A teenage birthday calls for a teenage gift

In a combined effort, 

my parents thought it would be awesome

to make over my bathroom

for my 14th birthday.

Combined means

Mom thinks it would be cool

and Dad does the designing,

shopping, painting and installing.

They forgot a full "before" picture,

but here's as close as it gets.

Missing is the Under-the-Sea themed

bathroom fixtures and shower curtain.

Here's Dad,

hard at work!

Mom was a little helpful.

She put together the shelf

and helped with staging.

She was also working,

so there's that.

But, wow.

Dad can work some magic!!!

New curtain, new light,

new paint, new towels,

new rug, new accessories.

It has the spa/hotel quality feel that

I obsess over

Here's me.

When I left for school

all of 10 hours ago

(I had broadcasting today--extra paint drying time),

I had an Under-the-Sea bathroom.

When I got home,

I was floored Mom presented the Oreo cheesecake

that she ordered for my big night

(I had been a bit non-committal about cakes and presents)

I was COMPLETELY shocked 

with my new bathroom!

They even threw in a peach candle

(cue SNL sketch)--

now I KNOW they love me!

That. Was. Awesome.

I'm not sure I could have been more surprised

or thrilled.

All the Turkey...

We started our Thanksgiving with the usual--

a lighter breakfast,

the parade,

and a 5K run

so we earn all the things we're about to eat

This year

we had a shirt design competition

between us boys.

Tucker won for the front

and Beckett won for the back

and Grandma Phyllis brought them into reality.

It called for a cheesy family photo

in our matching, hard-earned shirts.

After all the turkey we could eat for lunch,

Grandma brought out 

the biggest gingerbread house construction set

we had ever seen.

That kept us busy for a while!

Everything didn't turn out as beautiful as Tucker's

(the frosting got a bit melty and

things started falling off)

but we had a good time putting it together!

After a huge lunch,

we had to make room for a huge dinner.

Jasmin and Aaron hosted

and I was (ok, we were) excited to finally meet

our new cousin Elyse

We stayed late into the night,

chatting and eating,

chatting and drinking,

chatting and celebrating,

chatting and...snoozing while watching a Christmas movie.

Ah, Thanksgiving!

A wonderful kick-off to the holiday season!

We love matching PJs

It's a beloved tradition.

We get excited every year.

And then we start plotting our pictures

Stay tuned...

This is 14

We're a week early,

but I'm working next week

(the Voice of Mustang Basketball never rests)

so we headed to Topgolf for some

birthday fun tonight

Everyone having fun?

You bet!

Not sure we looked much better

than last time

but we definitely had a good time!

Look at THAT swing!

Boys, this isn't hockey

Golf is not my strong suit--

but I won the second game!

It was a good night out

and a good kick off to my 14th year!

 

Still the best way to see the lights

Oooo--looks like we're packed for adventure!

It's the return of Trip the Lights Fantastic

at Christmas in the Park

Instead of driving through the lights,

we get to ride through the lights!

It's definitely our favorite way to see them!

It was PACKED.

We made one loop but got separated from each other.

So we waited for the crowd to clear

and then did another loop.

Everyone had their favorite:

Beck was the race car

Mine was the biker

(maybe in honor of my first year

to ride alone!)

Weston loved the soldiers 

And Mom and Jack loved Island Santa

Well, we ALL loved Island Santa

We decided to finish the night off

with a nightcap at Gusto

and look who we ran in to across the street

at the bike shop!

What a night!

 

Game night...

...it's serious.

 

Christmas festivities are BACK!

Tonight we went to the Mayor's Christmas tree lighting--

we didn't have it last year

and we were PSYCHED for it's return!

We did a little shopping in downtown and 

 "watched" the lighting from Smoke

while we ate dinner.

Then hit the street with some cocoa

for some family selfies with the lights

and tree

and more lights

It's nice to be able to celebrate with

some traditions again!

Jack SINGS!

I've been in choir since 6th grade

but last year with Covid

concerts were...weird?  

Non-existent?

But guess what's back???

Concerts!

We did a tribute to the Armed Forces

Never mind that I have the wrong hand over my heart.

My singing was still great

It was fun to be back in person,

getting to take the cheesy pictures

and go eat the performer's choice ice cream

 

Cabin Getaway

Oh wow.

Our weekends have been booked

and it's been AUGUST

since we've been down here!

We needed to fill our Cabin Fun Cup

with

leaves

and fire

and fire pits

and more fire

and wood chopping

and wood hauling

and 4-wheeling

and tree swinging

Cup filled.