In Loving Memory

  • Remembering my beloved child, Austin, who passed away at the early age of 14. He lived more in those 14 short years than most and is an inspiration to us all.

Friday, July 3, 2009

10th birthday

Austin's 10th birthday was again outside, in our backyard. It was full of family, homemade ice cream, and a big cake decorated in race cars.
After the party, Tim brought the fire truck to the house so all the guests could ride around the block on top. Of course, that brought kids out from all the houses, which he offered a ride to as well. I'm sure Austin felt like the coolest kid in the neighborhood that day!

I don't remember what presents he got or what the "theme" was, if there was any at all. I do remember though, very clearly, standing in the living room with him after it was over. He hugged both Tim and me and said "thank you" and that it was "the best birthday ever" which just made both our days. It wasn't extravagant, flashy or expensive. It was simple, family and togetherness. And I loved him for enjoying those parts of it most.
From the photos, I see presents of spy kits, model airplanes, and science books. These were all big interests of Austin at this age. He loved his great Aunt Becky because she was interested in all the same things. He would call her to talk about rocks, some cool experiment he'd found, and looked forward to the trips he took to spend with her at her house.

Austin was active in church at this age and enjoyed Wednesday night missions. He also sang in the choir and we loved watching him in the church performances.

We visited Beech Bend the year Austin was 10, with his brother and cousins. He was still young enough at that time to kick back and be a kid. I remember him really enjoying the water park that year, before he became self conscious of going shirtless!

We also had a good time in St. Louis, while attending my cousin's wedding, the next spring. Austin loved the St. Louis zoo, as it was much bigger than he was used to. He really liked the big bug exhibit they had that year.

There was a big snow that winter and Austin had a great time, sleigh riding with his brother and dad at my mom's farm. It reminded me of the winters I enjoyed as a child. We had a good time creating snow angels, having a snow ball fight and eating snow cream.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...