday. My sister Amy and her family came to visit that weekend and they were gracious enough to indulge Jacob in his birthday wish of eating breakfast at IHOP on Saturday morning.
I think Jacob had a good birthday - first breakfast, and then time playing with his cousins (Mikey, 8, Luke, 13, and Joshua, 15 - pretty much the coolest boys outside our own family), and then the dads took all of the kids except Marianne and baby Leo to see the new Star Wars: the Force Awakens at the theater. The movie had just come out that weekend and it was a major conversational topic everywhere, so it was a big deal that they could go. I was perfectly content to stay at my mom and dad's house with my mom and Amy and work on making little crates for her to give away as gifts to her coworkers and friends.
On Sunday, Jacob's actual birthday, he was able to open up his present first thing - a compound bow. Fits him well, huh?!

 He also received a survival handbook from the coolest uncle ever, his uncle Jacob. He poured over it for hours, trying to decide what kind of trap he wanted to use to catch a rabbit and what kind of fire starting method he wanted to try.

 We went to church, hung out with Amy, Mike and the kids, played some really silly games, and ate hamburgers with bacon (Jacob's favorite). Marianne was so happy to have her most favorite person in the world visit that she almost never let go of him the entire weekend!

 Jacob asked for cream cheese brownies instead of a cake, so I made them but I dyed the cream cheese part blue and then put some of his plastic animals in to make it look like a river scene.
I honestly cousins are God's gift to childhood. It is always fun to spend time with cousins, and things just happen when they're around! (Marianne is sad in this picture because Cutesy just told her that she has to go soon, and Marianne doesn't want her to leave!)

 I'd like to add just a few things that I really, really love and adore about my oldest son:
Jacob eye's sparkle. They are full of questions and curiosity about the world: exploration, animals, science, technology...He wants to take things apart, carve animals out of rock, cook meat over an open fire, go where no one has gone before, and live in a world with no mosquitoes. (Famous quote from this year: "How much mosquitoes are there?") He daily walks up to me and gives me a hug for no reason. He's super ticklish, which I love taking advantage of. Jacob never tries to hurt my feelings or be intentionally mean. He's the best big brother, especially to Beau (they are good buddies). He has the greatest deep voice. Thinking of Jacob's future makes me really excited and happy; it's going to be entertainingly fantastic!