Jonah and Micah were so excited for their 12th birthday to come, because once they turned 12, they could graduate from primary and start going to Young Men's instead, and they've been ready to leave primary since January when half their church class had birthdays and moved on ahead of them. So it was with much anticipation that they FINALLY turned 12 on September 22! We ended up celebrating their birthday 3 times due to our crazy busy schedule in September. Our first celebration was a family dinner for them on Sunday, September 20. They both wanted steak with mashed potatoes for their birthday meal, so they shared the same birthday meal! We had Grandma and Grandpa T. and Uncle Tim & Barb over to join us for the delicious dinner.
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| He'd already taken a bite when I told him I was taking his pic. The boys take turns using the special red plate; Jonah got to use it on the 20th. |
When I'd asked them a few days prior to the celebration what they'd like to have for their birthday dessert, they took the request pretty seriously and spent time looking through my recipe box and recipe books to see what looked most appealing to them because they weren't sure what they wanted, and they were interested in trying something new. They both picked similar things. Jonah picked a brownie cheesecake, and Micah picked a chocolate cream cheese pie. We ate Jonah's brownie cheesecake after the family dinner, and saved Micah's dessert for their actual birthday.
After dinner, the boys opened their gifts. On their actual birthday (Tuesday), it was going to be hectic day, and they wouldn't have much time to open them, so we thought it would be better to do it at the family dinner even though that meant they would get to open all their gifts early.
I'd taken them shopping for a few of the things they needed, like shoes, clothes, and watches. And Grandma T. got them what they wanted most: new XBox controllers. Grandma P. got them new church pants (which was desperately needed because they'd grown out of their old ones), a game, a book, and a fun racquetball set. And Tim & Barb gave them candy and cash (both are always much appreciated with growing boys!). The big surprise came when they opened new rifles and ammo from dad. They had no idea what the large-wrapped gifts were. Josh came up with the idea of getting them all on his own, went shopping for months until he found the right ones, and he was so excited to get these guns for his boys!!
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| (Micah's not really THAT much shorter than Jonah, he's just bending his body holding the weight of the new gun!) |
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| This photo makes me laugh!!! They loved the new racquetball game from Grandma P., and when I took a photo of them to send to her, they both made the same piggy face!!! |
It was a beautiful Sunday, so after dinner, dessert, and gifts, the boys went outside to play with the new racquetball set as Josh and I laid in the hammocks watching them and enjoying the sunshine.
On their actual birthday, I thought it would be fun to make breakfast for them. They make their own breakfast, and usually just eat cold cereal or yogurt or pop tarts for breakfast. So I told them I would make french toast for them because they both really like it, and we don't have it a lot. I am not a morning person and don't like to wake up any earlier than I have to to make it to school on time, so when I told them my plans of making them breakfast on their birthday, they didn't think it was actually going to happen. They truly didn't think that I could wake up early enough to make breakfast for them before they had to go to school!! What a bunch of disbelievers!! I surprised them, though, and woke up early enough to make their breakfast, and they said it felt like Christmas (the one day a year I usually make warm breakfast for everyone).
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| Micah got to use the red special plate on the 22nd. |
After school, Micah had Cross Country practice with Ammon until around 6, and Jonah had football practice from 6-7:30. So, after everyone was home after 8:00 that night, we had Micah's chocolate cream cheese pie. Out of the two pies I'd made for their birthday, they said they liked this one the best, so I'm glad we had it on their actual birthday!
We celebrate birthdays alternating each year between a family and a friend birthday party. This year, it was the twins' turn for a family party. They chose to go to iJump in Idaho Falls; an indoor trampoline park that we've heard about but never been to before. We had plans to go there the weekend right after their birthday, but that didn't work out because Micah, Ammon, and Josh had to go to Boise for a XC meet and Jonah had a home football game that weekend. Instead, we went the following weekend (the first Saturday in October) since Jonah already had a football game in Idaho Falls so we were driving there anyway. Ammon has wanted to go to iJump for a couple of years now, but he was unable to come with us because of an injury he sustained in XC practice a few days prior to us going (that's another story altogether). So Josh and I took the 3 boys after we watched Jonah's football game (that they won, btw!). They had fun jumping together for 2 hours. There was an open area, a dodgeball area, and a styrofoam pit they could jump into. They alternated between all 3 areas, but the dodgeball was their favorite!
Although they went into Young Men's on the Sunday following their birthday, they had to wait a few weeks to get set apart, because Josh's parents were gone on that Sunday (we wanted their grandpa to be part of their ordination) and then it was General Conference. So it wasn't until October 11 that they able to receive the priesthood from their dad at church. It was a happy moment for me to witness!
I'm so proud of these boys and for the young men that they are becoming. They are funny, responsible, smart, athletic, hard-working kids!
Jonah's favorites at age 12:
color-green
food-steak
friends-Hunter, Kota, Erik
sport-football or basketball
activity-camping
t.v. show-Chicago Fire
video game-Smashy Road
Micah's favorites at age 12:
color-orange
food-prime rib
friends-Erik, Hunter
sport-cross country
activity-camping
t.v. show-Duck Dynasty
video game-Smashy Road
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