Golden

 It was Peter's day.  11 years old on the 11th, his Golden Birthday.  The only present he said he wanted was.....plants.  I made sure he got at least that much.  He seemed pretty happy.

 We tried to fill the day with smiles.  Breakfast consisted of a lot of gold.  Gold wrapped candies on the table.  Gold plates and cups.  Yummy food for the boy that likes only certain things.

 I found that gold and 11 was pretty easy to make happen.  Also, making him smile was not too hard either.  Success!

 One of Peter's gifts was an electric scooter from Pa.  The boys all loved going around on that thing.  And Caleb (in the background) was going about his duty, saving worms from the previous night's rain.

 One more gift from us that I was pretty sure would be a hit, this book he has been waiting for.  He was excited to crack it open.

 One of our celebrations was going to Airborne.  They all loved it!  Well, until William was told he was just a little too short for a really fun area, then things slightly went downhill for him.  But Peter loved jumping everywhere, the dodge ball game, diving into the foam pits, getting sweaty, and having lots of fun.

 But it is really hard to take good pictures at a trampoline place.  Lots of blurry kids.

 11 years old and rice krispy treats.

 One last celebrations, the Jazz game.  Rob's boss was terrific and gave Rob 4 tickets to the game, which landed right on Peter's birthday.  Talk about a great way to end your Golden birthday!  The boys had fun riding on Trax to the stadium.  Being at a game like that can be pretty exciting.

The boys all loved the blimp that flew around the stadium.  Yes, Peter took his book to the game.  But once the action started, I do not think he got much read.  Rob said that towards the end, when things were getting tight and the Jazz were really trying to win, Peter kept things awesome by doing the math in his head.  Rob said that every time someone would score Peter would tell him, "they only need _____ points to win!"  He is such a cool kid!  And we love him!
So, what makes Peter happy? What makes him have a good day?  He can be a mystery sometimes.  #1, he loves it when people listen to him.  He can tell some pretty creative and cool stories.  Whether it be about a game he is playing, a book he is reading or something he has learned; you can have such cool conversations with him.  But usually one on one, Peter is not a huge crowd fan.  So, the fact that he enjoyed the Jazz game so much was pretty good.  #2, Peter really loves Haley and wishes she would spend more time with him.  #3, Peter loves to play with plants.  Tearing them up, playing games with them, creating his own mini battles and worlds with them.  We have one corner of the green room, just for Peter and his plant station.  Rob probably hates it, but he is a terrific dad and does not say much about it.  #4, Peter loves games that involve battle.  But as he has told me, he hopes he never has to go into a real battle. #5, Peter loves to read!  His school recently held their reading contest, read as much as you can to be the top reader.  Peter read for a total of 4,720 minutes, that that was over 12 days.  WOW!  He loves books about adventure, dragons, battle and comics.  He reads so much that we recently had to go to the eye doctor to see if he needed glasses.  He had started to complain that his eyes were hurting and of more headaches.  Result?  The eye doctor said his eyes look great!  Peter just needs to take more frequent breaks while reading. :)  Such a cool kid!  #6, Peter loves string cheese, plums, fishy crackers, ruffles, peach rings and double bubble!  He will eat other food, but always asks for those first.
Most of all, Peter has such a good heart and mind.  Peter wants to learn.  Whether it be about the gospel or math or something cool in science.  His mind is always thinking about things.  He also has such a good heart.  He genuinely wants to make others happy, but sometimes it is hard to figure out how to do that, because people are a mystery.  He has such a silly side too!  He can be known for crazy outbursts, at random times during the day.  And for a goofy face anytime you pull the camera out.  Finally, Peter is such a trustworthy and obedient soul.  I know I can trust him to do what is needed.  He may not want to, but he does it.  He may not want to turn off his IPod, but he will.  He may not want to go to sleep, instead keep reading or eating fishy crackers, but he will.  He may not want to do his homework, but he always gets it done (and even remembers it instead of forgetting).  He is one amazing kid and we love him!  Happy Golden Birthday, my amazing Peter!

This is how you can often find Peter.  Sitting, anywhere in the house, book cracked open in his lap and him reading page after page.  What completes the picture, the thing he is eating.  Today, his birthday, it was double bubble.  But other days it is string cheese, or fishy crackers.  I would not want him any other way, he is the coolest!