Wowwwww!

Braden's teacher made it clear to the parents that wow sticks are a big deal.  They can be earned for a variety of reasons.  Essentially, when students wow their teacher with exceptional behavior, they get wow sticks as a reward.  When 50 are collected, their sticker card fills up and they get to pick a prize from the treasure box.  Braden was the first in the class to fill his card!

 Braden proudly displayed his sticker card...

We asked him where he wanted to go to dinner to celebrate and of course he chose to have sushi at his favorite restaurant.

After all his great behavior, we figured he deserved some sashimi!

Saying Thanks in our Sandbox

We've made it a family tradition to spend Thanksgiving in Glamis.  As we spent time together, we were reminded of the countless blessings we have to be grateful for.

 

Looks like someone got an early Christmas present....Braden loved racing around the track on his new, bigger, more powerful quad.

 Even Bentley liked the new quad!

 Bentley seemed to even enjoy the sandrail ride.  She just goes along with anything Braden wants her to do.

 I made my boys take a break from playing in the sand to eat Thanksgiving dinner.  We enjoyed turkey and all the fixings.  Who says you can't have a traditional meal while camping in the middle of nowhere?!

Braden reallllly loved the turkey and gravy!

 Bentley liked to just chill on the quad....

 She didn't budge even after Braden got up.  She looks like she belongs in a purse, not in Glamis.

Flaming Tigers, Raging Bulls

When the fall soccer season rolled around, Matt decided to try his skills at coaching the team.  While he certainly has experience playing soccer and coaching older kids, taking on the role of coaching 6-year-olds could definitely be a major test of patience.  Turns out Matt pulled off coaching these kids like a champ.  The boys chose the name Flaming Tigers for the team name.  Braden really disliked that name.  He knew he was part of a winning team and wanted a more intimidating name like the Raging Bulls.  He didn't win that battle, but the boys did win almost every game.

 Getting ready to score.....

 This season offered an opportunity to play a variety of positions, including goalie.

Whenever Braden played goalie, it added a whole new level of stress for his mom and dad! 

Familiar faces Landin and Cornell were on Braden's team.  Holden became a new friend this season.

 Keegan, Brady and Owen were three other teammates.

 While Braden was a strong defender, he really enjoyed playing goalie.

 We played against Braden's old friend from preschool, Bradey.

 Braden and Cornell hung on the sidelines while cheering on the Tigers.

 How did this adorable crew turn into such a creepy bunch?!

 Uncle CJ took a break from his life that is entrenched in soccer to cheer on Braden's team.

Cornell, Brady, Owen G., Keegan, Holden, Owen F., Nick, Braden and Landin made up the Flaming Tigers.  The team was led by Coach Matt and Assistant Coach Doug.

After a very successful season, a big celebration was an order.  The boys enjoyed a pizza party and lots of arcade games.

An end-of-the-season party wouldn't be the same without trophies of course!

The Sleepover

Braden wanted to take advantage of having Veterans Day off, so his buddies Landin and Keegan came over for a sleepover.

There are always a few rounds of foosball when the boys visit.  Keegan was losing, so...

his twin Landin jumped in to help.

Inevitably bedtime came along and naturally, the boys were not ready to go to sleep.

Landin chose a cozy spot in the corner of Braden's room and the other boys wanted to check it out too.

Surprisingly, the boys slept soundly and were up bright and early.  A trip to the park with Bentley started our morning off.

Who said soccer season is over?  The boys put their skills to use and prepared for spring season.

Gone Fishin'

Fishing is an activity that seems to epitomize father-son bonding time, so my boys headed out for a day at sea.

By the looks of the backdrop, seems like the very early morning was well worth it!

It appears as though Braden enjoyed his first experience deep sea fishing.

Hmmm, seems a little less interested once he actually caught a fish...

Ok, so the stinky, slimy fish aren't so bad...as long as he wasn't forced to eat them.

Braden caught a variety of fish, and even a couple birds.

Ahhhh, the joys of Matt taking the day off work to hang out with his buddy.

Looking forward to another day out at sea.

Better than Bigfoot

Braden gets to see his best bud Jett so infrequently, it is almost like catching a glimpse of the loch ness monster or bigfoot!  We caught wind that we may see Jett at Colt's birthday party, so we brought a camera just in case...

Like true besties, Jett and Braden acted as if no time had passed since they last hung out.  These boys have been buddies since birth, so we need to do a better job of getting together more often.

Celebrating Six

Cake and ice cream just wouldn't do for his 6th birthday.  Instead, Braden chose to celebrate with lots of variety and a few close friends. 

Boomers in Irvine was the location Braden chose to let loose for an afternoon and evening.

With lots of video games, rides and other activities, Braden jumped right into the action.

Ski Ball is a classic favorite that Braden did quite well at.

Braden played and played....pretty much Every. Single. Game.

He went to great lengths to score on Daddy in air hockey.

This smile indicated he must have beat him!

Braden's party was for some big kids too.  Stacy, Steve, Cornell and Steve played a round of miniature golf too.

Apparently Keegan didn't know just how serious Cornell is about the sport of golf...even if this was just mini golf.  These boys are so competitive!  Landin was happy-go-lucky as ever though.

Braden tried his skills out before using his new golf clubs he received for his birthday.

Looks like Zach, Jaydon and Lily were enjoying the sun-filled day.

Caden, Jaxon and Quinn had fun too!

Miniature golf clearly exhausted this crew....for a moment at least.  Jaxon, Buckley, Carter, Keegan, Landin, Braden, Quinn and Cornell took a brief break before heading over to the go-karts.

Gramma and Papa joined in the adventure-filled day too!

Despite the warning on the sign, there was definitely lots of bumping that took place.  After all, these kids are competitive and want to win....even when it means breaking a rule.

If only Braden was this serious about other things....He was determined to lap all the other racers....and he did!

These kids worked up an appetite after a couple hours of playing. 

They know they need their veggies...All the kids requested vegetables with their pizza!

Braden helped design a surfer-themed cake for his big day.

Braden was a bit embarassed while everyone sang Happy Birthday.

This group sure didn't sit still....

or stay quiet for long!

Braden earned hundreds of tickets from all the games he played.

After games, rides,golf, pizza, and cake, Braden wanted to play even more!

The Gickings made it a late night too!

Couldn't pass up on an opportunity to play laser tag.

This crew beat the teens they played against.

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The security guard seemed humored by Braden's shenanigans in the fountain on our out of Boomers.