Jack Is 14 Years Old!

Jackson is 14 years old now! 

Let's see what's happened this last year in Jack's life! 

For Jack's 13th Birthday and as an End of School celebration we went camping in Ephrata. It was the first time I'd used my oven in the trailer. I baked a birthday cake and it turned out great. It dipped down in the middle, but it was cooked through and tasted good! I did forget candles so Jack had to blow out 2 citronella candles instead of birthday candles. Desperate times! :):) 

My sweet boy loved celebrating his birthday camping! 

To make it even better friends came and joined us in the celebration! 

Jackson with his haul from birthday shopping with Ga-Ga! 

Hansi came over for Jack's D & D party and gave him money individually wrapped in tissue paper! 

Our big present to Jack was Zurg! Jackson has loved Toy Story since he was small. He has all the characters, but he never had a big Zurg. 

Here's his small Zurg compared to the bigger one. 

Jackson is my most messy kiddo so doing this craft outside on the lawn at the 4th of July was perfect for him. Make all the mess you want buddy! 

Mustache bros! 

It's hard to believe we've known the Kuch Family for almost 10 years! 

Jack and Caleb are such good buddies! 

Look at all these PACE's Jack completed for his 7th grade year! During his 7th grade year he didn't have as many Social Studies PACE's...the green ones, because all 7th graders have to complete a State Report! This was the most stressful thing for Jack. He'd never been asked to do any sort of report that was very large and then having to do one that was at least 15 pages, with drawings and a bibliography was a bit daunting. He did great though with help from Mom & Dad and he got a 92% on it. 

Starting his 8th grade year! 

In just a couple more years that shirt will be his actual size! 

Jack is the most driven out of all the kids in regards to getting his work done. He's usually done earlier than every one else, although that probably has to do with the fact that he does have the least amount of PACE's to work on each day. He only has Math, English, Word Building, Social Studies & Science. Where Ella & Zeke also have Creative Writing on top of the 5 core subjects. Owen started out the year with having 7 PACE's...the 5 core subjects and also Health & Biblical Studies. 

Jack will have both Health & Biblical Studies next year since he'll be in 9th grade...so I doubt he'll be finishing quite so early.

Just hanging around on some of our hikes at Dash Point State Park. We tried to go on a few hikes prior to our road trip in September 2021 so I could get the kids ready for all the hiking we were going to do. It really wasn't the physical aspect that needed work though....it was everyone's attitudes! There were a couple kids that kept fighting for the front of the line so those issues had to be worked out. 

After hiking quite a ways in Arches National Park the other kids didn't want to get out of the AC and check out this arch. I don't even know the name of this one. Jackson was the only one that wanted to go with me. We didn't hike all the way to it, but we got out and walked up the hill a bit and took a selfie with it. 

These little neck fans came in handy a bit that day in Arches! 

 

At the Visitor Center in Arches, Jackson spent some of his vacation money on a mountain lion he fittingly named Boulder. 

Jack wanted his picture taken in this little cut in section at Mesa Verde. 

At the Grand Canyon!!! 

Living his best life at Ms. Ellen's swimming and eating a mouthful of grapes! Unfortunately poor Jackson has the most sensitive skin when it comes to chlorine. He usually ends up break-in out in little bumps whenever he goes swimming. It's so sad...he loves the water! 

The ropes course in Lake Tahoe was definitely a highlight of our trip. We all had a blast! 

I loved having so much fun with these kids! 

After the course at Treetop Tahoe we headed down to Sand Harbor State Park...we did stop at a little turn out place and hung out for a bit. There were these HUGE boulders right on the water. The kids had a blast jump from one huge rock to another. 

I took this fun slow-mo video of Jackson jumping. I love how it showed 2 jumps in slow-mo and then at the end it sped up so you could see how fast he was really jumping from rock to rock. He's a crazy boy! 

Living his best life! 

Sometimes Jack and Ella can actually get along...not super often, but on this particular day they enjoyed working together playing in the sand. 

From one lake to the next...vastly different climates! I see a theme here with Jack and I being the only ones that want to get out and take pictures. This was after we'd already gotten out and walked about in the snow on the other side of the lake. Glad I have a picture taking buddy! 

Eating his staple food...a cheeseburger! 

For lunch Jackson loves to make himself a cheeseburger or he'll make 3 hot dogs! He's a growing boy! 

My sweet Jackson boy....I love his milky white chubby cheeks. I always tell him I don't want him to get stubble because then his cheeks won't be so soft and sweet for me to kiss. 

Jackson earned some money from Owen when it was time to carve pumpkins. Easy money since Jack has no problems getting slimy! 

That's a huge creepy pumpkin! 

Jack was a ninja again last year....I love it when they can reuse their costumes from the year before! 

Look at this handsome guy! 

Jackson is the only one of the boys that has this amazing hair that can be styled! Owen and Zeke have Michael's course uncooperative hair, but Jack's is so soft and silky you can run your fingers through it. 

Eating at Olive Garden...Jack would prefer a cheeseburger, but he'll make do with spaghetti. Just don't take him to Chick-fil-A....he thinks it ridiculous you can't get a cheeseburger there! 

Jackson drew Ella's name last year for Christmas. He wanted to wrap it and make it look at pretty with ribbon for her. 

When we had the Kuch's over in early December, I had a fun craft project for the girls. I didn't think any of the boys would be interested, but both Jack & Zeke wanted to take part. 

LEGO's are a staple in our house and last Christmas was an explosion of LEGO's. Jack's best friend Andrew loves LEGO's and so does Jack, but this year we've actually seen Jack start to venture out from the instructions and build his own creations. Sometimes with the help of Andrew and sometimes all on his own. 

Jackson lounging in the snow chair he made! 

KiwiCo crates have been really good for Jack. At first they were really frustrating because he gets too excited and rushes through the instructions, but now he's learned to slow down, take his time and even if you mess up it can be taken apart and redone. All good skills to learn...plus he gets some pretty cool things  out of it!

Jackson loves his Ga-Ga & Pa so very much! 

He always sits next to Ga-Ga at church so he can lean his head on her shoulder if he needs to. 

This last year, Jackson has taken more interest in Charlie. In fact he even asked me how much it would cost to buy another cat....sorry buddy...not gonna happen! The only thing he can't figure out is how to properly pick Charlie up. We've showed Jack a ton of times, but Charlie's leg and arms just end up going all different directions...it's not pretty! :) 

Look at these handsome guys...they are getting so tall and grown up! 

Not too grown up for an Easter basket though!

 

These two boys' birthday are exactly 2 weeks apart! Most years we celebrate them separately, but a couple of times we've had their birthday celebrations together. Once when Jack turned 11 and Zeke turned 7 we had to have a 7/11 birthday. This year we decided to do them together since it just makes it easier for everyone involved! 

Jackson has such a good servant heart! We helped out with our church at a family day at one of the local public schools and Jack did great. He was also been a Junior Helper at VBS last summer and he's going to do that again this year. 

Since Ga-Ga & Pa weren't going to be able to come to Zeke & Jack's birthday party at the bowling alley we celebrated with them earlier at family night. Jackson got lots of money just like Owen did for his birthday this year. We're actually going to open a savings account for him so he can start saving for his car. 

For his birthday we bought him a skateboard with a lion on it, but he decided he wanted to exchange it for the one with stars. Hopefully...weather permitting we'll be going to a skate park later this week so he can break it in. 

My sweet Jackers...

You are truly such a great guy. I love your go with the flow nature. You are usually up for anything. You are a terrific help when needed. In fact you want to be the only one that mows the lawn...because whoever does that gets paid $10. :) 

You have excelled so much at homeschooling. You are caught up to grade level in Social Studies, Science and Word Building. Still a bit behind in Math & English, but you've been working so hard. Next year will be your first year of High School...that's so crazy!

This summer you are really looking forward to going to Wild Waves, camping, the family reunion and Summer Camp with church. It's gonna be a packed fun filled summer and you are all for it. 

Jackson...I love you sweet man! I love how when someone isn't feeling okay you are always quick to try to console them and lift them up. You are definitely my most empathetic kiddo. You are quick to speak sometimes and that can get your in hot water, but you are always good at apologizing when you say something that hurts someones feelings. 

My sweet guy...I'm so happy you love going to church and you love being involved. I pray that your servant heart and your desire to get closer to God will only grow as each year passes. You are so special to Him and He has great things in store for you. 

Happy Birthday!