Roller Coaster City

That is what Sawyer has renamed Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo! We ditched Redding for the day and played at Six Flags. Sawyer is now tall enough to go on rides that he has been dreaming about for years. He is no longer content on the kiddie rides and this is the first year we haven't rode on Thomas the Train. Next time we go, we'll probably have to split up so Fisher can experience Thomas. The highlight of the day was the new Tony Hawk roller coaster. I still can't believe my little guy is big enough to go on it! Another great day of memories!

Spelunkin and Fishin

Thursday morning, Sawyer threw himself onto the bed and enquired about what we were going to do that day. As the weather has heated up this week, nothing sounded that appealing. I remembered reading about the Subway Caves north of Lassen and thought we should tackle them. We bought cheap flashlights and loaded up, just the three of us. The first time through the cave, Sawyer said, "I think Fisher is scared we should go back out." I said, "I think if you hold my hand, Fisher won't be so scared." So we held hands the whole way through. At the end of the cave, Sawyer said he wanted to go through again because Fisher wasn't scared anymore. I love that even though he is a big tough 5 year old now, he still has some fear and needs a hand once in awhile. Fisher actually cooed and babbled the whole time (not too scared!)

Since we were in the cooler mountains, we had to stop at Hat Creek for a little fishing. Fisher crashed (gotta love that) and Sawyer and I had alot of practice baiting the hook! I think God hears my silent prayers that we don't catch a fish, so I don't have to deal with it.

First Game

This game day has been long awaited for the past few years! Since Sawyer was about 21/2, he has been wanting to be on his own baseball team. This spring he missed the age cutoff by 2 months, but we heard about the Jr. Giants through the city parks and rec. He is on the white team and takes everything very seriously! Zach and I still laugh at the fact we were not very sporty and he seems to love it all!

Best Friend

This is the story of a boy and a girl that are 9 months apart, but have truly been buddies from the beginning. They have been bonded together through the years. Even with the addition of new siblings, these two still have a special connection. I realize now that they are getting older, they have different interests and new friends that they enjoy. She loves to do girly things and he loves boy things and they are distracted from each other when other kids are around. We had the pleasure of her company all day a couple of weeks ago and found that they still love to be together. They sat in the backseat and chatted all the way. She listened to him go on and on about transformers and he listened to her talk about coloring, reading and friends. They told each other goofy jokes(not funny except their giggles were awesome!) They have a friendly competitiveness (heighth especially, for now they are tied in heighth and it is best if it stays that way!). I know that as they get older and have different interests, they may not spend as much time together, but for now, Kacia is Sawyer's best friend. She is who he talks about the most, she is the one he asks about daily, she drives him to do bigger and better things, she will always be special to him as his first friend in this world.

Sawyer's 5th Birthday

This is way overdue, but better late than never. Sawyer's 5th birthday has been the most anticipated birthday yet. Sawyer has wanted to be 5 since the day he turned 4. He has had many things that he has wanted to accomplish because he is 5 and will have to be patient for some of those things to happen over the course of this year. He learned to ride his bike with no training wheels, learned his right from left, is now playing on a real tball team, can cross a row of monkey bars, cast and reel in his own big fish, write all of his letters, starting to color in lines, and not take a nap(we are still working out the kinks in this one). He is still waiting to read, lose a tooth, go to school, watch Star Wars, grow really tall(so he can ride more rides at Discovery Kingdom) and tie his shoes.

I love seeing his 5 year old mind work. At Vacation Bible School this summer, his mind and heart was really opened to learning more about God. On the way home one day, he whispered, "mom, I have a gift." What is that Sawyer? "the gift of eternal life from God!" He then explains to me that it is a gift that he gets not because he begs or asks for it, but because God loves him. I don't write this from a proud heart that my son is so brilliant for listening and repeating something from VBS, but from a grateful heart at the reminder that eternal life is a gift that we don't deserve. Believe me when I say I wanted to hold back gifts from Sawyer on his birthday because he was acting so greedy and selfish. Imagine if our Savior held back his gift because of our greediness and selfishness? I'm certain none of us would be given His gift!

Happy Birthday sweet Sawyer, I love you!