RILEY IS 14!

"Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday dear RILLLEEEEEYYYYYYY...Happy Birthday to You! I can't believe that my only son is now 14 years old. He is such a great kid and so much fun to have around. He is full of questions, energy, has such a great sense of humor. This is a kids who has always had a mind that has been churning and churning, and I just dont think it stops, even when he is asleep. When he was two he could give you directions to almost any destination in the Provo, Orem area. He would take is toys in the front yard and sell them all by himself. He hooked up my computer when he was still VERY young.

One day the principal of the elementary called me down to the school when he was in first or second grade and told me that he had two 5th grade girls in his office who were scared to death of Riley as he had been bullying them because they were giveing his older sister Jacey a hard time on the playground. I was sitting in the office with these girls and the principal and Jac and they called Riley down to talk to him. These were BIG girls, and they were not very nice either...pretty much bullies themselves. When Riley walked in, he was barely as tall as the principal's desk and he laughed out loud and said " This is who you girls are scared of?" (go Riley!)

Riley has a shoe shining kit and made big plans to shine all the shoes in front of the MTC, he went down to my office when I was out of town and sold all of the ladies in my office coupons with out me even knowing. He signed up for a bugler's registry where there are only 35 buglers on the list to call when they need them to play taps for Veteran's funerals. These are all things he has done on his own.

When he decided to get the priesthood, he went and made the appointment himself, went to sacrament, made his own appointment with the Bishop, came home to get his tithing, went to choir practice AND passed out the ward journal all on the same day. When he does something, he does it ALL the way.

Riley has spent many months in a wheel chair and with casts on his legs and I don" think I ever heard him complain. H just learned how to do wheelies, took kids on rides on the back of the wheelchair down a big grass hill on the playground during recess (much to the dismay of teachers and the principal) and learned how to go off bike ramps. He would "race" grandpa in his wheelchair:)

When anyone is sick in the family, Riley is always there to nurture and take care of them. He would go spend the whole day with grandpa Rex when he lived at Hearthstone, playing with him, pushing him in his wheelchair and even helping him get ready for a fashion show grandpa was in.

When we were on our "Family moon" cruise, people would walk by our table and say " Hi Riley" or "Can we get a picture with you Riley?" We would ask him how in the world he knew these people and he would tell us that he had breakfast with them one morning. He told us one morning that he sat with a table full of people who only spoke spanish and he said they were nice, they just smiled at him.

I love his approach to life, his thirst for learning and his outgoing personality.

I love you buddy!! I am so lucky to have you as my boy.....or rather MAN now!