HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY JACOB ALAN PETERSON! It was so fun to go back and look at the pictures of you growing up. You have always been the sweetest, kindest, happiest kid. You have always been an overachiever and the perfect student. My favorite thing to do is walk into a Parent Teacher Conference and tell the teacher that my son is Jacob Peterson. Teachers love my Jake! Apparently he is the perfect kid away from home. :) You are a great example to your brother and sister and a great example to your parents. It is an honor to have you as a son! Love, Mom and Dad
*Disclaimer...If you happen to see a scrapbook page, it is courtesy of my sister Melanie who was kind enough to put together many scrapbook pages for our family. Thanks Mel!
THE TOP 14 GREATEST THINGS ABOUT JAKE:1) He has a big heart and would do anything for anybody.
2) He is a natural leader. We used to call him the Pied Piper when he was younger because he always had a group of kids following him around.
3) He is very disciplined at everything he does.
4) He is in better shape than anyone in our family. He swims an average of 6-8 hours a week.
5) He is an animal lover and takes great care of his guinea pigs.
6) He has had a 4.0 GPA since the beginning of 7th grade.
7) He is an entrapreneur...He once made $75 in a day running a neighborhood snack shack.
8) He can text really quickly and very accurately, even with his eyes shut.
9) He loves to build things out of legos, rocks, bricks, wood, snow, etc.....
10) His closet and drawers are immaculately organized. However, his room is usually a disaster.
11) He loves to be outside...trampoline, biking, walking with friends, hiking.
12) He and his cell phone are BFFs
13) He would rather spend time with his Aunt Melanie than anyone else.
14) He knows who he is and is very confident in who he is. He has never been one to cave into peer pressure or follow the crowd. He has always just done his own thing.
Happy 65th Birthday Dad! You are now months away from retirement ...yipee!!! This year we also celebrated your year anniversary of the scariest Halloween I've ever had...that scary day your heart valve decided to come off. I remember very clearly sitting in the ICU waiting room on Halloween, waiting for news that you had come out of surgery OK. The thought of possibly losing you was heartbreaking! This will be a much happier Halloween!!!
We got to spend a week in Florida hanging out on the beach. It was incredibly beautiful and relaxing!!! We stayed in a condo on Ormond Beach, 5 minutes away from Daytona Beach. All of the kids had a blast, especially Jake who is our family daredevil. He had a lot of fun catching the waves with his green inner tube. Megan and Derek didn't go out as far as Jake, but they caught their own waves with their boogie boards and Meg's pink inner tube. Overall, it was the greatest vacation!!!! 
Jake is one lucky kid! When he got to school, a cutie named Sadie gave him a cake that looked like a giant blue cupcake. By the time he walked around for a couple of hours with it at school, it was covered with finger marks and all of the cute decorations had been eaten. His Spanish teacher made Jake and his cake stand in front of the class while they sang Happy Birthday to him. One teacher even gave him a fork. At some point during the day, he received a balloon bouquet which (surprise) didn't last long. He then got to check out of school for lunch at Cafe Rio with mom and dad. After school was a trip to a cell phone accessory store at the mall. The lucky kid then received another cake from a cutie named Emily. She made him a cake shaped and decorated like a swimming suit. Seriously, can a 14th birthday get any better????
HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY JACOB ALAN PETERSON! It was so fun to go back and look at the pictures of you growing up. You have always been the sweetest, kindest, happiest kid. You have always been an overachiever and the perfect student. My favorite thing to do is walk into a Parent Teacher Conference and tell the teacher that my son is Jacob Peterson. Teachers love my Jake! Apparently he is the perfect kid away from home. :) You are a great example to your brother and sister and a great example to your parents. It is an honor to have you as a son! Love, Mom and Dad
