Eli is 10!

Eli had a great birthday this year. He was due for a friend party and he had a great turnout. We did it a few days before his birthday. We ended up doing it at Laser mania which was so easy and I loved it. Definitely might be worth the money to do that in the future. I loved these pictures of Eli conducting as they sang "Happy Birthday" to him :). That perfectly captures Eli:

He had kids from school and the ward come, along with Lily and Maddy. He got a lot of really fun gifts, including this jousting set that he and Maddy loved playing with when we got home:

We celebrated on his actual birthday too. He wanted to decorate his cake:

He got his birthday wish again--snow on his birthday! He, Nate, Joe and I all sat in the hot tub watching it fall and it was so peaceful. He got some good gifts from family, too:

He was so excited to get that box from Mark Rober's building subscription. He's loved making those when they arrive every month.

Eve gave him a Koopa Troopa:

Natalie got him some swords:

Lizzie got him a cotton candy machine:

Eli had a big year. He finished up his 3rd grade year and finished half of his 4th grade year at a new school (Summit). He made some good friends, played a season of soccer, and progressed a lot on the cello. He was excited to join Maddy at Summit this year and he likes his teachers pretty well. Unfortunately his main teacher was burned in an accident right before school started so he had subs for a while. That made things a little less stable. He still loves math, though, and likes his math teacher a lot. His teacher just raves about how advanced he is. When he was still at Horizon, he loved to spend time in Regina's STEM room. He got really into soccer this year after playing at recess a lot at Horizon. It was so fun for me to play with him and to watch him practice by himself in the yard. He even mastered a rainbow kick after lots of practice! 

Eli brings so much life and zest to our family and it's so fun to watch him learn and grow. He is a wonderful brother to his siblings and so helpful and kind. We can't imagine life without him. We love you, Eli!