Spring Break In Miami

 

This is what Spring Break at 16 looks like when you and your best friend proposed, planned, saved, and waited for two whole months. 

Back on January 2nd, the girls, feeling they had SAD put together an adorable powerpoint presentation proposing a spring break trip to Miami to help them deal with their disorder. 

They proposed saving for, planning, spending all their own money, as well as following stringent COVID safety protocol. Plus, they wouldn't be going solo, they'd be with Maggie's Mom and sister.

We agreed to said proposal on one condition....grades must be at a certain level. If that could be maintained, then Miami - here they come!

It was very dicey on the grade front...even after Chloe purchased her ticket. But she pulled through in the 11th hour and managed to find herself sitting on the plane next to Maggie.

 

 

I was promised sunrise pictures, but to no avail. There would be no one awake at sunrise! Ever!

Look at that white sand beach! And those tomato red feet! Although they put sunscreen on the first hour of the first day, they forgot to ever reapply. They paid a very steep price for that little oversight. As did we. We heard about how itchy and painful the whole episode of molting was for an entire two weeks following the World's Worst Sunburn Ever!

But the whole vacation did serve to fill up Chloe's soul. We all need time in nature soaking up the sun, waves, beauty, and fresh air! And all the better when we get to spend it with our favorite person! We are thrilled the girls were able to achieve their goal...it's that much sweeter after working so hard!

 

Celebrating Seventeen

What a difference a year makes! Last year we couldn't wait to surprise Chloe with her car. It was the one thing we looked forward to all quarantine. This year, life is filled with much more hope, expectation, and fun. We haven't gotten our vaccine yet, but it's just around the corner. We've lived safely with masks, social distancing, and an abundance of caution for over a year now. And just like that my baby turned 17. It doesn't seem possible...it feels like we somehow lost a year.

I usually get all reminiscent and melancholy on the kids birthdays because: time. I feel like my life is being played out at 1.5x or 2x speed. It's literally flying! And because I've been through two other kids' 17 year old birthdays, I'm intimately aware of how incredibly fast this last year of Chloe living with us will evaporate. This saddened me beyond words this year. It was a heavy ache in my heart. I already miss Chloe and she hasn't even left yet!

But the sadness coexists with my immense joy for her to begin flying on her own as she leaves the nest. Each of the kids are leaving fully equipped and ready for the world. I share the joy, excitement, and hesitancy. It's all good. It's all normal. We can carry all those emotions at the same time. 

Okay...now for the explanation about the ridiculous brown car cake in the picture above. Chloe requested a race car cake. I tried talking her into a race track cake with little matchbox cars on top of it. Nope. She wanted the cake to be the race car. End of story. No negotiations. So....this is the best I could do. It looks a little more like...I don't know. I've never seen a car, much less a race car, that looks like this. But it did have fancy racing stripes and numbers on each side. And my sweet girl was happy...so that's all that matters.

Speaking of race cars. We also went indoor go-kart speed racing a few days before Chloe's birthday.

Here's our little speed demon coming out of the gate. I think these only went like 35 mph. But when you're that close to the ground and taking hair pin turns, it feels more like 60mph.

Chloe's best friend, Maggie, joined us for the festivities. Maggie beat Chloe twice, btw.

We capped off our fun day of racing with lunch at Chuy's. A nice treat, since eating out is a rarity any more. Plus, we had the added bonus of Bennett coming up from The Springs to join our festivities.

Both of the boys were able to join us via zoom for The Opening Of The Gifts after school. It was as if we were all hanging out in the living room together. We had so much fun. Gavin gave Chloe a pocket knife. Bennett gave her some anklets. We gave her a Lululemon gift card. She was in heaven. What more does a 17 year old need?

On Chloe's actual birthday night, the three of us took a relaxing stroll around Windsor Lake. It was pitch black by time we finished, but the views during the first half of the walk were spectacular. A beautiful end to a very special day!