Burgers, cake, and his driver's license...what more does a 16 year old boy need?!
Nothing...unless you want to count a worried mom who has no idea how her little baby grew up so fast.
It's always a little sad for me when summer comes to an end.
Thank goodness for fall festivities to keep my spirits lifted!
The Pumpkin Patch is one of my very favorites:) We lucked out with a beautiful sunny day and Dad even got to join us! We were just missing our Kya (and Summer's fingers got closed in the van door when we were getting ready to head home--poor baby).
And not much can compare to the beauty of fall in the Pacific Northwest.
When you get engaged, traditionally, you get an engagement ring.
When you get married, traditionally, you get a wedding band.
Well, I have been traipsing around town for 21+ years wearing only an engagement ring!!!
Shocking, I know!
But, not anymore!!!!
AND, since I had to wait so long, I got an "anniversary" bad...which means it has diamonds on it;)
Being born 8.5 years after your closest sibling has it's advantages, but it also definitely has its disadvantages.
Some of Summer's best friends are her siblings friends. They come over and give her attention, and talk to her, and listen to her, and play with her...much more than her siblings do (without being coerced). The only problem is...they grow up and leave...very quickly.
It started a couple years ago, when Jordan graduated and she and her friends started moving away.
Two years later, as Kya graduated, it happened again. Two of Summer's favorite friends (Kya's friends) left...one to college and one on a mission. Luckily she still has two more years with Tyson's friends! I don't know what she'll do when Luke moves away!
Jake is headed to BYU Provo
Max is headed to be a missionary in Russia!
When you have children, somewhere in the back of your mind, you think they will be similar to you...or at least you'll share some common interests...or at the very least, you'll be able to tolerate the things that they love.
Through the years my kids have had a lot of different interests. Jordan and I shared a love of dance, High School Musical, and shopping. Kya loves Friends just as much as I do...maybe even more! She also loved gymnastics and softball, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Tyson entertained me with tennis matches and magic tricks and let me watch Lost with him (one of my very favorites). Summer shared my love of cats and hamsters. While the kids interests and hobbies have changed, I've always been able to somewhat enjoy what they enjoyed (Minecraft was a stretch, but I could still see the appeal), but Summer has managed to change all that.
Summer is absolutely, positively, unapologetically, obsessed with reptiles...specifically snakes and lizards. I HATE lizards and I truly LOATH snakes. I secretly avoid the reptile house at the zoo, I jump and scream if I see one in the wild...and you should have seen my reaction when Mike and Summer came home from the reptile zoo with a toy bearded dragon and tricked me into thinking it was real. Seriously, I am not a fan. And, while I can turn away from the YouTube channel where she watches snakes hatch...I can't seem to break the promise that she could have a pet lizard for Christmas. How/why did I make that promise?? I think I was putting my foot down about getting a snake, and the next words out of my mouth were "I'd be open to a gecko". What have I got myself into?! Any chance she'll fall out of love with lizards before December? Gosh, I sure hope so.
At the zoo...taking a picture of her favorite animal :/
I never thought this day would come, but after 18months, the kids are finally back to full time school!
Summer--2nd Grade
{Jordan is starting her 3rd year of college (at Cascadia) and Kya will be a freshman (at BYUI)}
