"I have loved the stars too fondly...

...to be fearful of the night."

I have always had a strange fascination for space. I remember spreading out my dad's big blue sleeping bag in the backyard on summer nights and watching the stars appear, or lying back on our snow tubes after some night sledding and looking up at the brilliant sky. I told people I wanted to be a biochemist one day and become an astronaut like Shannon Lucid. I did eventually realize that acheiving these goals required more than a passable understanding of mathematics and more complex science than my brain could handle, but if I could get there on pure heart, I might have been to space and back again by now!

Liam shares so many interests with both Aaron and me, and seeing things like the universe through his eyes is so amazing to me. We talked about the Rosetta probe reaching comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko and sending out the Philae lander to explore and send information back to earth; hoping to discover more about the origins of the universe and the beginning of life as we know it.

"Mom, I don't think it is such a good idea to find out exactly how life began," Liam said after thinking over our comet conversation. When I asked him why not, his answer stopped me cold.

"Because if we find that out, people will think they are just like God."

He is 8 years old. He grasps the ethical dilemas of scientific discovery as a second grader. He amazes me every day.

Tonight I snuck him out of his room after Max fell asleep to watch Apollo 13 snuggled up in the chair with me. We get one wild and crazy life to live, buddy, and I can't wait to see the things you will do.

Happy 8th Birthday, Liam!

It was a truly epic weekend! The boys dressed as Call of Duty soldiers for a very brisk evening of trick-or-treating! The whole family was in town for the weekend, and we spent Saturday at Lambeau Field browsing the Gallery of Shoppes and Cabela's! We also had cocktails at Anduzzi's, swimming at the hotel pool and dinner at Graystone Alehouse!

Today was Liam's 8th birthday, and we celebrated with a Minecraft themed party! He opened his gift from mom, dad and Max and said, "Wow, I can't believe Max has kept this a secret for so long!" I told him that is because Max did not know what the gift was!

Creeper Cupcakes!

Happy Birthday, buddy. You are getting so big!

One of the best things about the weekend was Auntie Kimmy flying in from Florida!

The boys were so excited to have both aunties, grandmas and grandpas, and even great grandma in town all weekend!

Max was a great helper while Liam opened his presents. He was diligent about putting all the wrapping paper away, and was genuinely excited for his big brother and his gifts!

He stayed right by Liam's side the whole time...

...even resting his head on his shoulder sometimes! I just love watching the two of them together!

Grandpa Howie and Granma Pammy's gift got a big reaction from the crowd! Liam's tanned fox skin! This is the fox he shot last spring with Grandpa Howie!

Max taking his job very seriously!

And also enjoying a few gifts he received himself!

The cousins! Brooke, Liam, Braeden, Bethany and Max!

We had such a wonderful weekend. I love that our family was all able to be there to spend time together and just have fun. I miss them already!