Thursday, November 28, 2013

Terrific Teens

WE now have FOUR teenagers!  How lucky are we?  Parker turned 13 on November 15th.  It's funny, for years I was worried about teenagers.  About how difficult they would be.  And you know what?  I absolutely LOVE mine:)  Now Taylor, Grace, Parker and Cali, if you're reading this, I don't want you to get big heads.  You're not quite perfect!  Occasionally there is some eye-rolling, deep sighing and overall melancholy when chores are assigned or you're asked to do something you're not super-happy about.  But that just goes with the territory.  The great things you guys do for our family totally outweigh any challenges you add to my life and mom's!  Keep it up.  You guys are awesome!  And maybe best of all is how much fun you are.  The older you get, the more your likes and mine coincide.  The games you like to play, the shows you like to watch, your athletic abilities are all becoming more and more grown up.  You guys are tons of fun.  The other day we did a quick calculation and realized that for a couple of months after Xander turns 13, we will have NINE teenagers at one time.  Like I said, how lucky are we?

Here are a few pics of Parker's birthday.  The usual birthday breakfast in bed and a cheesecake for his birthday cake.

The feast:


Taylor can sleep through anything, even a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday:



Parker's version of "the smolder":



 Happy Birthday, Parker!  We love you SO much!

-Mom and Dad