Family Life: Jimmy's Birthday -- 12 Years Old!

Nothing brings you to the startling realization that you are getting old like your first child turning 12. This is a huge milestone in our church -- boys get the priesthood and enter the Young Men and Scouting program. It's really a turning point, and one that has made me feel unprepared. However, Jimmy has been excited about it. He's the only one his age, so the Sunday after his birthday he was ordained and immediately set apart as the Deacon's quorum president. He is really growing and maturing, and I'm so proud of him! I love this picture of him. He is such a good boy and it shows in his smile.

For his birthday he wanted to go to the Idaho Falls Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show. I will do a separate blog entry for that... it was a huge event! So that was his birthday celebration, and on his birthday itself (the next Tuesday) he got to pick his favorite meals and eat cake and open presents.

Our family, thanks to Daddy and his enthusiasm for Dr. Who, have all been watching Dr. Who episodes and even reading Dr. Who books. So Jimmy's theme was Dr. Who. He wanted the TARDIS on his cake. If you don't know, that's the Dr.'s spaceship and it looks like a police call box. It was really fun to make. I took a poptart box and turned it inside out and painted it blue. Then I added a couple layers of cardboard to the top (cut from an old pizza box) to make the roofline molding. I glued a toothpaste lid on the top for the light. Then I painted the words and drew lines with a permanent marker to make the look complete. I think it's a pretty realistic representation. The cake is frosted with an outer space look with a birthday message from the doctor:


The TARDIS swoops through the sky to wish Jimmy a happy birthday.

Jimmy's presents reflected his interests and talents: reading (lots of comic books), Legos, Lego Star Wars, comic-themed shirts, toys, and cards. What else could a boy want?