Thirteen!

Laine is officially a teenager! Now we have two in the house. Everyone warns about the teenage years and I don’t know why. I like the sass, the eye rolls, the attitude. I mean, it can be annoying but all stages of raising kids have their moments. And I love being able to talk openly about all things without having to be age appropriate. It’s a fun age.

Laine is a great kid. It’s hard to believe it’s been 13 years but it also feels about right. We’re very proud of the young woman she’s becoming. She’s all the things you want in a human: kind, smart, helpful, funny, responsible, mature, and more. And I love that she’s sarcastic. I’m excited to see her grow into an adult and I know she’ll be successful in whatever path she takes.

Actual Birthday!

We celebrated Laine’s birthday on her actual birthday, kicking off the day with presents first thing. After presents and breakfast, Laine wanted to spend the day at the mall with one of her BFFs who had spent the night. Laine, her friend, and I went north to Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. She wanted specific stores and Chipotle, and this was our best option. We spent a good four hours up there, hitting Crumbl Cookie and Target on the way home. The next day—Saturday—Laine, her friend, Blaise, and another friend were taking off to Camp Orkila for a week-long summer camp. We tend to pack the calendar and then I complain about it, haha. It’s all good. Busy but we survived.

The new teenager celebrating at home and getting her shop on at Alderwood Mall.

Party!

Summer birthdays can be tough. Friends travel making it tough to find a day to have a party. The last two years Laine has pushed her party to August, which works well. Most kids are back by mid-August. Including us. After Camp Orkila, we went to California for two weeks. Just to come back and have Laine’s party. I’m serious when I say we pack the calendar.

Technically Laine didn’t have a party. We collected a few of her friends and went to Top Golf. (It was a party in my book.) The girls had a fun time! And I was super impressed with Top Golf. They run a great business.