Will's 13th!

Our handsome boy turned 13 on August 21st!  Last Saturday was such a busy day that I didn't do justice to his birthday post for the blog.  Lest he be overshadowed by his baby sister, let me share some details of Will's special day.  It was great that his birthday fell on a Saturday this year.  He got to sleep in and spend the day doing his favorite things instead of sitting in class & doing homework.    After lunch, 2 of Will's friends came over and they hung out all afternoon.  The boys have invented an indoor sport called rugby basketball (yikes) which involves 2 wastepaper baskets and a nerf basketball.   They play in the boys' big bedroom upstairs.  It sounds like a thundering herd has invaded our home when they play, but they have an absolute blast and will play endlessly.  (It reminds me of when my brother & I were kids and invented a game we named "Broomkey" that we played in the basement.  Hockey + brooms = fun!)

Later in the afternoon, 3 more of Will's friends joined us for Capture the Flag in the woods behind our house, pizza, and cake.  After they finished sweating it out in the 90+ degree heat, they played some Wii to cool off.  They gobbled down 4 large pizzas & Will's birthday cake, then we all headed up to the high school to watch a football game.  This was a very entertaining group of boys to have around the house all day - energetic, happy,  & funny!  One of my favorite moments of the day is when they sat down to eat & Will spontaneously said "let's pray" & grabbed everyone's hand & led the prayer.  6 teenage boys taking a minute to pray around our kitchen table - gotta love that.

At 13, the best words to describe Will are spontaneous, intense, & kind-hearted.  He loves sports & is a fan of the Atlanta Braves, the Florida Gators, & the Green Bay Packers.  He is intelligent & analytical - no detail escapes his notice when it comes to something he's interested in.  (Chores like putting away laundry neatly seem to be a different story!  Ha!) We have always marveled at his ability to do math problems in his head, and randomly spouts out different things he's calculated.  For some reason, Will tends to have a lot of nicknames.  We call him a variety of things - Wonka, Wonky, Wonkster, Wilma, Willami, Wonks.  The ringtone when he calls me on my phone is Willy Wonka's theme song & it never fails to make me smile.  It suits him! 

Finally, Will does NOT enjoy something we have a lot of around here - frogs.   He will scream like a little girl if his ornery Dad or brother get one and bring it close to him.  It is a source of much amusement around our house.  Here is a little friend who hopped up on our living room window just to wish Will a happy 13th!