Hyrum's 13th Birthday

 Hyrum turned 13 this October! It's crazy to think he's that old.

The Friday before his birthday he got to have a birthday party with a few close friends. They started off with going to a trampoline park and the Labyrinth, an escape room kind of place. They had a ton of fun running all over there:

Then we came back to our house for pizza, strawberries, and chocolate milk:

Then Hyrum opened his presents from his friends, which included a kids' Halloween book his best friend gave him as a joke, so of course they had to sit down and read it:

Then we had chocolate cake and ice cream:

13! (It takes an extra person to hold up the right amount of fingers now):

Hyrum and his friends spent the rest of the night playing video games- and they played until late!

The next morning Hyrum had a swim meet, then we went to lunch at a local diner so Hyrum could have his favorite meal out- diner pancakes:

It was General Conference weekend and his birthday was on Sunday, so we let him open one present early so he could play with it- a VR headset! Hyrum has been saving up almost the whole year to earn this! He earned the money to pay for most of it, and the rest was his birthday present from us and grandparents.

On his actual birthday he got breakfast in bed- crepes, strawberries, and chocolate milk:

Then he opened the rest of his presents- a Mark Rober shirt, a headset for talking on the computer with friends, and a cozy blanket:

We spent most of the day watching General Conference, but he did get a special early dinner of smoked pork loin, mac and cheese, broccoli, and rolls. He was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Schuetzler and Uncle Dallen come over for his birthday too! We ended the meal with a pumpkin chocolate chip cake and ice cream:

And just like that, we have a teenager in the house! This boy has grown so much this past year, and not just in height (he is now 4 inches taller than me). His swimming has improved in leaps and bounds- he's finished in the top three of most of his races the last couple of months. He has been reading his scriptures every night and trying to be a good leader at church. He has been LOVING junior high and really thriving there. But really, he is so fun to be around, with a dad-joke sense of humor and a love to tease and be teased. He still loves learning facts about the world, is such a responsible kid, is up for adventuring, and so helpful at home. I feel blessed to have him as my son!