Elijah Harrison

Yesterday was Eli's 5th birthday!

Eli is our 19th grandchild.

and our 12th grandson.

He's a very important part of this large family

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

Yesterday I interviewed Eli and here's how it went.

How old are you now?  5!  (With a hop)

Do you like being 5?  It's good!  I get to play......

Do you feel bigger now?  Yeah!  How much?  So so so so so so so..... infinity (no it really did seem like infinity.  There were SO many so's.  

Did you have fun at your birthday party?  Yeah!

What did you like best?  The presents!

What presents did you get?  Stickers, Play Doh, Nutella, Sand, a truck, shoes, cars, and melting aliens....and cars!

What was your favorite present?  The bike horn!

What do you like best about Anna?  She's talented!

What do you like best about Noah?  He's sweet and nice.

And what do you like best about Clara?  Ummmm, she's sweet and nice too.

And what do you like best about Mom?  She's really sweet and she's beautiful and she's nice.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A daddy and a computer man.

How many kids do you want to have?  Eight!  One girl and seven boys!

What do you like best about summer?  I like to go to places like Cameron's party and he's going to be 6 and I like to go to the beach because the sand is really soft.

Do you have a girlfriend?  No!  (And he fell on the floor)

What is your favorite food in the whole world?  Tomatoes!

And your favorite pizza?  Donimos!  Yep, he said it.  Donimos.

And that pretty well concluded the interview (the pizza came in the door about then).  But I have to add a few things about Eli.  He is one of the sweetest, brightest boys in the world.  I don't think he's ever forgotten anything (which can be challenging for a grandma that forgets a lot. lol)  He's sweet and considerate and I don't think I've ever seen a child so loving to a younger sibling.  If someone barges in on what he's playing with, he simply shares.  He's cooperative and interested in everything and he loves projects.  We're so blessed to have him in our family and we're hoping the coming year is as filled with joy as his birthday was yesterday!  We love you Eli and we couldn't be more proud of you!

Ethan James

Today is Ethan's 10th birthday!

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky and is our 14th grandchild and 9th grandson.

Ethan is a very important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller part of our large family.

Last night I conducted a phone interview with him and here's how it went.

Hi Ethan!  Happy Birthday a little early!  Thanks!

Are you excited to be 10 years old?  I'm real excited!

Why?  Because I'll be double digits and I'll be ten on the 10th!  

Do you have any special plans for tomorrow?  I don't really know.

Will you take treats to school?  Yes, I'm taking in sugar cookies.  

Do you like school?  Yeah it's pretty good I guess.  Average.  You know, it's school.

What do you like best about it?  I don't know.  I guess all my friends are there and every day I get smarter.

Is there anything you don't like about it?  Ummmm  well today we had big proficiency  tests and we had like an hour and thirty minutes to two hours to take them.  Were they hard?  Ummm I would say a little bit like other other tests .... not that tricky.  That's what you don't really enjoy about school?  Right.  I do NOT enjoy them. 

How do you like your new house?  It's great!  We have tons of room and we can play more games and have more room to play electronics and stuff.

What do you like best about it?  I would say getting my own room.   It's pretty awesome?  Yes, very awesome!  There's a nightstand right next to my bed where I can put my glasses and watch and I have a new dresser.  Over the weekend Aunt Beth was here and Adam helped put together a bookcase for my books and stuff. And there's a little wall hanger that holds my medals from cross country.

So you're going to be in cross country again this year?  Yes, Running Club starts Wednesday.  Running Club is a little less popular than cross country and Mary's in Running Club which is cool.  I'll be in Running Club cross country until middle school and then I'll be in track or cross country.  But in either one I'll continue running because it's very enjoyable. 

What was the best thing that happened in the past year?  Let's see.  I would say the beach house.  Did you like the Alabama beach house better than the Michigan City beach house?  Yes because we were closer to the Gulf and there's a lot more water and not everybody gets to see the Gulf of Mexico in their life.  People say that the Gulf of Mexico is where the meteor that wiped out all the dinosaurs struck the earth.  And also it's much warmer there. 

What are you looking forward to in the next year?  Maybe if we go somewhere cool this summer because summer is a really nice time and it's fun and we go on different vacations like the time we went to Hilton Head.

What do you like best about your brother?  Well,if Mary doesn't want to play with me I can play with Trey.

What do you like best about your sister?  Well, if Trey doesn't want to play with me sometimes Mary does.  But it's a lot more fun when both want to play with me because we make the craziest games.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A scientist .  I want to find a cure for cancer and become an inventor.

How many children do you think you'll have someday?  At least 2.  I'm hoping for 3.  I would say four would be the maximum.

What else can you tell us about yourself that we haven't talked about?  I don't know.  I would say I'm a cat person.   I really like cats.  And that's about it I guess.  

Would you say you're a helpful guy?  Yeah I would say I'm pretty helpful.  My mom would say I'm pretty helpful. 

 Would you say you're a happy guy?  I guess I'm happy maybe 65% of the time.  Why not the other 35%?  Like sometimes, when I'm waiting for something in the mail and it doesn't come every day that puts me in a bad mood.  Or when I get a bad grade I get in a bad mood.  What happened with the mail?  I was supposed to get three pretty rare Pokemon cards on Wednesday and they didn't come.  But it said they would come on Friday.  They didn't come on Friday so I was positive they would come on Saturday.  But they didn't come on Saturday and there was no mail on Sunday.  But they did come today so it's okay.

So you collect Pokemon cards?  Yes and I love reading.  If I start reading a book that's really good it really gets me and I have to keep reading until I finish it.  And sometimes when I'm going home I won't look forward to going home because I'm reading a really good book in class.

And a another interesting fact about Ethan is that he got straight A's on his report card today and he's in the AP (Advanced Placement) program.

And of course there are many more things I could tell you about him.  I know for sure that he's a sensitive, kind, loving, and very smart boy.  He's also fun-loving, conscientious, creative, and enthusiastic about anything he finds interesting or challenging.  Ethan is a wonderful grandson and we're wonderfully proud of him.  And we're wishing him a terrific birthday and a year full of everything that makes a ten-year-old happy.