Dear Luke (age 7),

Luke you are turning 7 today!

This year you finished first grade in my class! It was so fun to watch you grow and learn both at school and at home. You are awesome at math and pretty much mastered the 2nd grade curriculum by the end of the year. Your reading has also grown by leaps and bounds. You have been really into reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books this summer. So far, you're on book 6.

Some other highlights from include: a family trip to Holiday World, a trip to the Smokey Mountains, singing in the first grade Christmas program, dressing up as a Star Wars clone for Halloween, playing travel hockey, losing your first tooth (and the losing it before getting it to the tooth fairy), and reading the first 2 Harry Potter Books. Some of your favorite movies this year included Harry Potter and the Lego Movie. Your favorite video game was Lego Star Wars. You spent countless hours playing with the neighbors. You and Macy took risks at the lake and got knocked off of tubes for the first time.

We celebrated with family at the lake last weekend, but have had some exciting adventures for your real birthday as well. Last night, we met your best friend Gabiel at the new Glow Golf in the mall. You two had a blast and even ventured into the laser challenge! After sharing large lollipops with his family, we finally headed home. We started your birthday morning with donuts and presents. Your favorite was the much requested skateboard. After riding it around and trying out the rocket car, we set out on the fishing adventure. We got distracted by Jenny's pool for awhile before finally heading down to Grandpa Price's pond. What happened next will make it a birthday that you'll never forget! About 2 minutes into the trip, you, daddy, Gabe, and Kiera all headed around the side of the pond to find a good spot. Moments later, we heard screaming (from Gabe). When daddy joined in the screaming and you all started running (Daddy carrying Gabe in by one arm), Jen and I dropped our poles and began running toward you. Once we discovered you were running from a swarm of yellow jackets, I ran to grab Kiera. After swatting bees away from each other, we finally took cover in Jenny's truck. Gabe managed to escape with only 1 sting, but poor daddy had 3! Fishing ended early and we drove away from the pond as quickly as we could! Hopefully, the rest of our evening will be less eventful.

Dear Gabe (age 4),

Gabe you are such a smart boy! You love to play outside with your brother, jump on the trampoline, and play Legos. You have started learning to read, which is so exciting to watch! You also sing us songs in Spanish that you learn from Miss Jackie. When we drive in the van, we hear you counting to 100 or practicing songs in a whisper voice. You get along with Kiera so well (most of the time).

This year you invited all of your daycare friends to your birthday party. Your best friend is Caleb. The two of you love playing together at Jackie's.

You have grown so much this year and you think and talk like a little adult. Your interest in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles held out through your fourth birthday, but has been gradually changing over to Ninjago.

You want to play soccer and hockey this fall. Once you are focused on a task you persist for long periods of time. That skill will take you far in life. We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what this year holds!