Officially a teenager...

Walker always has the short end of the deal for birthdays... its always near the last day of school and with all the end of school year craziness and Memorial Day weekend his Birthday's have always been low key... which he probably actually prefers!  This year was a big milestone year though... since he was finally able to get social media (youtube, instagram, twitter, snapchat etc).

And while he was excited to finally get those things its not for friend chatting or posting pictures... it's for making youtube videos of game playing! With some cleverly wrapped birthday presents...

which included a web cam, a microphone and a new gaming keyboard, he was ready to start youtubing!  This is currently the scene now...

He didn't want a birthday party with friends... or a fire pit party... just dinner at Red Lobster with us... sour cream rhubarb pie and online gaming with his actual school friends!

I can't believe my Little Bug... is not so little anymore... sniff... sniff.

At 13 years old he... still loves being home with us watching a movie on a Friday night!! He knows lots of kiddos but prefers to have just a couple close friends. He is a morning person and seems to always be looking for snacks!  He is taller than me now but still calls me Mommy... He always gives me morning and night hugs and always says love you through out the day.  He can talk your ear off with his endless computer game chat.  And when he and friends get playing a game online he is OH MY LOUD with the laughing and chatting and giving directions! He is one that will often come out at night and work on the puzzle with me.  He could care less about taking pictures and documenting his entire existence... and gets super irritated with Ainsley when she tries to take a picture of him for her snapchat or instagram feeds.  I try to respect that but sometimes have to beg for a picture of him or beg him to take a picture of what he is doing at scouts.

He is a super great kiddo and I'm super blessed to be his Mommy!

Ainsley and friends decided way back in January that the perfect way to kick off Summer 2017 was to go to the Lantern Festival in SLC just before school got out for the year.  I was super glad another parent opted to drive these girls down!

A week before the festival they decided they wanted to look "tan" and so they bought an a instant tanning lotion... Ainsley put on a coat and waited an hour and then said, "Huh... it didn't work that well I'll add another coat!" Later than night she started to "tan" Walker and I had all kinds of fun trying to find the correct shade of "tan" aka orange she was!

We discovered she had a strong resemblance to the "onion powder cap color!"  She couldn't decide if she wanted to add some to her face... she was worried she might look like an Oompa Loompa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

She decided to not add any... thankgoodness!!! I think there would have been a good chance she would have looked eerily similar.

These 4 cuties had an amazing time... they laughed and danced and made plans to make this a yearly event for the rest of their lives!

I love this picture she took...

It sounded like it was a magical night... one that will be treasured always.

The month of May's dinner conversations were going over the contents of this...

These two cuties passed the Driver's Ed final written exam and so it was a trip for late night celebration milkshakes!...

I'm so glad Ainsley took a class from someone who was definitely "way chill" then we would have been. She had 6 (1) hour drives and the very first one was her favorite.  The first drive was to learn all about "how to actually use the car etc" or so I thought.  After an introduction and then driving around in the Holt parking lot the driver teacher was like, "Hey I'm in the mood for Taco Bell" and so off they went and Ainsley was the driver... she went through the Drive thru... ordered... which the teacher was like, "you two can get anything on the dollar menu!"  Then it was off to where the class was being held and Ainsley who had been only driving for 40 minutes ended up driving there too... she cut someone off (had no idea about the blind spot) and got flipped off! As she's telling me all this later... I'm on the edge of my seat... eyes wide and a gaping mouth!  She said it was the "Best Drive Experience Ever!!" Ha.

Luckily she got better and at the final drive they both were handed their Instructional Permit...

She has to wait a minimum of 6 months and have accumulated 60 hours of drive time with a licenced adult driver with 10 of those being night time driving so this is now the scene daily... "Can I drive??...PLEASE??...

So ya a new driver in the house and I'm totally sporting a new gray hair streak... thanks!

7th Grade happened...

This year the highlight of academics was taking extra science classes.  The first trimester was an insect class he liked it so much that I was able to get him into the rest of the science classes for the remainder of the year.  The second trimester was mammals and the third trimester was birds... I loved our daily dinner chats during this year... stories from class that day... something interesting he learned and then in Spring picking out which birds we had around town by listening and identifying from their calls. The Science teacher hands out 3 awards each year at the end of the year assembly and Walker received one of those!!

The rest of his classes were just classes for him... he did really well in them but they didn't hold the excitement that Mr. Hughes' Science classes did.  He continued on with Boys Choir this year and at the end of the year tried out for Franklin Singers..(which is the Elite Choir of Franklin) he made the group and is super excited to participate in the fall.  It will be a different type of choir in the fall since the Choir teacher that both he and Ainsley loved... decided to leave for a different adventure. On his last 7th grade choir performance they called all past student's of Mrs. Bailey's that were in the audience to come and sing one last time together... it was pretty awesome!

With the blooming of the trees the craziness of May began...

I seriously despise the month of May... work for me is a zoo, the kiddos that I deal with have CRAZY behaviors during this month.  There is a huge push for those last minute school projects... like Walker needing to do an interactive book report and he had only read the first couple chapters of the book!!!  So it was non stop reminding that his only option was to read 24/7.

Studying for Math finals only to find out that your Freshman has been lost in math for the past month and that she didn't ask for help because the teacher went on maternity leave and the subs aren't familiar enough with the material since they are only there to fill in for the end of the year!!

Thank you Google... and Khan Academy... and my smarter other half who guided Ainsley through it!!

Because all that isn't crazy enough we've got end of year piano recitals...

Ainsley earned her 2nd gold cup which means she has earned 6 superiors in a row for the past 6 years! This was Walker's 5th superior this year.

There was also an end of year Cheer performance and High School Choir performance on the same night 15 minutes apart from each other!

This routine was a favorite of Ainsley's... except for lots of bruised arms, legs, knees and even a few times of getting kicked in the face when they were working on it but it came together really great!

So glad for friends who saved us seats at the choir concert so we didn't have to just choose which event we were going to attend... since the time crunch was crazy!! High School Choir has been fantastic for Ainsley... she pushed her self creatively and became more sure of herself as she tried out for solos.  She also tried out for the "show choir" which is similar to Frankin Singers that she did last year.  Highland Trouvers is one of the elite groups... once you are in... you are in for all of High school.  It was a tight competition, over 50 participants for only a handful of spots open.  She didn't make it but was asked by the choir teacher if she would try out again next year so that gave her a boost of confidence.

There are just a handful of boys in the freshman choir they really need some more to round out the song but the girls are amazing!! I'm totally biased though! :)

For some odd reason I thought adding Drivers Ed classes was also a good idea... more like I was nagged to death about it for months and I finally caved... ha!  This entailed getting a permit at the DMV... and a lot of driving Ainsley and BFF Elise to and from class.

Ainsley's birthday landed on a Saturday this year so after having a sleepover with the girls Friday night they woke up Saturday and surprised Ainsley with an adventure... aka a Pajama Birthday Breakfast! I was in the loop as I was the driver... ha! But Ainsley had no idea what was planned except that she needed to just go blindfolded with them.

These girls crack me up... seriously they just rolled off the couch and said we are ready... no hair brushing... no makeup... not sure if the teeth were even brushed!

Ainsley surprisingly has a good sense of direction when blindfolded so I had to take a few detours before the final destination...

Later we did the family thing with Jimmy John subs and white cake with white frosting...

We did a little photo shoot with some of her new clothes... I love that she's always up for pictures and documenting life!

wow... 15 years old... she is full of life... loves/lives for time with friends... is always talking/texting/Snap Chatting and Face Timing... is a complete night owl... not a morning person... is always working on hair and makeup while watching YouTube videos or Netflix... procrastinates bunches (which drives us nuts)..but has done REALLY WELL as a Freshman with the school load and extracurricular responsibilities... has taught herself how to play the guitar and always is singing while playing... does cheer moves ALL THE TIME... has a snarky teenager attitude at times but is quick to change it and apologize when she's called out on it. She is a messy room girl, craves simplicity but can not find the balance.  She loves to eat "dinner stuff or leftovers" for breakfast when she wakes up in time... and just about every day eats ice cream... she complains daily about walking to school and tries to get rides with friends.  She is a great kiddo and I love the person she is growing into... she makes my heart swell when I see her love of photography shine in the pictures she captures.  Like this one... she easily captured the"best picture taken at Capitol Reef" over spring break...

Next up in the whirlwind of the past few months was Ainsley's 2nd Cheer Competition. Walker was on a scout camp out and was very glad he didn't have to go and sit for hours... listening to screaming girls and the constant loud throbbing of music!  I have learned to take headache medicine before you actually set foot in the gym!!

Getting ready for a cheer competition takes an insane amount of time... braiding hair from the base up and then tight curling every strand of hair alone takes a good hour... then there is the cheer makeup!  Ainsley not being one to wake up early did her cheer makeup in the car along the way to the competition... good thing it was over an hour away!

Two things when I look at this picture...

1. How unbelievably gorgeous she is!
2. and how in the heck does she get makeup on this good... especially while riding in the car!?!

They ended up going with glitter eyes... thank goodness they did that at the gym... can you imagine the mess in the car with that?!?

I am always amazed and at the edge of my seat watching Ainsley perform in cheer routines... she absolutely loves it! I wish I would have known from when she was little that this would be her passion so we could have enrolled her in gymnastic/cheer classes!  The hardest thing for her has been getting her tumbling up to par especially her back flexibility... for back handsprings.

The girls did an amazing job and the coaches fixed what they needed to from the last competition and they got 2nd Place!!

Track this year was pretty much as expected... cold and shivering or hot and sun burnt!

(ignore the picture of the frozen teenager who would not put on warm clothing or use one of the 3 blankets I brought)..grr (insert eye-roll).

We pushed for Walker to try another event this year and reluctantly he choose Long Jump... there is no coaching at this area or really at any area of middle school track so my frustrations with he and the track person running the long jump were irritating at times, but putting that aside he ended up being the best 7th grader long jumper at his school.

Discus is by far his favorite event and this year he mastered the spin before the release!

Shot put for 7th graders this year included a heavier shot put... it was 8 pounds instead of last year's 6 pound.

He qualified for the city district meet in all of his events and ended up placing 5th in Discus and 5th in Long Jump for all 4 middle school 7th graders.

Ahh... we made it to summer...

Finally some time to post stories from the last few months.

The Sandbox is no more... it was much loved with hours spent digging and playing!  The memories of these two will always be close to my heart...

But as time moves on it's time to rework the area for the new memories that will be made in the backyard.  We spent part of Saturday taking it apart and moving the sand over to the garden area to make way for the new fire-pit... aka the summer teenage hangout spot!  It was quite the event... even the neighbor boys peeked over the back fence to see what we were up to.

Ainsley planned out where the fire-pit and benches (that we need to make) will be...

Stay tuned for more photos!  Hope to work on it a lot more over Spring Break... at least get the fabric cloth down, the perimeter framed in and gravel ordered!