Happy 14th Birthday Mac!

I honestly can't believe my Mackie is 14! I'm not going to carry on about when you were born, and how your Dad chose to drive only 50 mph in a 60 mph zone, on the way to the hospital. You are a special young man and we are so proud of you and the person you are becomming.

You wanted a Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese frosting...made from scratch or from my loving hands. Ha! Ha!

Uncle Calvin suprised you and came over that night. We had tacos, and some fancy mexican fries. Mason put the candles on the cake.

Happy Birthday McCager!!

Never Say Never

The ONE child that I thought I would NEVER have to take into Childrens Hospital for a Clinic visit was this one....Mac. Something not so great showed up in a routine Physical for Boy Scout Camp in July, so we had to have it checked out. I'm not going to get into it on the Blog (I do have boundries). If anyone is really concerned, you can e-mail me or phone me. It is something that I found out is carried on through the Dawson side. My Dad and Brother have the same thing, and they are healthy and fine.

Mac, reading a Harry Potter book in the car. It was just the two of us. Mason stayed with Papa and Nana Dawson. It's nice to have Grandparents so close! So, we were in the car, and Mac wouldn't look up....FINE! It's going in the blog.

Of course....I had to take pictures of him. Go through the same routine as Mason. This is Mac in front of the Orca Sculpture. He was getting kinda annoyed. Teenager.

And get his picture taken with Mickey Mouse. The pic of Mason is cuter...but by this time-he was more than annoyed with me and becoming uncooperative. It goes in the blog anyways.

In the examination rooms, there are dry erase boards. Mac took full advantage of it. The Doctor that saw him (not any of Mason's docs) was very impressed with his art work. The doctor talked more about his art work than him. If Mac was really sick, I would have been really upset-but I wasn't. The other Doctor spoke to me and told me Mac was fine, that whatever the problem is, it's heriditary, he's healthy, his weight is good, his blood pressure is great (she was really excited about that). They usually see sickly, pale, skinny kids-so they were happy to see a kid like Mac.

Mac even wrote words on the T-shirts of the people in his art work. I'm grateful that my son is so concerned about the enviroment. It says "Home Work Kills trees".

He signed it and left it there without erasing it. I'm grateful that Mac will be fine, and that also he as able to preoccupy himself. I did run into Mason's Pulmonary doctor while we were there. She saw me and then said "we don't have an appointment today", and then she had a really concerned look on her face. I told her we were there for Mac and then she felt better. But she had a puzzled look on her face wondering what was wrong with a big, healthy kid like Mac. I'm glad we have Childrens in our "back yard" for things like double checking on things. I'm also grateful that my big healthy kid is alright.

Scout Camp

The first week of August, Mac went to Scout Camp. Last year, he went to Camp Grizzly in Idaho. This year, he went to Black Mountain....where Lee used to go when he was a Boy Scout (100 years ago...in a galaxy far, far away). Preparing Mac for Scout Camp is a challenge. I am forever and eternally GRATEFUL that his Scout Master makes a list of everything he needs for Camp. Last year, the list was longer and we had to buy alot of stuff. This year, not so much-but he still had alot of stuff.

Part of preparing Mac this year was his Swimming. He hasn't been the strongest swimmer. He had been to Swimming Lessons off and on in his life. He hasn't been exposed to swimming like I had been when I was growing up. In Yakima, when it's in the late 80's to low 100's for most of the summer, we went swimming-it's just the way it was and still is. So, I had to take Mac to the High School to teach him some swimming strokes, diving, and just to stay afloat in the deep end. I didn't go into the pool-I managed to teach him from the side of the pool, and it worked. Mac passed his BSA Swimming test and earned his Swimming Merit Badge. The first thing he told me when I picked him up was "Mom! I passed my Swimming Stuff and earned my Swimming Merit Badge!" I was so HAPPY!!

He also earned 3 other Merit Badges at Camp. And managed to have a little fun Mountain Biking and doing a few other activities. He had a blast there...and it wasn't so hot like it was last year in Idaho.

I'm so proud of him and I'm so happy he loves Scouts. Now, we need to work on his packing...he feels the need to bring the "kitchen sink" with him when he goes. P.S. Mason missed him every stinking day he was gone. Asked me when he was coming back, all 7 days.

Science Project Part 2

Mac and I looked at his grades online this morning (gotta lOvE Skyward).....and he got an A on his Science Project!! He was very proud (and relieved). I told him congratulations (I'm so proud of him too). He told me I could write this little information on the blog. It's not often that he says that. He often makes fun of me with my blogging. Everytime I take a picture he asks in a sarcastic tone "are you going to put this on your BLOG Mom". It's usually, yes.
Way to Go Mac!

Mac's Science Project

Yes, the teenager is going to kill me for blogging this, especially this picture. He was being sarcastic, and he got caught! He never smiles like this. Mac had to do a Science Project. He had to actually do something over a period of time. He really wanted to do something he saw on Mythbusters, but only on a much, much, much, smaller scale. On Mythbusters, they had 4-5 different small greenhouses, and they grew plants and flowers in different types of environments. The environments were talking, rock music, yelling, classical music, and I believe nothing at all. So Mac choose to grow these plants from a seed and he grew them. 1 plant was exposed to rock music, another plant-some other type of music, and the 3rd plant he did nothing with (silence). Mac had to keep track of the plants growth by measuring them with a ruler, and I took pictures of them, each week.

He wrote his measurements down, he kept notes, and then when we had to put the Project together, he made a graph of the progress of the growth. The graph was the only thing he was really excited about doing. I made him write everything down (Hypothesis, Outcome, etc). I also made him type it all. It was so painful for me (the fastest typist) to watch my son, try to type all of this. I had to leave the house. So Mason and I did. 1 hour later (or so) he was done.

I'm really proud of Mac, because he did all of this with very, very little assistance from me. I "blew up" the titles for him. He cut everything out and mounted them on the black paper. He glued everything down with glue or Rubber Cement-I found it at a craft store and he had never used it before. They use glue sticks. Anyways. I think he got an "A"-we are waiting to see. He showed it at the Science Fair with the whole 7th Grade. It was interesting to see all of the different types of projects.

Happy 13th Birthday Mac! 13 Things We Love About You.

1. You would rather spend time with your Dad and Family than do something with your friends.
2. You Love Football, and begged your Mom to play for 3 years before she said yes.
3. You are compassionate. When you were 9, you thought that someone should turn an old building you saw into a place for homeless people to go.

4. You work hard. You have Dyslexia like your Mom, and worked really hard on improving your reading skills to keep up with your classmates. You also work hard when you work with your Dad.
5. You are patient. Refer to #1 for an example.
6. You make friends easily and are a sociable kid.

7. When you were 5 years old, we went to a fancy restaurant and said "I think I will have shrimp for dinner". You still like shrimp, and steak, and pizza.

8. You are polite and you have manners-apparently you do use your manners out in public, and for that I am grateful.

9. You are flexible, easy going, and are willing to "go with the flow" of life.

10. You easily accept change. We have moved around alot, and you never complained.

11. You LOVE Science and like to watch things blow up. You like to watch Mythbusters to see how things work, and to watch things blow up.

12. You are a very good big brother. When you were 6 and Mason was a baby, I needed to take a shower, and put him in the swing for you to "watch him". You were watching cartoons, and felt Mason needed to watch them too. You moved his swing into the same direction as the T.V. and did this successfully, without getting his oxygen tube caught under the swing and kept his feeding machine upright. I was shocked when I got out of the shower- 10 minutes later.

13. You are an all around good kid. When you go on Scouting trips, or stay at friends houses, I am always told what a good kid you are, and never cause problems.

We are proud of you Mac! I can't believe you are a Teenager, and am shocked that you are 13. Where did the time go? It doesn't seem like 13 years, but I guess it is. Happy Birthday!!

Happy Morf of July!

When Mac was 2 1/2, he couldn't say his "F"s at all. We lived 1 mile away from Grandma and Pa Bryant-who celebrated the 4th of July in a big way. When you have 5 acres of land, in Western Washington, it gives you free reign over what you can do, or should I say blow up. And don't get me started on the food. It was enough to feed an Army. So, one year, when Mac was 2 1/2, his Grandma says "Happy 4th of July!" and he said "Happy Morf of July!". He continued to say Morf of July for 2 years. Lee and I called it Morf of July for several years after that, with Mac correcting us. Mason, said Morf of July for only 1 year.
Lee and I have always enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July. We teach our family the meaning of the 4th of July, and to appreciate the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. We have always supported the troops, and are grateful to all of the men and women who are serving in Afganistan and Iraq right now, fighting for us-for our rights & freedoms.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!