June

 The only thing of note that really happened in May was Casen finishing the 10th grade and Arya finished the 7th grade.

So, onto June.  June is going to be one of the months that I remember for a really long time.

June started with a trip that will possibly only happen once for us.  Casen turned 16 and had zero birthday present requests.  He's just not a kid whose really into stuff.  So, Caleb and I decided to surprise him with a chartered boat trip with family for his big gift instead of things.  I'm so thankful family were able to make the long trek and be a part of his birthday trip.  His birthday wasn't until the 30th, but schedules worked out best for us to go the first week of June.

We got to hang out for a few days in a beautiful cabin and the weather ended up being perfect.

And then the boys go to head out on the big fishing adventure

Tasting some of their catch

I really hope it's something we're able to do again in the future.

And then Caleb's first day back at work after vacation, someone crashed into his police car.  Thankful for just bumps and bruises there.

And then I think I had one of my favorite birthdays so far.  Caleb and the kids went all out with decorations and I got really thoughtful gifts.  If you watch the office, you will appreciate my decor.

And then somehow, Casen turned 16.  He is such an incredible kid.  He loves his video games and fishing.  He still sets his alarm to wake up and go with me during the summer for my grocery shopping trips.  He's always making us laugh and has a great group of friends. He's just the best and I'm so thankful he's a part of our family.

We celebrated with a trip to the steak house and some brownie sundaes with black raspberry icecream.

March

We had a pretty great month.

Arya is part of a future problem solving group, through her tag classes in school, that has to submit their answer to the state and each year see if they qualify to advance to competition.  She's made it every year so far, but this year, for the first time in the school's history, her and her teammate won first place and got to advance to nationals.

And for the kid's spring break this year, we took advantage of Caleb's coinciding days off and went to, what's becoming a favorite spot for us, the Northern Neck.  We went there last year for our summer vacation, but we wanted to try out one of the other towns in the area. We are in such a great time period with our kids.  It's so nice to get to go somewhere and just relax without having the hustle and bustle of little ones we once did. It ended up being the perfect weather, too.  It was cool enough for evening fires and bundling up by the water, but nice enough to enjoy playing board games in the sun room all day.

February

 February ended up being a big month for this household.

First, Arya turned 13.  It is so crazy to me that my babies are somehow both teenagers now.  

We ended up celebrating the day after the Superbowl, since the kids were off school.  Our original plan was for her to skip school on her birthday, but ice kept them out of school for 7 days and we couldn't really have her missing more.

She requested donuts for breakfast, Chinese for dinner, and a frozen key lime pie for dessert, just like her dad.

13 is a big one, so she got a new Xbox and monitor for her room.

I'm so thankful we get to have this sweet girl as part of our family.  She is an amazing artist.  She excels in school, she's in the gifted programs.  She's on the debate and Ace team, and they've placed in both.  She still loves anything to do with crafts and will talk an ear off to anyone who will listen.  She loves music.  She's started quite the collection of vinyls and wears band tees and hoodies every single day, (no idea where she got that from.)  She's the first to ask if you need help with anything and has an empathetic soul.  I'm thankful she's still not too old for a card game with mom and dad or to need her hair curled or nails painted.  I cannot wait to see what this next year brings.

After 10 sessions and over 60 hours of tattooing, Caleb finally got his leg sleeve complete.  He has such a cool tattoo artist that really brought a rough idea to life.  Each one of the characters is our family and I love that it's a family tribute without being on the nose.

And another huge milestone happened this month.  Casen got his driver's permit.  No idea how I'm old enough to have a kid driving, but it is so cool watching him grow up.