tyler gets braces!

It is Tyler's turn for braces!  I thought maybe he would be able to avoid them since his teeth are beautifully straight, but his 95% overbite was already starting to wear down his bottom teeth, so he will actually have braces longer (21 months) than Brandon did (18 months)!

He usually smiles without teeth showing so taking these pictures was probably harder for him than getting the braces put on!

Once we got through the first few days and had a poking wire trimmed, Tyler has handled braces like everything else he does in life...no big deal!

horse riding lessons!

Natalie has been obsessed with horses for several years now. I kept waiting for it to just be a phase that would soon pass like most things young kids are interested in.  But her love of all things horse-related is apparently here to stay!  She has been begging to do horse riding lessons for several years but has always found other extra curricular things to fill her time, which I've encouraged since riding lessons are time consuming and VERY expensive.  She asked again this spring and I told her that she could do them but that she couldn't sign up for anything else (except music lessons, which are a requirement at our house). Thankfully, we found a riding instructor who is nearby and has been wonderful!  Natalie has loved every single minute and her teacher has been quite surprised at how much she knows and remembers and how quickly she is progressing.

Romeo is a pony and the two of them together are the cutest!

Her second lesson (first time riding) and her instructor had her doing balance and core strength exercises with no hands!

Her third lesson and she was already doing two-point over poles (preparation for trotting and jumping).

Somehow I have a feeling these won't be the last horse riding pictures posted!  It's been so fun to watch her live out her dreams each week!

brandon's 15th birthday!

We are still having a hard time believing that Brandon is 15 now!  He's maturing into such an awesome guy.  We love him and are so proud of him!

His birthday interview:

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew 
Favorite Food: Shells and Cheese
Favorite fruit/veggie: Peaches
Favorite dessert/treat: Homemade ice cream
Favorite Cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Favorite Game: Star Wars X Wing
Favorite Book: Skulduggery Pleasant
Favorite Sport: Football
Favorite Movie: Captain America Civil War
Favorite Song: Any Imagine Dragons song
Favorite school subject: Chemistry
Least favorite school subject: Spanish
I feel mad when: something doesn't go my way 
I like it when my friends: and I hang out
I like it when my teachers: give me no homework
I wish I could: have a new cell phone 
Who is your best friend? Connor
What makes you laugh? Funny jokes or memes
What are you afraid of? Spider-scorpion hybrid (this is apparently something he read about?)
What is your favorite thing to do? Play games
If you were parent for a day, which rule would you get rid of? Limited screen time
What do you want to be when you grow up? Forensic analyst
What would you buy if you have $1000? Piano keyboard
If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go? Germany
Why you think it would be hard to be a mom or a dad? You have to pay bills
If you could have a magical or super power, what would you choose? mindreading
What three things are you are good at? piano, games, talking 
What is the best thing about turning 15?  Almost able to drive!

For his birthday party, he had 6 friends (Ethan E, Ethan M, Grant, Jacob, Andrew, and Evan...plus Tyler) over to swim, and eat pizza and homemade ice cream. We told him he could invite girls, but he decided he wasn't quite ready for that!  It was a very easy party, everyone had fun, and no one got hurt!