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Spencer is 11!

October 18, 2023

My easy going, blue eyed baby is ELEVEN!

Newborn…

newborn

One year old…

1 year

Two years old…

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Three years old…

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Four years old…

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Five years old…

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Six years old…

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Seven…

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Eight…

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nine years old…

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ten…

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and now ELEVEN!

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Spencer is the best. As I say every year, he’s a happy kid who plays hard, tries hard, and loves hard. He’s so easy going but definitely knows what he wants – and what he doesn’t want. He’s not swayed by doing what’s cool or simply because everyone else is doing it. He does what he wants and doesn’t worry too much about other people. I love it.

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He and Maxwell will fight like cats and dogs but can also be good buddies discussing fantasy football and throwing whatever ball is around.   He can pick and pick and pick and push Samantha’s buttons, but they can also be two peas in a pod. He’s such a good brother to them both and I cannot imagine where any of us would all be without our happy glue in the middle! Spencer is still laid back and doesn’t get frazzled easily. He is the calm in the storm always. In sports he can battle harder than every kid out there but can somehow maintain his composure when things get tough and shake it all off after the game.

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He is a creature of habit – and a creature of comfort! A good blanket and his iPad or Xbox and he’s set for life! He’s a sleeper too – he gets all snuggled into the very middle of his bed and would stay there all day if I let him.

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Spencer is doing excellent in school. He’s in 5th grade and making all As…well except for that reading grade that slipped a little due to one reading comprehension test! ha! Reading is not his favorite but he’ll catch back up. I’m not worried at all. His 101% in math balances that out! Spencey is a likable guy and has good friends but is also friends with everyone. He’s a friendly, loyal kid who makes friends easily.

spencer

Spencer continues to bring the hustle and the heart to whatever game he’s playing. He’s not afraid to put in the work. He never complains about going to practice or having to work hard. He loves whatever sport he’s playing at the time and gives it his all. He was a leader on his summer baseball team, balled out on his OTM and Flyers basketball teams and now he’s QB of his football team. Spence just keeps a good attitude about it all. He’s the best encourager of his teammates, doesn’t take it all too seriously and doesn’t take the losses too hard. He sure is fun to watch play!

spencer

spencer

A little interview with Spencer:

Favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Wrecking Ball
Favorite TV show? ESPN
Favorite movie? Super Mario Bros
Favorite color? Green
Favorite song? Mean
Favorite number? 7
Favorite restaurant? Tecate
Favorite thing to eat? Mexican
Favorite friend? Henry and Mac
Favorite toy? Xbox
Favorite animal? Elephant
Favorite dessert? Brownies
Favorite sport? Football
What do you want to be when you grow up? NFL or NBA player

I’m so proud of this kid and love him so much! Our happy Mr. Spencer!!

spencer

Happy 11th birthday, Spencey!! We love you!!

Would love to hear from you! 5 Comments
Filed Under: Birthdays, SPB

Dollywood day 2

October 16, 2023

On Sunday we headed in the park for another day full of roller coasters! yes!

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I really wanted to get this shirt for Spence!

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We started the day on Barnstormer and then hit up all the big ones over and over and over again!

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Everyone, especially Maxwell, started to get really good at finding the camera!

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This one is my favorite!

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We took a little break in the afternoon and saw a 90s country show which was…interesting. ha!

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But that little rest allowed us to stay in the park until 9pm and see all the lights and ride the coasters in the dark. Can’t beat that!

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We ended the day with one last ride on Wild Eagle in the dark. Excellent.

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The best weekend with my very favorite people!

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Good golly, Miss Dolly indeed!

Would love to hear from you! 4 Comments
Filed Under: Family, MBB, SKB, SPB, Travel

More Dollywood

October 13, 2023

We did purchase the photo pass while we were at Dollywood and I’m so glad we did because the roller coaster pics are priceless!

Thunderhead was a giant wooden roller coaster where you went faster from start to finish than I’ve ever gone a coaster. I think it was everyone’s favorite!

dolly

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The Tennessee Tornado had at least 3 loop de loops! We spent a lot of time upside down!

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The Wild Eagle was insane…your feet were dangling and you were hanging off the side of the ride and went upside down 4 times! Yes please!

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dolly

The other roller coasters were Firechaser Express where you went backwards, Mystery Mine where you literally went straight up on your back and straight down on your stomach, Dragonflier, and Barnstormer which was the biggest swing you’ve ever seen. All so fun!

We did get a few of these photos too…it was my birthday and my crew (mostly) happily obliged!

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The one thing that surprised me is that there was very little Dolly in Dollywood! However, they make you exit out of the large emporium and I finally spotted her…

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That was a good way to end the best birthday! Day 2 to come next week. Have a great weekend!

Would love to hear from you! 2 Comments
Filed Under: Family, MBB, SKB, SPB, Travel

Good Golly, Miss Dolly!

October 12, 2023

On Friday, GJ and the kids and I loaded up the car and made a 5 hour drive to Pigeon Forge, TN that took 6 hours! It was worth it though because we spent two full days riding the most awesome roller coasters in Dollywood!! We twisted and turned and dropped and raced and went upside down and loved every second of it! I loved getting to spend my birthday with my favorite fellow thrill-seekers screaming and laughing! The BEST!

We stayed at the Dollywood Dream More Resort which was great and included trolley rides to and from the park. The room had bunk beds and the whole place was just right for our crew.

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We got to go into the park early on Saturday because we were staying at the resort. We went straight to Lightning Rod and…what a start to the day! None of us knew what to expect but it was exhilarating!! Samantha wasn’t quite ready for the big coasters yet and shed a few tears during and after…but, don’t worry, she was ready to get back on as soon as we got off!

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We got back in line and…the ride closed. Apparently this ride is known for breaking down all the time. It never opened back up all weekend so we considered ourselves very lucky that we got to ride it at all! No worries though, there were at least 10 other major thrill rides to keep us occupied all weekend! We took off into the park and rode them all again and again!

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We had lots of quality time hanging out in lines…

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but the lines weren’t that bad for us. The park was the most crowded it had been all summer, but we had Time Saver passes which allowed us to skip the majority of the lines. The only one we really waited for was the new roller coaster, Big Bear Mountain. All of the other ones we never waited more than 30 minutes for and most of the time much less. That’s how I like to do a theme park!

Why yes, the boys and I did go up that high on Dropline and then freefall down! Whoa. Samantha wanted to do it but that was the only one she wasn’t tall enough for.

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But she did get to do the Lumberjack drop where Maxwell got to test his arm strength pulling them up!

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Of course it was all more fun because we had GJ there with us riding all the coasters too! She’s the best sport!

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In between coasters, we did play some games…

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and drove some cars…

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and got some treats! We all wanted hot chocolate because it was freezing!! Well, it was in the 60s but that sure felt cold all day in the park.

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The park was all decorated for fall and Halloween and was really neat.

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The guy that took this picture for us was really proud of his angle! ha!

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It was a truly fantastic and thrilling first day at Dollywood!! More pics to come!

Would love to hear from you! 3 Comments
Filed Under: Family, MBB, SKB, SPB, Travel

More birthday

October 11, 2023

More to come later about where I was on my actual birthday, but we did a little celebrating Monday night! I got to have dinner with some friends…

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and then blow out a candle with my favorite people!

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Let’s go 45!! I’m ready!

Would love to hear from you! 2 Comments
Filed Under: Birthdays, MBB, Robert, SKB, SPB

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