Pinewood Derby

The last week in May Gage competed in the Pinewood Derby.

Gage and Wade had such a fun time planning out the car and working on it together.  Gage wanted a simple design (a wedge) and Wade worked hard at directing - and being hands off! haha!

One time during the painting stage Wade came home at lunch and I found him in the garage checking out the car.  He asked me if I thought Gage would mind if he added another coat of paint?  Ha!  I told him there was no way could he work on the car while Gage was at school.  He looked a little sad, but agreed to leave it alone.  (sometimes, I swear I have 4 little boys in this house!)

The big day!

Each kid got a turn pushing the button for the cars to go.  It was a pretty cool track! 

It showed the time and mph each car ran.  In this heat Gage got first and his car averaged around 173 mph each run!  Wow!

Gage won second place overall.  He was so excited he ran a little victory run around the gym.  He also got a certificate for most florencent paint job.

I don't think that this troop goes to district, so he doesn't get to move on like last year, but he was still very proud of his second place car.  He got 3rd place last year so maybe next year will be his big year!

Way to go Gage!

{9}

Happy Birthday!  Today Gage is nine years old!

Gage is such a fun kid to have in our family.  The first year - year and half were pretty rough.  He was a pretty hard baby.  And he cried a lot.  I don't want to say it was colic, because colic is supposed to stop at 3 months, but Gage didn't stop crying for about 18 months.  I remember visiting doctor after doctor and switching pediatrician so many times.  I thought something was so wrong with him.  Until I found one that after playing on the floor with Gage looked at us and said, 

"He's fine!   There is nothing wrong with him.  I have a couple kids like him myself.  He is very directed and knows what he wants.  Channel him in the right direction and he will grow up to be a great successful adult!"

She was a great pediatrician, and we were sad when she decided to quit and stay at home with her kids.  (But I couldn't blame her.  I wouldn't trade these days for anything).

That being said - Gage is a fantastic kid.  He always strives to do exactly what is right.  He pays close attention to rules and always tries to follow them. (Unless, of course, I make them up).  His first grade teacher had a rule that they couldn't talk during lunch. (There was no cafeteria, so they ate in their classrooms).  I kinda thought it was a super silly rule.  But he always obeyed it.  Even in second grade when he had a different teacher it took me a couple weeks to convince him that it would be okay for him to talk at lunch time.

It didn't surprise me when I asked him what his favorite color was, he answered, black and white.  This totally fits Gage.  Everything is black or white to him.  

Example:  One time this year his teacher sent home some cursive handwriting homework and it had one letter that they hadn't gone over in class.  Gage just sat there and told me he couldn't do it!  He said that it had to be a mistake because they hadn't covered that letter yet.  I showed him that there was an example of the letter and I showed him how to do it, but I think he ended up skipping that word.  I couldn't believe it, but later that night when Wade got home, I related this story and Wade said, "Yeah, I remember one time in elementary school when a teacher sent home homework and there was something we hadn't learned yet on it yet too. I took it back to the teacher and showed her!"

Gage is just like his Dad - black and white.

This move has been pretty hard on Gage.  He says he likes his new school (except computers) but he still misses his old friends.  He wishes he could have both.  He's so quiet and serious I think it's hard for him to find good friends.  But he is such a loyal friend.  He is always trying hard to make everyone happy. (He gets that from me)

Gage is a fantastic big brother and he adores Lucy.  He loves to play with Eli and Avery (when they aren't touching his stuff) and Noah is either his arch enemy or his best friend.  They are perfect brothers.  I ask him every once in a while if he ever wants his own room and he always answers that he likes sharing with Noah right now and that he would miss talking to him at night.

Gage has been working very hard in reading this year.  His teacher has the Hooked on Phonics program and we have been able to borrow it and send the levels back as we finish them.  He is always good at working so hard on his levels and reading his stories.  He is finishing the last level soon.  I can see a huge difference in his reading this year.  He is reading chapter books faster and reading them out loud more to Noah.  Just last night as I was reading a picture book to the other kids, Gage would jump in and read a page or two for me.  Without me asking!  I was so proud!

If you haven't picked up on it yet, Gage LOVES Legos.  He can play with them all day long, day after day.  And at night, he reads Lego Magazines in his bed by flashlight.  He is pretty creative with them and can built just about anything.  He was super excited this morning when he opened his presents.  He got a set of the Narnia books and The Hobbit Hole Lego set.  He had it put together in no time and hasn't stopped playing with it since.  He is anxious for tomorrow, when we are having a little Lego birthday party for him and a couple friends.

He is such a good kid, we can't believe he is nine!

We are so proud of Gage and love him to the moon and back!  

{Baptism}

Eight is GREAT!

In our church once a child is eight they can make the choice to be baptized.

So, Saturday was Gage's special big day!  

Gage was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

We had a small program Saturday morning.  Wade's parents were even able to fly in from Utah just for the special weekend.

Gage and his Grandpas.

The Grandmas

Avery kept asking for a picture with Gage.  She was pretty excited about the morning.

Our little family.  I've decided, it is impossible to get a picture where we are all looking at the camera (and no one is making faces).

Our four little monkeys.

We set up a table of different pictures of Gage growing up.  The kids all had a good time looking at his baby pictures after the program.  The big plate of Costco cookies also helped the pictures become a main attraction too.

Gage had such a great day.  We were able to have a special program just for him that included almost all the family.  Noah said the opening prayer and Grandma Christiansen said the closing.  Gage chose the songs we sang that day, "I am a Child of God" for the opening song and "Scripture Power" for the closing.  His Grandma Bullard played the piano and I led the music.  Grandpa Christiansen gave a short talk about baptism.  And Grandpa Bullard gave a short talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Gage had called his best friend Luca earlier that week and asked her if she would want to play a special musical number.  She played  and sang "I'm trying to be like Jesus" on the piano.  It was so good we asked her to do it two times!

Wade performed the baptism and the confirmation.  They looked so handsome!

During the baptism a lot of the kids moved to sit on the floor next to the font.  As soon as the baptism was over, Avery turned around and loudly declared to the crowd of people, "It's my turn next!"

After the baptism program we headed out for a celebration lunch at The Rock for Gage's request - pizza and burgers.  Wade took this really attractive picture of our group.  We did have a great time!

It was such a fantastic day.  It's hard to believe he is already 8!  He is growing up so fast.  Gage tries really hard to make good choices.  He is always striving to choose the right.  He is a great example to his brothers and sister.  We are so happy and proud of Gage!

It was a one amazing day - one we will never forget!