Feb 17, 2011

The Big 11!

So yesterday, December 16th @ precisely 2:35am, Dallin turned 11. It's crazy to think of him as that old! In one year, he'll be in YM's, in a little more than a year, he'll be in middle school. I look at old pictures of him, and it's almost hard to remember him at that age, and at the same time, I wonder where the time went. Even though he likes to push our buttons, and we get frustrated with him more than we should, he is a great kid! He has been keeping busy lately. He works hard at school and is always bringing home tests with 100% on the top of them. He loves to read and is currently on book 5 in both the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series. He recently took 4th place in the Spelling Bee, getting out on the word, frou frou. Come on, is that really a word? When they read his word to him, Benson and I just looked at each other and asked, "is that a real word?" He spelled it fru fru, which was a great guess. He also got an extra year to compete in the Pine Wood Derby, because they held it a couple of months early this year. He was so excited, because the last three years he took first place in style, but hmm, 2nd to last in speed. So this year as soon as he found out that he could do the Pine Wood Derby again, he was determined to do better. We checked out books from the library and he set to work. And in the end, he finished in 3rd place!! (oh, yeah third from first, not last - although both would have beaten his old record=). He also continues to take piano lessons, and will - on his good days - admit that he really enjoys it, and he is sounding really good. He still enjoys sports and is currently on a basketball team whose record is 6:0 (all wins by double digits), and is still being coached by Coach Dad. If you are wondering, he still has - or thinks he has =) - the memory of an elephant, remembering every age and detail of things that have happened in his life. Dallin has also just recently started babysitting for us for short stints of time, which is very helpful as Talie is in high demand as one of the ward's favorite babysitters. He is good with the little ones and Peyton loves his big brother! Happy Birthday Dallin!! We love You!