Stockton turned 12 on Friday, June 25, 2021. It wasn't a year to have a party so he celebrated with family all week. We started with Gene and April when they came up for Father's Day. They gave him some cereal and treats and a new backpacking tent. He loved that and set it up right away. Of course the kids had to have a sleep over in the backyard that night. (Stockton got a new tent and the family got a new tent-Stockton slept with Ivy in his and Molly and Brynn in the second. They are just two-man or one person tents for backpacking.) Stockton went on to sleep in his tent 6 nights out of the next 7. I think he liked it!
Stockton's birthday actually ended up being on the Friday of Grandkid Camp. He was okay with that! I felt a little guilty because I really didn't do anything special but he had a blast with his cousins and all the activities that my mom had planned. We didn't get to celebrate his birthday until that night, when Justin finally made it to the cabin after work. He still wanted a scavenger hunt so Molly and some cousins had worked on that earlier in the day and were ready as soon as Justin got there. He got his three requested treats (green apple licorice, Riesen's, and Life Saver mints). He only got one other present because it was a big one but he had to arm wrestle Ben to get his final clue...it wasn't even wrapped but was in the back of the truck. He had specifically asked for this: a new set of golf clubs since he had grown out of the smaller set we had.
While we were all sitting outside, he opened presents from my mom and dad. My mom and dad always do big 12-year-old presents (Molly got a girls weekend in St. George) and we were so excited for him to open his gifts. His first few were normal: some golf balls and tees, a Braves shirt, a water bottle that he wanted. The last one was the big surprise: round trip airplane tickets to Atlanta and tickets to two Braves baseball games for Stockton, Justin, and Grandpa!! I had been anticipating his reaction for a while and it did not disappoint. At first he was really confused when he read the voucher. Then he was really just speechless; he was so, so surprised that he didn't know what to say. Then, as it set in...he cried. It shocked him that much that he shed a few tears (which in turn caused me to tear up a little, haha). It really was the greatest reaction. I asked my mom later how it felt to make all his dreams come true because I'm pretty sure that's what she had just done. I was so excited for him! (Also, this makes some of Justin's childhood/adult dreams come true since he has been a Braves fan since he was six years old and never been to Atlanta to see them play.) The last thing of the night was his birthday cake. He just wanted plain angel food cake so that's what we did. I had ice cream and toppings to go with it. Happy Birthday, bud! We sure love that kid and are so blessed to have him in our family.
I
did feel bad that he didn't get his birthday meals that day so I made
sure I had everything for his favorite meals on the following Sunday.
For breakfast he got a sausage and egg casserole. Lunch was pot
stickers. And dinner was meatballs. One happy boy!!
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