Mark's Birthday

Mark is 17! AAAHHHH!

Mark's Birthday creeps up quickly after Seth's birthday, but it is always a party! We had a very full birthday weekend for Mark.

Stadium of Fire was on Saturday instead of Mark's birthday on Monday, and since Journey was coming again, we took the whole family. It was such a fun show. We enjoyed the concert, and the fireworks. It was a million degrees at first, but it got better by about 10:30 pm. 

It was so hot while the sun shone in our faces!!

All the songs with lights were fun!

Mom and Dad love Journey.

We weren't as close to the stage this time, but it was still awesome.

The fireworks were spectacular.

Stephanie came into town so she could walk through the Saratoga Springs temple before the Open House ended, so we got to play with her family (especially James), walk through the temple, and eat In-N-Out before she headed back home for baseball and softball practices.

James is so cute!

It was a lovely and busy day to visit the temple.

We had lunch at In-N-Out.

We sure love them!

Ty and Savannah were also in town for the 4th of July. We were able to attend Jett's baby blessing. Jett was not very happy that day, but when he came over for the BBQ, he was a lot of fun to play with. The boys loved it. The BBQ was all of the Alders, and we had a lot of fun hanging out with them.

Jett was a little bit sick for his baby blessing.

But he was super smiley the next time we saw him.

Mark picked mint brownies. Mom was shocked.

Such a great young man!!!

So much fun for the 4th of July!

Our traditional family pic!

Then we went with our neighbors to the neighborhood fireworks show, which was awesome. They put on a great show, and we liked that we could walk to the show, and not fight the crowds.

Seth has been so kind to our little neighbor.

Mark's friend, Conner, watched fireworks with us, too!

It was a great little local show.

In between all of the fun, we had mint brownies and presents for Mark. He is now 17 years old and growing up way too fast. Mark is a mature, responsible young man. We are so lucky to have him as an oldest child because he is an easy teenager with limited drama and emotional breakdowns. He is very obedient and a great driver. Mark is an awesome friend and looks out for others. He is smart and does very well in school. He is a great helper and always willing to jump in and serve. He is also our resident bird and animal expert, and willing to try any adventure. We love having Mark in our family!

Mark is awesome!

He is a rockstar!