how do i have a 17 year old? (3/23)

Birthday season proved tricky for the newbies in town. Kindin found it difficult to decipher exactly who were close enough friends to celebrate with and uncertain about how to let loose with her new friends. We settled on hosting a permanent jewelry party with just a few girls.

At 17, I'm realizing that my time with her is limited. We have about 75 weeks with her before she leaves the house. I have 75 weeks to... giggle, play, connect, teach, and inspire her. [Giggling is what I'll miss the most - observing AZ's tricky winter grass quality, she joked, "You have a pretty good chance of finding a 4 leaf clover back here."] I have started more deliberately chatting with her late into the night even though I'd rather be in bed. And I am providing independent living skills such as sending her to get an oil change all on her own. 

Some trivia about Kindin at this age: she is most frequently called "Cocoa" at home by her parents whom she refers to as "Sussy" or "Boss", she can't keep a poker face, she will always treat herself to extra mayo, she has never had to be told to clean her room but is the messiest cook, she has adopted a funny racoon noise for the sake of ridiculousness, she remedies generalized worry with a run, she would play tennis 3x/ day if her body allowed it, she is limited to one request/meal for others to chew with their mouth closed, she continues to excel at school, she has been given more freedom to decide her curfew with less check-ins but still shows a desire to please her parents, Jack's friends are all madly in love with her, and she employs a what's yours is mine mentality - whether it's hairspray, floss, a charging cord, shampoo, shoes, or fingernail clippers.

entry remodel complete (2/23)

In a hurry to secure Dalia's room, we started remodeling our front entry space almost immediately. I was also surprised by how much mental space and energy it took with lots of last minute, stressful decisions. Here's the before photos:

The after pics are fabulous and Dolly is happy to have her own room. We used off the cuff design help from aunt Sarah and Andrea who both always have a great eye for these things.

Remodeling an entire backyard feels like a nightmare... 

sliding into 6th positions (2/23)

Tennis is competitive in Mesa! We knew it would be so quickly got them connected to a tennis pro. Jack felt his new coach worked 'magic' but both were still extremely worried. Mom was even more worried. 2 weeks of tryouts was pure torture as I prayed fervently that they'd make it - terrified that it'd be perpetual ammunition against Mesa if they didn't. Thankfully, Heavenly parents answered an earthly mother's fervent prayer and both kids squeezed onto the team... just barely at the 6th positions. 

What followed was a really challenging season - where both kids learned some valuable lessons, made friendships, and improved their game.