Now came and went birthday number three

Of the boys that is.  

One thing that became a tradition in our household, at the insistence of our second oldest, was that we refrain from any Autumnal, especially Halloween spirited spooky activities like old Universal monster movies, until after his birthday.  This is because years ago, when they were still in public school, we began moving the Fall activities and viewing to as early as August.  It simply was difficult getting all the things we had done into the calendar when the older three had so many conflicting schedules.  By the time their jobs were the mischief schedule-wise, our son said enough.  Henceforth, any allusions to so much as a cornstalk will be held until after his birthday. 

So, it's after his birthday.  And we'll be heading into that wonderful season of Fall.  But first, a shoutout to our second oldest. Emotionally driven, highly intelligent and at times irascible, he is the reason we homeschooled.  His quick wit and razor sharp recall doesn't let things go, like when the district's Gifted Program administrator told him his classroom work and his lifelong achievement of all As really didn't matter.  What mattered was to the testing. He rode that horse to the finish line, doing his best Robin Williams impersonation along the way.  We realized the only way to recalibrate his focus was to go radical.  Had we not been in the economic troughs from our entrance into the Church, we might have gone to private schooling. As it is, homeschool was the only option we could come up with.

Of course he's not just rapier wit and intellect. All three of the brothers got good reviews from their teachers, and all three were noted for being nice and helpful to others.  This was made obvious by how willingly they all stepped up to the plate and helped with taking care of my mom while she was living with us, even as her health declined. But our second boy was the one who would take it to the next level. It was nothing to see him break away and walk across a parking lot if he saw some lone kid, or maybe a teen in a wheelchair, and just visit for a few so they weren't left out.  Despite his general introverted ways, he was willing to step in and help or even defend others when he saw the need or opportunity.  

Beyond all that, through the years we've seen him do amazing things.  Possessing a never ending appetite for new things, he was ever the one to think outside the box.  And even now, as a father of two, married, and already working on a sequel to his and his wife's first novel, he and our daughter-in-law have done more in a few years than I've done in a few decades.  Given his love for his family, his drive to accomplish and his boundless curiosity and willingness to dig in on what he believes, you just can't help but be proud. In a very good way. 

He's the hat wearer, so no doubt loves this import from Ireland

The middle two, or how many Griffey's does it take to put candles on?

Both families, us and his in-laws pulled together to get the Rivendell Lego Set
I'll never discourage them staying young at heart in that way

It looks like they're plotting something

Proudly showing off his homemade Tiramisu (it was delicious)

Shameless grandkid pics - the contemplative grandson, the exuberant granddaughter

The bros together again. L-R: Our oldest, our second bday boy, our third, and our fourth