Max at Age 10

Max is the coolest guy and we are so glad he's part of our family. He's so funny. So smart. So fun to be around. Such a deep thinker. Here are some things we want to remember about him at age 10:

• He continues to be a very social guy and has lots of friends. Graham and Cooper are his besties, but he has spent lots of time with other friends too. Danielle Miller has become a good friend. Ollie, Ford Holland, Cohen Duckett, Eli Whitley, and Hadley Cragun are some of his good buddies too. It's been so fun having the Craguns start at Ridgeline in the fall!
• He tried out for the school play (Willy Wonka) and told them he didn't want a big part and didn't want to sing any solos. And then they cast him as....Charlie Bucket, ha ha. He actually rejected the role because it was too overwhelming and they cast him as Augustus Gloop instead. It's coming up in April, so we'll see how it goes! He's already regretting being in the play because he tells me he doesn't want the stress of something hanging over him.
• He's had some mountain biking improvement this year and did really well at Bearclaw Poppy once we can drag him there. I don't think he's quite caught the vision yet. ;) 
• He continues to love to read, especially graphic novels. He loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate. He also likes Garfield and Cameron's old comic books. He just got a new kindle for Christmas and is very excited about that. 
• He really likes all the Marvel movies. He's not majorly into screens but enjoys most things. He likes to play Gangbeasts on the Nintendo Switch. 
• He is seriously so funny and clever. He loves to make people laugh. I think he inherited the awesome Lee sense of humor. 
• He's just a unique guy overall. There are little details that illustrate this...one of which is that most of the year he slept with an eye mask every night. 
• We're forcing him to try out a jr jazz team in January, and he's not super pumped about it. But got slightly more excited when I bought him new shoes for it. 
• He has a pretty explosive temper we're working on. It's so wild that it makes me laugh. The temper is especially ignited when Violet is nearby, which we're also working on. ;) 

He's a McDonald's lover, which is funny because we hardly ever eat there. He says his favorite food is McDonald's fries and his third grade class nickname for him was "McDonald's Max." He even came up with a McDonald's Club at school where they were supposed to eat at McDonald's every Friday. The parents weren't as invested as they'd hoped and I think it only happened once. :)

He loves scrambled eggs and makes them for himself a lot. His palate is definitely expanding. He loves guacamole. And this year decided he likes potatoes and rice. 

He has such a creative brain. I love seeing the things he comes up with. This is a game he made up, Rainbow Railroad.

He did a book report on Joe Biden's biography. :) This is a pic of him in his top bunk--I don't know if I've ever written about how he wiped hundreds of boogers on the wall up here and I had to spend a whole afternoon removing them. I think he owes me forever for that. We got rid of the bunk bed in May when Andy moved downstairs and now Max has the most expensive bed in the house.

I just love him so much.

Hanging out with his friend Ollie. Ollie's family breeds dogs and he begged me to adopt one after this playdate.

His award for getting all his ninja math facts. He does very well in school. His reading retell is always the top of his class. He's a very detailed communicator.

Max and I have a special bond. GG noticed that he's always right by me at every gathering...and it's true. He always wants to be right by me. I love it.

His best friend is still Graham. I love that they've been friends since they were four. 

From a dinner date with GG.

Max and Graham with their necklaces Max got in Vanuatu this summer.

First stitches in the family! On Cameron's birthday he decided it was a good idea to ride his bike with no hands, with his eyes closed, and with no helmet. 

He's full of cool art ideas like this one he did on our driveway.

He has the coolest style! He very meticulously picks out his shirts, shoes, etc. He says most of Andy's hand me downs are unacceptable and really really hates that he gets hand me downs at all.

Swimming playdate with friends!

He started a AA soccer team in the fall (a step above rec). He talked all last year about how embarrassing it was that he was "only doing rec." And after all that...he doesn't really seem to love his AA team. 

He's a big BYU fan and talks about how we don't go to enough BYU events. But when he was at a football game with Cameron, Greg, and Brendan, he got pretty bored. :)

He'll tell you Graham and Cooper are his best friends. They're the cutest trio.

He's excelled so much in piano this year. He practices with Cameron every morning about 30 minutes (though we should probably up that). He played "The Baptism Song" during the primary program. Right now he's learning a Chopin Waltz. He learned "Moonlight Mood" and "The Cuckoo" for Encore Keyboard Competition this year. He worked so hard and should have made it to the finals, but there was a judging mishap this year so he didn't. 

This is a pic of Max's new soccer team! 

Decorating cookies with his besties.

4th grade picture! He loves his teacher Mrs. Owens. He's in the same class as Graham and Cooper yet again--they've managed to do that every year since first grade! (Also, I love the long hair he grew out for most of the year, although he's since cut it. He meticulously does his hair every morning and asks me to fix it if there are any hairs out of place.) 

He marches to the beat of his own drum in all things, and picked a prairie dog for his animal report. This is his sculpture. He also loves this Vans Sesame Street Sweatshirt he picked up at the Vans Outlet. He's a Vans boy for sure! He also got his first air jordans this year and loves those.

Ridgeline has the best art teacher (Mrs. Alcorn) and they make art based on art history. He's enjoyed learning about Keith Haring and making his own Keith Haring art!