Sylvan Lake Camping Trip

We went camping July 8-10 at Sylvan Lake State Park, south of Eagle, Colo., in the mountain wilderness between Vail, Aspen and Glenwood Springs. It was our first time camping with all three children. We truly had a super, fantastic, amazing time. Beautiful weather, not a drop of rain, the kids all did great.

Day 1
So exciting to get the tent set up and enjoy the gorgeous view.

Connor was so excited to help cook dinner over the fire, which we were all excited to enjoy!
The campground was on a stunning mountain lake, which has a 1.2-mile trail circling it. We did that hike a number of times. It also had a beautiful river flowing into and out of the lake.
We saw some wildlife - lots of chipmunks, which the kids loved trying to feed.
Several deer-
A cute duck family; this was a favorite for the kids. As they swam by, we could hear all 13 duckling chirping - that's a lot of babies!
And we even saw a moose! (Connor thought he was so funny when he found this branch and told us all he was a moose)
It got pretty cool at night so we had to bundle up-
S'mores are the highlight of any camping trip!
Day 2
Connor got ready for fishing by practicing casting into the grass. He has really gotten more into fishing, and he and Brian took every opportunity they could to cast a line. One time, I was helping him to cast, and accidentally threw his entire rod and reel into the lake! Oops. I grew up fishing, and have no idea how I did that, except I'm not used to such a short little fishing pole. Luckily it was retrievable. Connor told me, with a big grin, that is was OK, but that he's "never had a mother do that before."
We found a perfect little cove off of the lake; Brian and Connor fished on one side of it, while Isabel, Lucas and I threw rocks into the water on the other side.
After lunch we drove to Glenwood Springs (love G.S.!), and enjoyed a cool, sweet, messy treat. The kids loved this mural in the ice cream shop-
But not as much as the ice cream!
We went to Two Rivers Park, and played on a playground for awhile-
I've seen playground equipment similar to this, but not one that doesn't stop moving! We had to take a video, and couldn't stop laughing at poor Connor when he got stuck on this-


And then we splashed around in the Colorado River-
Connor has become such a big boy. He is so athletic, and cannot get enough climbing, jumping, hiking, running, fishing, sliding, and whatever else activity he can find to do. He is 100% in his element in the mountains, a true nature boy. Not one complaint, murmur or whine from him the entire trip, until it was time to go home and he said he wanted to live in the mountains forever.
We drove into breathtaking canyon outside of Glenwood Springs for more fishing, hiking, rock throwing and river wading. It really was a glorious afternoon.

Day 3
We took our time getting home, stopping first for a picnic lunch and short hike on top of 10,666-elevation Vail Pass.
Then we stopped in Georgetown, one of my favorite little mountain towns, with its quaint old-fashioned main street, cute shops, gorgeous scenery and restored little houses
Much to our delight, we discovered a new playground since the last time we were there. This was like the mother of playgrounds. It was unbelievable! SO much stuff for the kids to play on, and it was huge! I would make a trip back to Georgetown just for this park. Incredible. I tried to capture how cool it is. And I LOVE the playground rules. I wish more playgrounds would have clear smoking prohibitions.
Whew! What an action-packed 3 days. We surely made some fun memories to treasure forever. Connor was a true camping expert, Isabel (with the exception of one very tired morning) was excited and full of life about everything she discovered, and Lucas was a delightfully darling little trooper. One night I woke up to Lucas, his face pressed right up to mine, smiling at me. When I saw him he rolled over and went right back to sleep. Oh, how I love these little people!

Red, White and Blue

We had a nice, low-key 4th of July. We stayed home and did our local festival - with free hot air balloon rides - and parade. Connor and I had a fun, although slightly bumpy, balloon ride. The kids loved exploring all the booths and watching the parade. Here are some images from our day. Yes, Connor is being the llama. And then he is chatting with a fireman; that boy is a rescue hero in training.
Later in the day we had a fun family BBQ, with lots of patriotic music. Moment of truth: Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American brought tears to my eyes yesterday, especially as we watched the video. Am I alone in this? We have really tried to instill a sense of patriotism in our kids, helping them to understand the freedom and blessings we enjoy as Americans.

Looking for a patriotic-inspired read? May I recommend two:

Just read 1776 for book club. It was interesting to learn more about all the events that transpired in that most challenging yet inspired year.

And my favorite, Flags of our Fathers. I first read this about 10 years ago or so for a book club, and have re-read it a couple of times. It is the beautiful, heart-breaking, sad, inspiring, amazing, true story of the famed flag raising photo on Iwo Jima in WWII, and the personal stories of the 6 young men who were in the photo. The book was written by the son of one of the flag raisers; throughout his life, his father would never talk about his experiece being in the famous photo. Only after he dies does his family learn more about his heroic role. I cry throughout the last part of this book every time I read it.
I am so grateful to live in this country. Hope you had a good Independence Day!

Things that make me smile

1. My children
Connor and his love of ladybugs. His bug house has been a most prized possession for several years; I couldn't even begin to guess the quantity of insects who have taken up (usually short-term) residence, most of which have been ladybugs. He currently has about a dozen or so in there. I love that he and Brian researched the best food to give ladybugs (other than aphids, of which we are in short supply) and learned that raisins and damp paper towels work well (and they have!). Connor becomes more of a master bug catcher each summer. Of course, having a trampoline helps; the safety net serves as a giant, well, net!
Isabel's mind never ceases to amaze me. Brian and I are still laughing about an exchange from Father's Day. I need to preface this by saying that Connor and Isabel, but mostly Isabel, upon hearing a new and unfamiliar food item, often ask if they are allergic to it. So on Father's Day morning, Isabel came bounding into our room bright and early. She excitedly said to Brian, "Dad! I'm so excited! I am going to help mommy bake you a cake for Father's Day. It's a chocolate German cake!" She then got a very serious expression on her face, and asked Brian, "Dad, am I allergic to germans?"

I also love that one of Isabel's very favorite books is the Children's Planet Earth Encyclopedia.
I'm totally serious. She begs for me to read the book to her, all 215 pages of it. She has developed some sort of fascination with lava. She loves volcanoes, and knows that hot, molten rock is magma when it's in the earth, and lava when it erupts and come to earth's surface. Ask her what the tallest mountain in Africa is, and she'll tell you in perfect enunciation, "Mt. Kilimanjaro." And she thinks Mississippi is the funnest word she's ever heard. And on a side note, she loves the song "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings. She can always identify it on the radio within about 3 seconds. She is one-of-a-kind, that girl.

Lucas has reached that point where his vocabulary/speaking ability grows exponentially each day. Two of my favorite Lucas quotes from the past few days:
1. While he was angry and struggling with me during a diaper change, I said to him that we would avoid this if he would only get potty trained. He gave me a very serious look and said, "no potty choo-choo." It never occurred to me that to a 2-year-old (boy?), potty training would be a mode of transportation!
2. Connor made Lucas mad by taking away a ball he had been playing with. Lucas seriously yelled at Connor, "Get ball! 1... 2... 3! Unfortunately counting didn't work the magic for Lucas that it works for me.

2. Storms
We have just had the second wettest June in Colorado history, second only to 1882. And with it, we have had some crazy severe weather. Something like 10 or 12 days in a row with severe weather including tornadoes. I must admit storms made me giddy with joy. As long as they don't hurt me or those I love. But I have seen some amazing clouds the past few weeks:
And with the storms, many a rainbow-
3. Freeze pops
A most favorite summer indulgence. And now that our temps are really heating up, they are such a lovely way to cool down.
4. Reading
Just finished The Shack. Have you read it? Very interesting book. Incredibly beautifully written. Didn't agree with all the doctrine, but I got past that for the most part and very much enjoyed the overall themes of healing, judgment, forgiveness and love. It's basically a man's quest to heal and forgive following his daughter's brutal murder. The ending really is amazing. I find it somewhat interesting that this is the book we were going to discuss in Boulder for book club last week. Maybe someday we will be able to have that discussion.

5. The color yellow
It's never been my favorite, but I have really been drawn to yellow more and more lately. I've had my eye on this happy yellow vase at Target, but have resisted its call.
So far.

A thousand tears

Today was supposed to have been a great day. I was going to spend part of the day in Boulder with the three girls from one of my book clubs, a book club field trip of sorts. We had searched for a day weeks ago, and had all cleared our schedules and set aside today as the day.

Instead, we watched our dear friend bury her precious, sweet daughter today. Oh, be still my soul.

It has been a painful, sad, heart-wrenching week. At the same time, there have been some uplifting, testimony-building moments. Out of respect for my friend, I do not wish to share her story of loss, but rather my experiences this week in mourning with one who mourns, and comforting one who stands in need of comfort.

I found out last Thursday that my dear friend Paula lost her beautiful and precious 5-month-old daughter Katherine unexpectedly when she laid her down for a morning nap, and she never awoke.

Paula, myself and the two other dear friends met more than 7 years ago, and have comprised a book club for 6 1/2 years. In that time, these girls have become like sisters to me. With the exception of Brian's family, none of us has any family nearby. Many times we have been family to each other: spending holidays together, countless get-togethers, dinners out, book club meetings, overnight trips, shopping, church functions, play dates and more. We have surely shouldered some heavy burdens over the years. But the loss of a child is unlike anything else.

The day after Katherine's passing, the three of us visited Paula and spent several hours with her. I will never forget those hours as long as I live, as our friend shared with us the horrendous and indescribable events of the previous day. I think we all (family and close friends) feel somewhat traumatized by things, although we were not physically there with her. There are some things I cannot get out of my head.

On Monday I brought dinner to Paula's family, and while Paula was not home, I was able to spend some time with her wonderful family. Tuesday evening was the visitation, which consisted solely of immediate family, and us three friends. Katherine looked beautiful in her sweet white dress and tiny pink ballet slippers. But seeing her there with a small, pink casket was more than my heart could bear. Yet I have been amazed at the strength and grace Paula has shown this week. She is a rock. You'd be hard-pressed to find a stronger example of faith, scripture knowledge, temple attendance and prayer. I feel so entirely inadequate to know that I have learned so much from her, in her hour of need.

The funeral and graveside dedication were today. Katherine was buried in a part of the cemetery reserved for small children, in which there is a beautiful statue of an angel carrying an infant heaven-ward. Paula had asked us girls to accompany her there to see it up close, and we were all so touched by this statue. Surely countless angels accompanied Katherine from this life to the next one last Thursday.

There are no words to describe witnessing two loving parents mourn the loss of their child. None. Yet I know that Paula and Mike - as have I- have already found much solace and peace in the gospel, knowing we have a loving Savior and Father in Heaven and there is a plan of salvation for each of us, and that we have the glorious blessing of eternal families.

As I sat with Paula several days ago, I remarked how strange it felt that the world kept moving as though nothing had happened, that it seemed as though everything should come to a standstill. "But it doesn't," she said. "It just keeps moving." The trick, I suppose, is finding out a way to once again move with it. I imagine it's a process that can be years in the making.

I love Paula like a sister, and still can't fully comprehend that Katherine is gone. I keep picturing that scene from Steel Magonolias where Sally Field's character is describing her daughter's death to her friends; all they can do is listen and cry, and then, after a bit, find a way to laugh, at which point Dolly Parton's character says, "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." Because that, really, is what friends are for.

I pray for Paula, Mike and their 3 other children. To be comforted. To be healed. And to be together again someday.

S.O.S, T-Ball, Cozy Cows, pool party, and massage

Silly me for thinking summer was going to go by slowly. It is flying by. I am mainly keeping busy keeping the kiddos busy! A few things from this week thus far...

1. Club S.O.S. Week 2
We are just loving Club S.O.S. (Summer of Service). This week, we did a park beautification project. We met at a park that was predetermined by our city as needing some work, and a city employee met us there. He talked to the kids for a bit, told them what good citizens they are. Then he passed out vests and gloves and the kids got busy pulling (lots of) weeds and picking up trash.
The kids worked hard and did a fantastic job, and a watermelon break was well-deserved.
We've added something so cute to S.O.S. During the week, the moms are supposed to watch for when their kids do an ARK (Act of Random Kindness). When we see one, we give the kids one of these Noah's Arks to color, and then write on the back the good thing that they did, and then each week we'll spotlight the kids' good deeds. We've had one ARK in our house thus far, working on more.

2. First T-Ball Game
After several weeks of practice, Connor had his first T-Ball game this week. So fun! He did a great job, he really likes hitting the ball. His team is the Rockies, he wears #12. I am loving having me a boy of summer. How handsome is he in uniform?
His first hit in a game! So he ran to the pitcher's mound instead of first, but he made it there eventually.


3. Cozy Cows Dairy Farm
We went with some friends to tour Cozy Cows Dairy Farm in Windsor. What a fun morning! We started with a little film about dairy cows, which included video of a baby calf being born; boy did that start a barrage of questions!
The video was followed by samples of fresh cheese curds and milk. Yum!
Clara the cow gave a nice demonstration of how cows make milk.
Then we went to the milking house to watch cows being milked. The kids were fascinated with this; it was super cool.
Then they got to pet some baby cows and goats.
They played on a tractor and trailer.
And we just had to try the homemade ice cream; it was well worth it! Double yum.

4. Pool Party
After a cool and wet spring/summer, it finally warmed up enough to pull out the kids' pool. Hours of fun.
Miss Isabel thinks she is just the bomb in her new cherries swimsuit, which she picked out herself. It is pretty stinkin' cute.

5. Post-Race Relaxation
I just have to say a huge thanks to Steph, who donated her services of a fabulous massage to my post-race recovery efforts. It was heavenly.

Savannah's Race

Where in the world do I even begin? Savannah's Race was one of the more amazing days in my life. It was much more physically and mentally challenging than we were expecting. It pushed us and challenged us, and we had the time of our lives. Seriously. It was unbelievable. Loved every minute of it (almost). The zoo about did us in, more on that later.

We all met at a park in Aurora at 8 a.m.; the race started at 9. Each team got T-shirts, GPS tracking devices in their cars so race officials could monitor all the teams, and then each team had a photo taken with Savannah, the sweet and adorable girl for whom the race is named.
And Brian and I had our picture taken with Porter, our friends' baby for whom we were racing:
Group shot of all 9 teams:
A few minutes before the start of the race, the first-place fundraising team was announced. It was ... drumroll please ... TEAM HOWELL! I was jumping up and down, a-whoopin' and a-hollerin' like I had just won the lottery or something. Brian and I officially raised $2,385! We got a 5-minute head start and were the first ones to start the race. But we quickly learned that in an all-day race, 5 minutes isn't much.

At each stop along the way, we had to look for race volunteers in red T-shirts, who gave us envelopes that looked like this:
With clues inside each one that looked like this:
And since this was in fact a race, we ran to our locations the minute we got out of the car (and sometimes I even started running before Brian even stopped the car).

Location #1
We had to drive to CentreHills Golf Course in Aurora, where we had to choose Drive It or Putt It. Brian did Drive It, and had to drive a golf ball past the 150m mark. I did Putt It, and had to putt a hole-in-one from the designated spot on the practice green. We each had 5 attempts at the task, with a 10-minute penalty for each task not completed in 5 tries. Brian made his, I did not. So we waited 1o minutes. Like I said, so much for our head start.

Location #2
We had to drive downtown Denver to the Denver Rescue Mission, where we had to prepare 2 food boxes as instructed, packing them according to the food list given to us. When the DRM staff were satisfied with our boxes, they gave us the next clue. We were instructed to go upstairs to the chapel and unscramble the letters given to us to reveal the Denver Rescue Mission's mission statement.

Location #3
We had to drive to Elitch Gardens Theme Park, also downtown Denver. We were given a parking pass, and had to park and then find the volunteer near the gate. The clue we received there had 2 admission tickets to Elitch Gardens, as well as a clue with the choice of "Wild Ride or Take Your Time?" We had to decide, and do, as a team, either the XLR8R bungee jump ride (the wild ride) or the Ferris Wheel, Shipwreck Falls and the Tea Cups. Brian has an insane fear of heights, and I could not for the life of me convince him to do XLR8R. So we did the 3 slower rides, during which Brian confessed that was his first time ever even on a ferris wheel! Seriously, he has a major height thing, so as you can see there was no way he was going to do the wild ride. To try to make up time for choosing the slower option, we totally smooth talked ourselves to the front of the lines and got the ride operators to shorten the rides a bit. Gotta play the game, right? Volunteers punched a card for each ride we completed. Fortunately for us, Shipwreck Falls was not operating, so we got out of that one. A quick stop at the penny puncher machine and we were through with Elitch Gardens.

Location #4
We had to drive to Heritage Square in Golden, and run to the bottom of the alpine slide. The clue given there had two tickets for the alpine slide, and we were instructed to take the chairlift up and ride the alpine slide down. This was one of my favorite tasks.

Location #5
We had to find Clear Creek Surgery Center in Wheat Ridge. Because we weren't supposed to use phones, etc., to find places, we stopped at a pay phone and found the address in a phone book. Once there, we were given a clue instructing us to don surgical caps, masks, and shoe covers. We were then gowned and gloved, ready to suture. We couldn't contaminate the field by touching anything; if so, we had to start over. We then watched a demonstration of suturing and each of us had to use the suture thread, needle drivers and forceps to sew two squares of fabric together, while remaining sterile. Stitches had to be straight and even, and volunteers judged the quality of the suturing. (As a note, all team squares are going to be sewn together by Dr. Rebecca Knight into a quilted wall hanging with the words "Savannah is a Radiant Light of Hope" embroidered in the center. She will present the finished quilt to Savannah's parents once it is completed.)

Location #6
We had to drive to the Denver Zoo. To start with, finding a parking place at noon on a hot and busy Saturday proved challenging enough. Once we finally found a spot, we ran all through the parking lot and into the zoo, and had to find the volunteers near the giraffes. We were then given a clue that said we had to complete 4 tasks in a treasure hunt around the zoo. For each task, we had to take a picture with our digital camera and then show the volunteers stationed at the giraffes in order to advance to the next task. Task #1 was to take a picture of ourselves riding either the carousel or the train. At that moment I realized I had forgotten our camera in the car, and Brian (bless his heart) ran all the way back to the car to get it, but that certainly cost us some valuable time. Can't believe I am posting this hideous picture of us on the carousel.
Once we got the ride picture, we had to go ALL THE WAY BACK to the volunteers near the giraffes. Task #2 was to take a picture near the measuring board with the polar bear.
Then we had to go BACK to the volunteers at the giraffes for task #3, which was to run to the opposite side of the zoo and take a picture of us jumping at the jumping chart near the whatever the heck animal is there.
Then we had to go ALL THE WAY BACK to the volunteers at the giraffes again for task #4, which made us run to the OPPOSITE SIDE of the zoo once again to take a picture with the hippos (the head is in the water behind us, can you see him?)
At some point during the zoo we switched from running to power walking. All the back and forth at the zoo was brutal, definitely pushed us to the edge at one point. It was SO frustrating to see a team running the other direction and know they were a task ahead of you. Ahhh, the sweet spirit of competition. Finally we checked in with giraffe volunteer station one final time and got a clue that brought us out of that blasted zoo...

Location #7
... only to find out the next location was City Park, right next to the zoo. With the high volumes of people that day, we opted to just hoof if across City Park, rather than try to drive to the other side and park. Probably another costly mistake, but whatever. So we ran/walked across City Park to the designated clue center. We were then instructed to find volunteers randomly located at 4 spots around City Park - and we had to do them in order, mind you - so we ran around until we find station 1. All the tasks in City Park involved using different methods of non-verbal communication. At station 1, we had to use the Braille key provided us to translate a clue given in Braille; the clue was "the letter U."

At station 2, we had to listen to a Morse Code clue on IPods and translate it using the Morse Code key into a clue. This was EXTREMELY challenging and frustrating. There ended up being a time limit, and once teams reached it (we didn't know this beforehand), then the volunteer was able to give us the rest of the clue. The volunteer told us that every team ahead of us maxed out the time, but that we deciphered more of the clue than the other teams, so I guess that's good. The clue was, "the sum of all the sides of a die."

At station 3, we had to watch a volunteer sign a phrase to us in Sign Language and then using the key provided, translate the phrase. The phrase was "What is another name for Down syndrome?"

At station 4 we did Semaphore, which uses two flags to make signals that can be seen at a distance. Brian was the flagger, and I was the de-coder. We had to get out of earshot from one another, and then Brian used the key to spell out a word that I had to de-code. Each time he signaled a letter, I had to hold up a green flag if I understood it, or a red one if I didn't so he could re-signal. The word he spelled out was "Blackjack."

We then had to figure out what all 4 things had in common, which is "21." (the letter U is the 21st letter; the sum of the sides of a die is 21; another name for Down syndrome is trisomy 21; and 21 is blackjack." We had to give this answer to the volunteer for our next clue.

Location #8
We ran/walked all the way back across City Park to our car, and then had to drive to Dynamite Paintball off of Jewel and E-470. We had to put on masks and use a paintball gun to run around a field and shoot targets with pictures of our previous challenges in the correct order of how we did those challenges. Once we shot all the targets in the right order we got our next clue.

Location #9
We had to drive east of Aurora to the middle of nowhere practically, to Coyle Turf Farms, and go down this muddy road to a grove of trees. Here, a bunch of 3x3 foot squares of dirt had been marked off. We had to choose a square and use shovels to dig until we found a buried pill box with 2 Savannah's Race bracelets in it. This took us FOREVER to find, and my body is sore sore sore from all that digging. We finally found it and got our next clue, which instructed us to drive to the Aurora Sports Park, where we crossed the finish line.

The Finish
We finished 7th out of 9 teams; teams 8 and 9 dropped out before the race ended. No matter. We had the greatest day, despite being incredibly exhausted. It took us almost 7 hours to complete the race.

There was a fun after-race party, where Brian's mom brought the kids to celebrate with us. There was food, games, fun activities, fire truck rides (Connor seems to attract fire trucks wherever we are), treats and more.
And we celebrated what we accomplished. Here we are with Paula and Jeremy Bryant, some old friends who made up the other team who raced for Porter:
And here is my friend Leah, Savannah's Race founder, giving a check to board members of the Mile High Down Syndrome Association for $18,000, the amount raised by our 9 teams. How cool is that???
It is difficult to capture everything we experienced before, during and after the race. We made memories to be cherished forever. Brian and I joked that we packed about a year's worth of dates into one day. I think we made a pretty darn good team, and gave it our all. Brian's already talking about Savannah's Race 2010. I say maybe we should just be volunteers, they looked a lot less tired and sunburned!

This race was perfectly planned and orchestrated down to the most minute of details; it ran flawlessly. A huge kudos and hats off to Leah and company for the most incredible job in planning and running this event, and for the amazing things made possible by the funds it raises.

I will be sending out real thank yous, but again wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported us in Savannah's Race, monetarily and otherwise. We couldn't have done it without you! I hurt today, but it's that good hurt. And sometimes it just feels good to challenge yourself and go slightly out of your comfort zone, and be a part of something that is bigger than you, and does good for others. I think we accomplished all that and more.

Lucas is 2

Happy birthday Lucas, 2 years old today! Wow. You may be getting feistier as the days go by, but from the beginning, you've always been a beautifully handsome little boy, with some of the most amazing eyes I have ever seen. He gets countless comments from strangers about his eyes.
We kept the day low-key, perfect for a 2-year-old: a trip to the park, some mommy horse-back rides, a million readings of his favorite book, "Buzz Buzz Busy Bees." We had a family pizza party with cupcakes. Can you sense the cupcake excitement?

He got a fun animal puzzle from grandma and grandpa:
And a basketball hoop from his family; this has already proven to be a well-loved gift:
A few things about Lucas at 2:

-He has the strongest personality EVER. Some adjectives to describe him include: feisty, strong-willed, determined, confident, opinionated, expressive, engaging, animated, funny, very smart, aggressive, busy, fearless.

-He HAS to keep up with his brother and sister, do everything they do. I really love watching him watch them; he constantly does what they do and says what they say. I really have to watch him, as he usually tries to do things that are too old/big for him.

-He is 100% boy; his favorites are bugs, balls, animals, trucks/transportation, books, being outside, rocks, dirt, going to the park.

-In all honesty, he has been a bit challenging lately; his strong personality has led to sometimes frequent tantrums (at home and in public, ugh). I think that strong personality will be great as he gets older, but it can give me a run for my money right now!

-He is talking a lot; some of my favorite Lucas sayings right now are: "ta-da!;" "I did it!;" "whazat?" (what's that); "one more (as in one more time on the slide when I say it's time to leave); "why mom?" (when I tell him no). As his language continues to develop, I am hoping that will reduce some of the tantrums that come from his frustrated communication.

-He loves to play with Connor and Isabel, and has a different relationship with each of them; this is so fun to see.

-He does well at his Nursery class at church.

-He loves Sesame Street and Elmo.

What a little boy this is; he brings so much love to our family. Certainly not a quiet third child, he makes his presence known continually. We all love and adore him and thoroughly enjoy watching him become a little person. No doubt many good things are ahead for him. Love ya Lucas!