Aden turns 12

 Aden had a party for his 12th birthday on National Doughnut Day. It was as easy as inviting a few friends, using our apocalyptic backyard for a Nerf War, and piling up doughnuts for a cake.

 There was an obstacle course, some Mentos and Diet Coke experiments, and a campfire to close out the night. Aden has made some great friends over the last year and I think they just wanted a chance to "hang."

Kaleb skateboarded down to Albertson's to get Aden this raft as a gift. (And then had to skateboard home with it fully inflated. Ha!) So sweet. They took it to Grandma Ellen's pool to test it out.

 Also, snow cones and pancakes. Sugar rush!

One last celebration to cap off the birthday week. Dan and Ellen give each of the boys $500 and a fancy dinner if they read through the Bible. Aden just finished in time for this to coincide with his birthday. Such a profound investment in their grandson's life. It takes a village!

Boise West U13

#11 with the pink cleats is our Aden. As the little brother to two other lacrosse players, he has developed into quite the competitor. This year, with how the birthdays fall, he was the youngest member of his team. He made the A team though and saw a good amount of playing time. He will spend his off season trying to bulk up, as you can see, some of the other guys are way bigger than him. Hard to think about an Archuleta being the lil' guy :)

boy mom

There is a lot about parenting that has thrown me for a loop. Having four boys, one thing I knew for sure was that team sports would be a part of our future. This year it was Aden's turn to try lacrosse. A funny thing about my detail oriented son, he is the only one in the family to ever read the rulebook for lacrosse. Aden is number 8 on the yellow team.

 Here is what I consider my best capture to date:

 Can you see the ball he just shot? The goalie caught it but we were so proud anyway.