Parker's 12th Birthday!

Whoa.

12 years old.

I have a tween.

Veda made Parker's face out of fondant!

Clever girl.

The man of the hour with his Minecraft cake!

Minecraft is what keeps this family together.

Sweet older brother.

Cora adores him.

Sometime when she cries, she'll call out for Parker instead.

He's becoming a king outdoor's man.

We went floating the river for his birthday.

He loves hiking and exploring.

He's currently obsessed with the medieval times and "can't understand any boy who isn't."

This period in time has been a real inspiration for his new woodworking hobby.

Here we are at 40 horse cave.

The sword you see on Parker's hip is handcrafted by himself.

He has made similar ones for each child in our house.

I'm so impressed with his ability to find scrap wood and see what it can become.

Also, I'm impressed with his giddy boyishness that still dresses up as Link

wielding the master sword wherever he goes, dash the consequences.

He's completely unaffected by social pressures of coolness and really does what he likes.

He's also developed a love for skateboarding and BMX biking, 

and again "can't understand any boy who doesn't."

We also went skateboarding for his birthday, 

and he finally was able to drop down into the half-pipe.

Yes, while holding his best friend's mom's hand.

He's not even ashamed.

The great qualities that Parker has are immeasurable,

but I'll mention a few.

When he does need correction, he only needs it once.

He quickly apologizes and never forgets the lesson.

He will then pass down his lessons to his younger siblings.

I'll overhear conversations like, "I wouldn't do that... trust me!"

He really looks out for Cora and is protective of her.

He is good at taking charge and rallying the kids for a fun game or adventure.

He also craves solitude at times also.

He can often be found alone outside working on ollies,

or in his room building Legos.

He pays really close attention to detail in his woodworking,

and in any project he is working on.

He often becomes so excited about a project,

he can't sleep if he has to wait to finish it the next day!

He'll be up before dawn to get back at it.

He is a master at keeping and enforcing the house rules.

He takes being a priesthood holder very humbly.

We've been very blessed with his ability to pass the sacrament

at home church during the pandemic.

He loves making jokes!

He loves laughing with his dad and they can go on and on

with funny hypothetical situations...

I just don't want to forget how much I love each phase of his growth and maturity.