Milestone Birthdays!

Sydney and Jackson both hit milestone birthdays this year--13 and 16! Sydney didn't want any kind of party with friends because she hates the pressure of entertaining them.  So we just invited Jaya and Grace to dinner and sleep over.  But Grace loves to party so she planned a surprise party at our house for Sydney after the Perry Game.  She loved it and I loved it because all I had to do was buy some cake and ice cream.  Grace took care of the rest. Sydney has been such an easy kid to have around.  She does what she's supposed to do and has a sweet personality, well most of the time, she is now a teenager after all.  We love having her in our family!

Jackson has probably never had a happier birthday either!  He too did not want a party.  He was fully content helping pick out a car and going to Cheesecake Factory. He self-identifies as a "car enthusiast" and has been researching cars for months now. He came across this  Mustang with manual transmission (that was a must for him) on Craig's list.  It's a 2008 and has been modified with specialty lights, blue tooth, special tires, etc.  When we realized it was not only within our price range but also had a stick shift that would encourage him to not be on his phone while driving, we agreed.  The only downside to his birthday was failing his road test the first time.  We hadn't practiced the three point turn and he had no idea what it even was, so within the first three minutes he ran over a cone and she told him he was done.  I've never seen him so upset!  But he passed the next day with flying colors so it all worked out.  He has matured a lot this last year and learned a lot of lessons about life.  We sure love him and glad he's part of our family.  He adds some real machismo to this house full of girls! 

McKell and Paige are keeping busy in Provo.  I loved getting this text of them in front of the temple!