Happy Birthday Quinn!

Today is Quinn's 30th birthday!!! He made a real statement when he came into this world by giving me a difficult labor that resulted in a C-section birth. It was like he was telling us, pay attention because life will be hectic for the next few years! He is our #3 child and he was due on Labor Day (how ironic) but then he decided to come a little early. What a sweet baby -- white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was very much loved and anticipated by his older sister Heidi and his older brother Cameron and was the center of everyone's attention until he was ousted 23 months later by his little sister Katie's arrival. Quinn was always such a happy little spirit in our household. He loved to help Paul with anything -- they were very best buds and he followed him everywhere. His favorite place to hang out was the garage and he loved tools. But we could never give him fake, plastic, little-kid tools. Oh no, he only wanted the real thing so he always had a handful of screwdrivers and a real hammer hanging from his waist. For his 3rd birthday we gave him a real toolbox full of nails and screws and a hammer and wrenches and he was thrilled. He carried that toolbox everywhere and it was about as big as he was. His favorite thing to do was take things apart -- broken toasters, radios, clocks, whatever he could find and he loved to pound nails for hours! He had a sweet tooth and he challenged us to get him to ever eat any vegetables. He was our only child that we could use reverse psychology on and be successful. I can remember sitting at the dinner table and telling him "don't eat those peas; I mean it! Don't eat those peas" and then he would just gobble them down to spite me! This sweet photo above is my absolute favorite photo of him. Doesn't he just look like a little go-getter full of mischief and loving life!

Just six short years after Quinn came to our family, tragedy struck. We were in the mountains at a cabin (not ours) in December of 1983 and he and Cameron were caught under ice and snow that slid off the cabin's roof. Quinn's injuries took his life. This was a very difficult and heart breaking time for our little family. You know how as parents you are constantly warning your children "watch for cars" , "wear your helmet", "look both ways" --- we never imagined cautioning for falling ice! We were pretty shocked and devastated but so eternally grateful to have been able to have him in our lives for the few short years he was here and to know that we will see him again and live with him in the next life. He IS where we want to be!

Heidi was 11 when Quinn died and she and Paul wrote a special poem that she read at his funeral. It is called "Such Good Friends"

Such good friends, my brother and I;
We loved to share the pumpkin pie
That Mom would bake on special days
To treat us in our favorite ways.

Drawing numbers on his back;
Setting up his race track;
Fixing lunch of macaroni and cheese,
And answering the phone, "Just a moment, please."

His tools of the trade were screwdriver and nail.
On old worn out things he'd never fail
To beat and pound and pull them apart,
Working away with all his heart.

We played Barbies in my room,
And then on bikes we'd zoom
To far away places
To meet new faces,
And climb a jet to the moon.

He'd ski down the driveway,
Pop wheelies the hard way,
And dreamed that tomorrow would come,
So he could dig for some bugs,
Ugly worms and slugs,
And mess up his room - just for fun.

Baseball hero, soccer star,
Belting balls afar.
He ran so fast,
The Nike's never last.
But what a pal - MY STAR!

So today is a bittersweet day as it has been for the past 24 years. We remember him and celebrate his wonderful life though, in our opinion, way too short. When our kids were little, we didn't want this day to be sad so we would always go and do something that we knew Quinn would have loved doing like going to the water slides or going to Lagoon or going to the our cabin or going to Lake Powell. So it will be with fond memories that we think of Quinn today and know that he would be an amazing, successful young man turning 30 years old today!