Happy Birthday John!

Today is John's birthday. He isn't home today. He is at scout camp all this week - from way too early Monday morning until around noon on Saturday. But we are still thinking of him.

I'm proud of my oldest boy. He is a very responsible young man. I never have to worry about whether or not he will do his chores. I never have to keep track of his homework - he just does it.

I admire John's skill in origami, coming up with the intricate folds required to make almost any kind of animal. Visitors to our home are frequently asked what their favorite animal is, and before they leave, they are presented with a giraffe or a monkey or an elephant or whatever.

John loves his LEGOs. From miniature pianos to multi-story tree houses for horses, or tall buildings with elevators, John is always creating something ingenious.

When he isn't folding or building with LEGOs, John can usually be found curled up with a book. When we go to the library, he frequently checks out a dozen or so books at a time, and he usually manages to finish them before a week has passed.

John likes frogs. Some time ago, he learned how to draw a frog, and since then, that frog has appeared on several pieces of artwork, and even in 3D form, as a froggy bank.

John can run. Throughout elementary school, he ran almost every day, even making records with the number of laps he could run. He has run a 5K, the Cottonwood Classic twice, and this year he ran a 10K, the Bolder Boulder.

Like every superhero, John has his weaknesses. He is a perfectionist, so writing is a challenge for him. He has difficulty thinking of what to write that sounds good enough for him, so occasionally he writes nothing at all. We're working on that.

He also has gotten the impression somewhere that when someone tries to hug him, he's supposed to lean away from them instead of toward them. We're working on that, too.

My John is one smart kid. He loves to learn and figure things out. At scout camp this week, the elective merit badge classes he chose to take are Nuclear Science, Reptile and Amphibian Study, Swimming, Electricity/Electronics, and First Aid. Who goes to scout camp to learn nuclear science and electronics? My boy John does.

 Because John was going to be gone on his birthday, we have spread out his birthday celebration. He got pizza for dinner on Saturday before he left, and we ate cake and ice cream on Sunday. On Monday, we wrote letters for him as our FHE activity and mailed them to him. I hope he gets those letters today. The scout leaders at camp were planning activities to make his birthday there special. We'll open gifts when he returns home on Saturday.

 I love my John. I'm very glad that he is part of our family. I look forward to his return Saturday.