Happy 15th Hammer!

 Dear Hammer,

 

You had another birthday! I love that your birthday comes when we need some cheering up. Christmas is over, it's dark and dreary and cold, but we have something fun to plan! Hammer is having a birthday! This year we planned a party for you. We brainstormed all of the places that we could go in the winter that didn't cost an arm and a leg, which wasn't many, and decided to just stay home and do the good ol' movie and games party. 

You had quite a few friends come over! I only took one video and no pictures, so here's screenshots of the video:

We started the party with sub sandwiches for dinner, your favorite still, and then moved on to games in the basement. All of your friends seemed to enjoy Mafia. Instead of a movie, you decided to show your friends an episode of Monk. Your friends liked that too! You had lots of candy and popcorn while you watched. Then it was more games and gifts and the party was over. 

The next day, Saturday, was your actual birthday. You opened gifts from us and your siblings:

and then for your big gift you went up to Logan with Dad and Uncle John. You went out to dinner and to an Aggie basketball game:

A few days later you went out for Mexican food with Gramma and Grandpa to celebrate:

and then we had donuts and sang to you:

You are an interesting combination of shy yet confident. You don't seek out attention and don't love it, but you know who you are and know your strengths.

Hammer, at 15 you are still very soft spoken, literally and figuratively. You have such a quiet voice and you also don't like confrontation. You are very kind and have a lot of friends at school. You are very happy when your friends want to hang out. Usually if you do hang out you play games or watch a movie. You don't live on your phone, but you do text your friend group chat every day. You never complain about the game time limit on your phone and you don't have any social media yet.

You got your driver's permit just after your birthday and are excited about driving! You have only driven a handful of times, but you are a good driver. You have always been observant so you are a few steps ahead as you know what all of the road and sign symbols mean. 

You are a great student. You consistently get A's and if an assignment falls below that level then you do make ups so that you can get the grade back to the A. You are good about doing being responsible with your time at school and being respectful to your teachers. 

When people ask you what you like to do for fun, you tell them that you like coding. Remember how you didn't like that class very much, but look at the cool skills it gave you! You spend lots of free time these days coding games and then have your family and friends play the games. You're getting really good!

You have been doing tennis on Saturdays and still enjoy it, though I'm not sure how quickly you're progressing. I was hoping that you'd find a sport that you enjoy so that you'll enjoy exercising your body! We have found the sports that you don't enjoy! We'll keep at tennis for now but I'm not sure what the future holds for you in the active arena since you don't want to do beginning tennis forever.

You like choir and have some good friends who are in your choir class with you. You are pretty good at the piano but you don't like to practice very much and I haven't been very good at making you practice. We should do better and maybe you can play hymns for seminary before you graduate! You don't talk much about seminary, but I think that you enjoy it. You aren't one to come home and talk about your day, unless something really out of the ordinary has happened. You are faithful and diligent about going to seminary and about doing your calling at church too. You never complain about going early for meetings for your quorum presidency or to prepare the sacrament. You willingly participate in weekly church activities. I think that even though you don't share your testimony out loud, you do share it with your quiet diligence and kindness. You know that God loves you and you have faith that what you have learned is true.

You don't write books much any more and it's always a struggle to get you to read. You think that most books are boring! I hope to change that too before you leave the house.

At 15 your favorite foods are still enchiladas, burgers, pizza, hoagies, and sushi. You don't like steak, chicken, salmon, or mushrooms. You eat most fruits and veggies, even though salad isn't your favorite. You are my only kid who will eat school lunch every day, which means you're not super picky. I love that you are very aware of your appetite and listen to your body. You rarely overeat since you eat slowly and stop when you are satisfied. I think that's really cool for a teenager that is growing so fast.

You are taller than me now and about even with Dad. As you can tell, your hair is curly! You like to leave it long on top to show off the curls, and I have to admit, it looks really good! Check it out in the handsome pictures from our photo shoot: 

I love that you still like to have your photos taken. You willingly jumped in the car for our photo shoot, and even pointed out places that you thought would look good. If we're on vacation you're often the one asking for a picture in front of a cool spot, and you also still always make sure one of the siblings isn't getting more pictures than you. 

You love exploring new places and I love taking you on trips! You are the funny, excited yet calm, creative, and kind brother that our family wouldn't be the same without. You make my life better by being in it.

Love you lots!

Mom

Adz in 2023

 Hi! 

Let's take a look back at how 2023 was for you. Did you accomplish any of the goals that you set last year? They were 1. Learn about Indians 2. Score a touchdown in football or assist in one 3. Cook a few meals 4. Make a new friend 5. Memorize one scripture. Well, you did learn a lot about Indians this year on our Fall Break trip! You didn't score a touchdown, but you did try tackle football for the first time and you tackled! So that's close. I don't think you made a new friend, cooked meals, or memorized scriptures. Want to make those your goals again for this year? 

Check out all the things that you did this year! 

You designed and helped Dad build this cool entertainment center for a school fair. It's a lap tray to hold your snack, drink, and laptop:

You made us laugh by eagerly awaiting Easter dinner at Gramma's:

You made this poster at school to tell us what things describe you and your interests. You did play soccer and football and you do love cheering for USU with Dad. I agree that you are also a very nice friend:

You were excited for us to watch your program all about Utah:

You were a good goalie in soccer!:

You made it! You finished 4th grade:

You went to a football camp with your buddy and didn't complain even though it was hot:

You get excited when we go on field trips!:

You saw your first play at Tuacahn with Hammer, and really liked it! It was Tarzan:

You tried out for the A team in football and it was so hot that day. I was so proud of you for doing your best. You are strong! You didn't make the A team which made you a little sad, but some of your other friends also didn't make it and were on your team. Here's your first football game in your legit gear:

You started 5th grade and are my only kiddo getting on the bus at our stop now:

We celebrated your 10th birthday!:

You got a triple rainbow and a gorgeous sunset on your birthday after football practice:

I took your football teams pictures:

You often walk over to your friend August's house after school. He fosters kitties and you like to play with them:

You won the MVP medal at your last game!:

I was proud of you on our trip when you were scared to climb the tall ladder but did it anyway! This hike ended up being your favorite:

You are also very brave at Lagoon and like all the rides:

We did so many Halloween activities:

Here you are at the football banquet for the end of the season:

You were really excited for me to go on a field trip to Biz Town with you. You were sick when your class did interviews but you still got a good job being a teller at Zions! Here you are with your friend Ammon:

You learned a song for our Christmas recital. You did a good job!:

You loved the 2 scavenger hunts we did in our neighborhood and then went with me to do one at Station Park. We went right before Christmas and it was a mad house, but we still had fun. That Lego store was your favorite:

You love going on trips and field trips. You were stoked about these last two field trips:

You accomplished a lot huh? I'm proud of you for doing some things that were new and hard. I love that you love to explore this world and have fun with me.

Love,

Mom