So almost a month ago my fun loving daughter, Lexi, turned 16! It was a momentous occasion and one to be remembered. The celebration lasted nearly a week and she had to of felt special and loved.
To catch her off guard, Astrid and I decided to throw her a surprise birthday party a few days before her birthday so she wouldn't suspect anything. Astrid put a great list of friends together and spread the word, and I focused on buying enough ice cream and candy to make homemade cold stones. The night of the party arrived and she was going to ref a soccer game – it was the perfect amount of time to decorate and prepare for the arrival of many loud teenagers. Mason helped us put up zig zag streamers all over the ceiling and the sweet 16 water bottles made their debut on the counter. Astrid took photos of Lexi from all of the years her life and formed them into a 16 onto the window. People showed up and we had them dress up in random props for a photo booth option. They made a birthday message on a mini white board. Stephen took lexi to the ref job, so we could have control of when to have her back home. We had all of her friends park in the forest, but still their cars couldn't be completely concealed….so as Stephen came to the cemetery he dropped a ton of papers and food on the floor of the car and told her to pick them up keeping her eyes down so she wouldn't suspect any visitors. When she entered through the garage door – she was genuinely surprised! It was an awesome moment – I loved it! Kids were jumping out of cubbies blowing party favors in her face and there was a grand chorus of happy voices. I sure appreciate her friends for giving her a happy moment to remember forever. I also appreciate Astrid for helping make it happen. FUN TIMES were had…the cold stones were a hit, and most kids ended up playing soccer in the backyard to top the evening off. It was super awesome to see Lexi so happy.
On her birthday morning the unveiling of a special and meaningful gift entered the scene. Stephen, Mason, and JT had been working for weeks to produce a gorgeous trunk for Lex to hold all of her special things and prepare for the future. She loved it and it looks amazing in her room. It is some of Stephen's finest work! From me she received a ticket to Les Miserable in Salt Lake City. I think she was excited, but felt conflicted because she had already accepted dates for Friday and Saturday nights. She got the date thing all figured out at school and I picked her up at noon. We hit the road and I told her I needed to go pick something up from Stephanie's house on the way. She didn't know that I had been planning for a few weeks to surprise her with a fun weekend with her Parker cousins. When we got to the Ricks house, she told Riley and Paige what had transpired and then I asked, "Should we take these two with us?" And then it dawned on her what was going on. I personally think she was more excited about hanging with her cousins than anything else that had happened for her birthday. We drove to Lance and Anne's house where they were so nice to let us stay, and Haley, and of course Kassie, were both there for a sleep over. We all went to Les Miserables and had an awesome time!It was definitely a very indulgent way to celebrate a child turning 16, and I hope we can live up to it 4 more times. 🙂
I just love this daughter of mine and the fine young woman she is turning into. After 16 years I have come to know how much she loves surprises, music, family, friends, & soccer. It is who she is and I value the contributions she makes to the world in being energetic, fun loving, bright, hard working, full of faith & testimony, studious, kind, ambitious, social, silly, great integrity, trustworthy, dependable, & great helper to name a few! She has a bright future ahead and many trails to blaze. Keep up the great work daughter!