Double Digits

We're done with the single digits in our house. Our youngest son turned 10 a few days ago and what a day he had! It started early with presents and cake, and of course a special card from Mum. He's always been a big reader. You can see here, here and here that books have often appeared on his birthday cards. Well, this year I decided to show him surrounded by his books. He leaves them all around the house you see and will often simply start reading a book if there happens to be one near to where he is sitting. It drives me a little crazy!

He has paper and pencils in front of him too. He loves drawing and, like the books, often has a few pictures on the go at the same time. Yes, it all gets a bit chaotic, and yes, he's very untidy, but I guess that's the, ahem, creative part of him showing through!
My youngest is always dressed for the summer. He is one of those people who is always warm, even when I am freezing cold. He insists on wearing a t-shirt when it is pouring with rain and he removes his socks the minute he gets home, to walk barefooted on our cold tiled floors. Brrr!
His other main interest at the moment is maps. The National Geographic map I have shown on his card is on the wall above his bed. He lies in bed at night, memorising the names and places of all the different countries in the world. Maybe he'll be a great explorer one day?

So, the day started with presents and cake, but the big surprise was yet to come! A couple of years ago we spotted some paragliders when visiting friends in the coastal city of Netanya. My daredevil son wanted to have a go and so I knew exactly what to plan for his big day! The sea air currents were, apparently, not blowing in the right direction and so the paragliding became powered paragliding on a 2-seater ATV (all-terrain vehicle). It didn't matter at all. My adventurous 10 year old was simply thrilled to be flying with his instructor, below. What an exciting birthday he had!