School Pictures & 12 year old boys

So all the kid's school pictures came home within the last week. I haven't had a chance to scan them in yet, but as soon as I do I'll add them to this posting. They all turned out very well. The only think I find interesting is that none of my kids show their teeth when they smile. It makes them look so serious. Andrew & Cory showed their teeth in their younger school pictures, but even last year Rachel just had a smirk (she also messed up her beautiful hair before the picture was taken, but oh well). Siblings out there, I made sure to get enough for each of you to have a wallet sized picture (even though it killed me to pay school photo prices I knew I wouldn't make it to JC Penny or Picture People any time soon) so watch for them in your mailboxes.

Last night, Cory had his long awaited 12 year old friend birthday party. We decided long ago that we would only have a "big" friend party on major birthdays (5, 8, 12, 16, 18) and stick with family parties the rest of the years. Ever since Cory turned 8 he has been planning his 12th birthday party. He has wanted to have a sleepover. Remembering what sleepovers with lots of friends were like when I was a kid, made me a bit nervous, but I had 4 years to prepare for it. Well, we picked a date and sent out invitations. I let him invite 9 boys! (what was I thinking) Turned out that the date we chose was when those boys who were already in the deacon's quarum had a campout planned and then another friend had a conflict. There was only one boy that could make it. Cory got a bit upset over this predicament. I let him know that it was easy to change the date and so after calling each of the parents, we had a true party again. It turned out that only 6 could come, but that was much better than 1.

I figured I could just order pizza, make some cupcakes, supply some candy, & they could watch movies to their hearts content. Norm thought that there weren't enough options. So, I talked with Grandma Fran & asked if we could borrow her Wii. We got a yes (thanks again Fran) and the party was on. The boys had a grand time playing video games, shooting hoops in the backyard, & watching Nacho Libre. I had fogotten how loud a bunch of 12 year olds could get. Norm & I retired to our room to watch a movie at about 9:30. We both fell asleep, but at around 1 am I awoke to the sounds of laughter downstairs. I decided to let the boys know they should consider going to sleep (like they really would, ha!). So I got them settled down and headed back up to bed. Within 15 minutes, they were having fun again. This time I figured they'd be alright and let it go. By about 2am I fell back to sleep with the sounds of them going strong.

Rachel & Andrew woke up bright and early at 6 am (we had put them to bed at 9pm). As Norm & I woke up, I told Norm that it was his turn to take care of the boys. He headed down and went to the store to pick up donuts (a little sugar for our sleep deprived guests). He told me later that one of the boys was so excited when he found out they could eat as many as they wanted. I finally pulled myself out of bed at 8 to see the damage. Cory said that they went to sleep around 2:30/3am. As the parents came at 9 to pick up the boys I wished them all well and suggested a nap for their sons. Now I can look forward to Dec. 2011 when Andrew turns 12. ;)