Jaron is 14!

Where in the world does time go? I can't believe my little boy is now 14 years old! I only have him 5 more short years until he leaves on his mission! Grandma and Grandpa Wakley and Goddard all came over for a little family party for Jaron.
This is Jaron's present from Lindsay. All the kids made him things.


Mmmm.... cheescake and ice cream.
A Few Things I Love About Jaron.....
1. He is a very good example to his younger brothers and sisters.
2. He always tells me thank you for dinner, and he never complains about what I make. If he doesn't particularly like something (mushrooms), he just moves them to the side of his plate.
3. He is very obedient. It is very nice to have such an awesome teenager.
4. He loves to tell me about all the things he did during the day, he asks lots of questions (of which most I don't know the answers to), and he is fun to talk to.
5. He looks out for other people, especially his siblings.
6. He is always up for playing a good board game or Dance, Dance Revolution.
7. He works really hard including doing well in school, scouts, and learning the clarinet. I never have to ask or tell him to practice the clarinet. He is constantly practicing just because he wants to improve.
8. He is working hard to develop a strong testimony of Jesus Christ. He works diligently to read his scriptures, and he is always so attentive in Sacrament meeting. All my other kids still love to color and read the church magazines in Sacrament meeting, but Jaron has been earnestly trying to listen for several years.
9. He is always willing to help out. He will take on a project, speak in church, teach a lesson, help someone with homework, hang out with those who need friends, and just do little things around the house without being asked.
10. He is a very good babysitter! The younger kids love that he takes time to play with them when Dave and I are away.
11. Jaron is very social, and a goof around his friends, but he knows when to be serious and not goof off.
12. Jaron is always excited to try knew things, and works hard to improve in the activities he undertakes.
13. Jaron genuinely loves each member of our family, and he shows it through hugs, play, compliments, and patience.
14. Jaron is an amazing young man! I couldn't be any prouder of him than I already am. He lives up to some very high standards he has set for himself. He is an amazing son and older brother, and he will make a wonderful missionary, husband, and father someday!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun Labor Day weekend filled with a lot of activity. The Gockens gave us some free tickets to the Children's Museum at the Gateway that expired on Saturday, so we decided to make a day of it. We headed up to the Gateway, and spent all morning and afternoon there. Here is Dave helping Natalie on the climbing wall.
Brayden seemed to have the most fun at the museum of all the kids. He was excited to try each thing out. He loved to see how things worked, and he has no qualms about dressing up in costume when Dave told him to. I am glad Brayden is not worried about acting too grown up yet. I love enjoying my boy!
Here is Brayden on the climbing wall. He climbed it many times.
After a couple hours at the museum, we were ready to move on to other activities. The kids were very excited to rideTrax, so we took Trax to Temple Square. The kids loved riding the "train." We went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to check out when the show times were for the Legacy Theater. We were up in the waiting room, waiting to watch the Joseph Smith movie when a missionary came up and chatted with us for a little while. We asked him if Harold and Carolyn Asplund were still serving on temple square. He pulled out his little blue schedule, told us they were in the North Visitor Center for a little while longer, so we skipped the movie, and headed to see my aunt and uncle. It was fun to see them. I know I don't see enough of my dad's side of the family, because as I came up to talk to Carolyn she didn't seem too sure that she knew who I was. It was fun visiting with them for a little while. Carolyn reminds me so much of my Nanny, especially when she talks! We took the kids up to see the the statue of Christ and then headed back on Trax to the Gateway so we wouldn't miss the BYU football game! If you zoom in on this picture, you will see Natalie is not too happy. She really wanted to go back to the children's museum, and was upset with us that we weren't heading back.
We had big plans for Labor Day to go see "Kung Fu Panda" with my mom and dad and all the siblings and cousins. Somehow, none of us thought the movies would be crawling with people and sold out for all of the shows except for late at night. Since we couldn't get movie tickets, we finally decided to head to Riverwoods Park to play and hang out. We had a good time, and the weather warmed up enough where we were very comfortable. The boys and men played bocce ball, the kids played on the playground equipment and rolled down the big hill, and the rest of us sat around and talked. We finally planned to get our family study group up and running again, so I am very happy about that! We had a great weekend!

Lindsay's 1st Trip to the Zoo

Dave took Lindsay to the zoo for the first time while I was away at Education Week. They had a good time. Her reaction to the zoo was typical Lindsay... check each thing out for just a few seconds and move on. I have quizzed her about the animals several times, and each time she changes her mind about which animal she likes best. She keeps talking about the train she got to ride there. I think the train was her favorite part.