The twelve year old boy

Gene: "What I hate most are weddings, haircuts, and art."

His siblings: "What do you love most, then?"

Gene: "Video games, soft drinks, and camping."

He had a little run-in with a mountain.

Why was 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7 ate 9.

Get it? 7,8,9

Brave turned 8 in June, and boy did his birthday go out with a bang!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let me start from the beginning.

He woke up on June 13 to a traditional Daniel Rupp decorating job.

Pardon the clean laundry chair. Does anyone not have a clean laundry chair?

Brave's nickname, from Daniel. Sing it to the tune of Caterpillar, Caterpillar.

He got a remote control boat!

We grabbed some of his friends and went to the park to try it out.

It works great!

Then we rode the trike to Peter's Tex-Mex for dinner, per Brave's request. We brought Zeb along, of course.

Gene and I are in the front-facing bench seat, behind the camera.

That night we watched Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark on the projector in our roof room.

Then a few days later we had his party. He requested laser tag. He and his friends (and his siblings) had a TON of fun.

Not to mention the dads.

Daniel and Moose, bonding in combat.

Brave was a little shy at first.

But Zeb's enthusiasm made up for it.

When everybody started suiting up, Brave got more and more excited!

Even little sister got into it! Look at those pink nails.

Oh yeah, the game is on!

Smoke bombs were just an extra 20 kuai.

Worth every jiao.

The womenfolk enjoyed ourselves, too.

But not as much as the menfolk.

And definitely not as much as the kids.

Jubilee is at Brave's right hand. Always. 

Here's to 8 years of Brave Ransom. What a boy he is! The spitting image of his father. The brother favored to grow the biggest (we shall see about that). He's our easy going, cuddly, good lookin' tough guy who makes a friend wherever he goes. And we are proud to call him ours. Happy Birthday, Berv Derv.