Henry is 17!

Happiest of birthdays to my Henry.  Henry, everything you do, you do you do BIG.  If it catches your interest you go all in.  I love your tenacity and hard working approach to what you take on, whether it's audio engineering, harmonica, morse code, Rubik's Cube, Braille, or mastering the perfect grilled cheese sandwich (three types of cheeses, honey, and occasionally some ham).  I love your sense of humor, and I love your tender heart.  I love YOU big, kiddo.

(This year's cake was homemade lemon with lemon cream cheese frosting.)

A new cage for Daisy and Josè

A few weeks ago Henry came up with the bright idea to take his built-in desk space, (which is mostly unused since he has another desk) and turn it into an aviary for his parakeets, Josè and Daisy. He designed and built the whole thing himself, including the framing, chicken wire, and wooden tray, but also the 3D printed door and perch brackets. (I need to do a separate post on all the things he's designed with his printer.)  Henry also added an Alexa controlled light that turns on and off at programmed times of the day.  Ahh, kids these days.  Always keeping their old parents in the loop, amirite? Anyway, D&J went from a smallish metal cage to this large, cool space, where they have lots of room to flap around and chirp at the top of their little bird lungs (you think I'm kidding about that haha).  Very cool, Henry!

 

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Happy Birthday to the coolest kid I know.  You are such a sweet, funny, sensitive dude, in so many ways exactly like your dad, but also a lot like me.  You have no idea how much I cherish out daily walks (and talks), and the way you share what's on your mind and heart.  I love you forever, you wonderful kiddo you.  HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY!!

Rubik's Competition 2020

Several weeks ago Henry had the opportunity to participate in the Rubik's Houston Winter Open.  It has been a few years since he last competed and so it was good to be back with all these speed cubers.  As a mom it's fun to see some of the same kids who are now a lot older, as well as all the little guys who are just starting out.  :)

This time Henry participated in the 3x3 and 4x4 - setting a new personal best average on 3x3 of 17.89 seconds.  We were also fortunate to see several new national and world records being set by Max Park.  Max set a new 3x3 national world record average with 5.59 seconds. He also set the 5x5 world record single time with 34.92 seconds, the 6x6 world record single with 1:09.51, the new world record average for 6x6 with 1:15.9, AND the 7x7 world record single with 1:46.57.  Y'all, this was incredible COOL to witness!

Rubik's competition days are a lot of fun - we get to hang out with other cubers and their families and cheer everyone on. Cubing is an unusual hobby, and Henry loves the chance to be in the same room with so many other like minded (mostly) boys.  Since we're there all day I brought my homeschool planning stuff and was pleasantly surprised to sit down next to another Classical Conversations homeschooling mom.  :)

Here's a peek at our day.

a quick warm up before the timer uncovers the scrambled cube

examining the cube before the timer starts

Henry's Birthday Weekend

As my kids get older we pretty much give them the reigns on what they want to do for their birthdays. After much contemplation Henry elected to have a weekend in San Antonio doing his favorite things.  That included choosing our hotel, restaurant, and sight seeing activities (within budget of course lol :) On a whim last year, while in SA, we ate at the Tower of the Americas and ever since that night, he's been dreaming about their Prime Rib.  It was fun to return for his celebration :) 

Here are a few snaps of Henry's birthday weekend:

saying goodbye is hard, even if it's only for 2 days

Happy 15th Birthday, Henry!

Happy Birthday, Henry! You are the funnest, lovable, hilarious, and smartest kid I know.  I treasure all of our inside jokes and friendly competitions. :) I love taking walks, being pickleball partners and hearing what's on your mind. You are truly the joy of my heart.  I am so proud of you and beyond thankful to be your mama. Happy birthday! I love you forever. 

Henry’s Birthday Weekend

A (very) brief round up of our weekend in Dallas celebrating our Henry's 14th birthday! We usually give our kiddos the choice of a party or a weekend trip, and 9 times out of 10 they choose the weekend getaway.  We gave Henry the reins and he planned everything from start to finish.  He is always telling us he loves everything from the 1980s (so funny!) and wanted to start things off with a few hours at an 80s style free play arcade.  He proceeded to set some high records and enjoyed every minute. Even Jon, who lived through the 80s, ha ha, beat a game once or twice ;)  Then we headed to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards to take in the daily longhorn cattle drive.  We finished up with dinner at Blaze Pizza and then back to our hotel for presents.  The next day was spent at Six Flags over Texas, followed the following day by a trip to the Dude Perfect headquarters in Frisco, where H and H got to meet Ty and Cody (if you might remember, they met Garrett last summer).  A literal dream come true for Henry!!  Such a fun weekend! On the way home he told us that it was the best birthday he's ever had.  :D October is off to a great start.  Hope to be back soon!


As a side note - does anyone know how to blog using blogger on some sort of mobile app? If you do, will you let me know?  Thank you!!!

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Happy 14th Birthday Henry! You are a joy to me every day, with your sweet heart, quick wit, and loving spirit.  God knew I needed you! I love you forever.

And as is tradition, here are some of Henry's current faves:

Favorite book series - Warriors

Favorite past time - Minecraft and Drawing

Favorite sport to watch - Football

Favorite video game - Minecraft or Madden

Favorite food to order at a restaurant - Prime Rib

Favorite drink - Dr. Pepper

Where you would like to go on vacation - Disney World

Favorite restaurant - Red Robin or Los Gallitos

Favorite subject in school and why - Latin - it's challenging

Favorite animal - Cat, Hawk

Favorite season and why - Fall - it's cozy

Favorite holiday and why - Christmas - presents

Favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning - Bed-wars or Sky-wars on HyPixel

Favorite song - “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons or "Happier" by Marshmello and Bastille

Favorite movie - Lion King 2 or Hunger Games

Favorite tv show - Duck-tales

Favorite colors - Blue and Red

Favorite food - Beef Sliders

Chip Kitty Update

You guys.  I'm about to do a big ole post about my cat.  I know.  But this crazy, lovable cat has totally taken over our hearts and at the very least deserves a blog post.  (Or so I'm telling myself.) Chippy is the most interesting, funny, crazy kitty, and we find ourselves constantly entertained by his antics.  He still chooses Henry over everyone else and will always end his day snoozing on Henry's pillow.  But, when he's not napping, chasing Holly or carrying around pompoms like a dog, he finds plenty else to keep his kitten-self busy.

Monster Jam

Yep, it's true.  We attended our first ever Monster Jam.  And, are you ready for this? IT WAS AWESOME. What a show! As a part of Henry's birthday celebration we drove the three hours to Corpus Christi for this cool event. I, for one, didn't know what to expect, (#girliegirl), but these trucks and their stunts pretty much blew my mind :D Henry loved every single minute, as he already knew he would.  It was a great way to kick off a birthday month for a pretty special kid :-)