Levi Olin, you are 11! We celebrated you with a party on Sunday night, 12/15. We had pulled pork chili, fruit salad, and vanilla cake with blueberry filling. Your theme for your party was Pokemon. On your birthday day, we had vanilla and blueberry donuts for breakfast and went to Kome Sushi for lunch -- yum!
- You participated in your Bully Battle and earned your orange/yellow belt at class on 12/16! Just a few days later at your Kick Christmas party you were chosen as the Black Belt student of the Year! We are so proud of you! You began attending Fellowship at Kick which is the leadership class; you help with the Lil Champs class once a week and then take about 6 classes a month.
Birthday Interview -- December 20, 2024
What is your favorite color? "Green"
...movie? "Scrooge and Home Alone 2"
... tv show? "The Mandalorian"
... book? "Probably... Wings of Fire and The 39 Clues"
... YouTube channel? "Brave Wilderness"
... favorite video game to play? "Splatoon 3" {he got it for his birthday party on 12/15}
... sport? "Football and baseball."
... fruit? "Banana"
... animal? "Snakes"
... thing to do everyday? "Umm... rest time, play on the nintendo switch, and reading."
... about Naomi? "That she plays my Pokemon game with me."
... about Zoë? "This is hard! Playing MarioKart with her."
... about Zeke? "That he's nice to me."
... about Mommy? "That you try your best liking the stuff that I like, even if it doesn't make sense to you."
... about Daddy? "That he helps me with board games and video games as well."
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A veterinarian."
What do you like most about homeschooling? "That we only do school in the morning, not in the afternoon."
What is your favorite food? "Oooh, that's hard! Pork chili, BBQ chicken pizza, chicken noodle soup, dumpling soup, and BBQ chicken pasta."
Anything else you want to remember about turning 11 (or are excited about)? "To have more responsibilities; I started to collect Pokemon cards; and that I can play older video games and board games and stuff."
- We had fun working on your Pokémon-themed birthday cake together! You began collecting Pokémon cards this year after you and I went out for special time and played the Pokémon game at Mission: Board Games.
- Mimi reminded me of this picture from when you were 10 months old, living out in CO! So we recreated it at the Red Barn Farm this Fall -- 10 years later. I love it!
- You learned how to embroider this year -- you made a lotus as your first project and then this tea towel for Pop-Pop's birthday! You are beginning your hand at whittling. You are working on improving your skills on ukulele with YouTube videos and have advanced to level 2A in piano! You did a great job at your recital in the Fall both on your own and on your duet with Miriam!
- Reptiles are still your favorite type of animal. You got this neat airbrush tattoo of a snake at our Fall Fun Night with Restore out at Red Barn Farms. Sapphire your leopard gecko is doing well. Your pet business has grown this year -- 3 new customers; one family has 3 rescue dogs that we've taken quite a few walks with; another family has 2 dogs that you've watched for one weekend; and another family has a cat that we played with over Christmas break.
- You love to read! Graphic novels are your favorite, but you also enjoy nature books and read a chapter from "Love Does" almost every night.
- You are doing well in 5th grade! You're learning more advanced division, taking a writing course with Zeke, and have become a pretty good speller! Your favorite subject is history -- we're currently studying Ancient History.
- Our traditional Monarchs baseball game was the All-Star game this summer! Lots of fun!
- We rented a pontoon at Lake Jacomo in July and you and your siblings had such a great time jumping off the boat and playing in the water. It was a really fun day together!
- You are getting better at cooking and baking! You worked on browning ground beef, cooking pasta, reading recipes and measuring ingredients.
- You milked your first goat at Heather's house this summer! You continue to excel in taking care of animals and even just understanding them. You continue to read books to gain more knowledge about their care as well.
- You greatly enjoyed your 10 year old trip in May to Loveland, CO! We hung out with your CO cousins, Grandma, and great-Grandma, aunt and uncle; we spent a night up in Estes Park -- took a couple of hikes, soaked in the hot tub, ate pizza, ran a 5K (your first one!), watched the Duck Race; spent time with a family that is friends with our family; went to the arcade in Berthoud and spent some time around town seeing the duplex we lived in when you were born, going to the coffee shop, walking around to places we frequented your first year of life! It was a wonderful memory we made with you!
Levi, you are growing into a loving, caring, helpful, insightful, and focused boy! You take time to ask me how you can help me, you work hard at completing your school work each day, you are motivated to work and earn money, and you care very much about doing the right thing. You are a good friend -- listening and asking questions as well as sharing in conversations and paying attention to what others like or are interested in. I enjoy spending time with you on Friday afternoons -- taking walks, talking about what's going on in our lives, watching YouTube videos like Dude Perfect and Brave Wilderness, writing in our Mom/Son journal, playing Pokémon, praying together, and staying connected! I love you so much! ~Mom
