Parker's 13th Birthday!

Posted by Chandra July 29, 2020

Parker's 13th Birthday!

Can you believe I officially have a teenaged son? I feel like, now that we are here, these next 5 years are going to fly by and I’m not too happy about it. Parker is an extraordinary boy and it was so fun celebrating him! It was difficult deciding what to do and how to do it during this crazy pandemic. Tanner and I were supposed to be gone over Parker’s birthday on the dive trip, but that got canceled. And then Monte was going to use his flights to just come and see us, but then he canceled. We also thought it would be fun to have a drive in movie at the church for his birthday, but church is still canceled. So after plans A, B, C, and Q, R, S... we decided to have lots of little parties.
On Saturday, I took Parker out for some one on one time. We went to the Spectrum for lunch and shopping. We ate at CPK and I had the most amazing Mac n cheese that I’m still dreaming about. Parker got cheese pizza #typical. We went shopping at Quicksilver and then stopped by my parents. They gave him a gift and some good birthday loves. It was really nice!

That night, Tanner and I met Courtney and Robby for some BJs take out that we had to eat in the car. Thanks COVID! The only reason we went was for the pizzookies and they did not disappoint. Tanner was still in a bad place and being with friends really helped his mood. Also, we realized we still needed to rent a trailer or motor home for our camping trip/family reunion next week. So I got online and found one and guess who owns it? Tanners friend from BYU (small world) and when tanner called him, he had a LOT to say to tanner about a business opportunity and that made tanner feel loved and valued and like his life isn’t all about nursing homes after all. #serendipity
The lord is in the details.

Sunday we had a little family party for Parker. We sang to him and cut into the incredible Minecraft cake that Alyse made especially for him! We did all of our usual Sunday things and then Parker was able to choose the family movie because hey, it’s his birthday!

Monday was officially the BIG DAY. The day we’d all been waiting for! He woke up to lots of texts and phone calls from friends and family and he got to sit around and relax while I worked on school stuff with Rayleigh and Jack. We’d invited everyone to meet us at the park for lunch but Jill said that was right during the baby’s nap and invited us to her house instead! Heck ya! Jill is the best! I didn’t tell Parker that everyone was meeting at Jill's and when we pulled up and we walked into the back, he was so surprised! We had a great afternoon swimming and hanging out (minus a few friendly conflicts- you get 20 kids together between us 5 moms and there is bound to be frustrations here and there)
That evening, we made pizzas and Parker invited some buddies over to hang out. They watched dumb YouTube videos, played games outside, ate junk and birthday cake, and went swimming. It was great! Parker was beaming and his friends were all so fun and kind. They are all such good boys!
That night, after everyone left and we cleaned up, Parker opened up all his gifts and cards. He totally scored! It was a 5 star day for my 5 star son. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, Parker is my right hand man. He’s a good person with a good heart. If the teenage years and continue as easily as it’s started, I think we’ll be ok!

The next day, after school, we met up with the family at the beach to celebrate Savannah’s sweet 16! It was so fun being together, again! The beach was super crowded and I was hoping Rayleigh would opt out of boogie boarding because her ear has been bothering her, but no such luck. I could barely get the sunblock on her before she hit the waves. I did NOT lose her this time but I did lose Ella. She had been buddied up with Kaela but they wandered away a little bit and when I lost site of her (within a minute) I went looking for her (so many people and umbrellas blocking my view) Jon spotted Kaela in the water and I knew she wasn’t with her there so I took off one direction while Josi went the other. Josi found her as she was walking back towards the family. Maybe she chased a bird? At any rate, crowded beach days are not for the faint of heart. Go away, people! Parker chilled with the big boys and swam in the ocean for a bit and Jack and Gunnar were inseparable! So cute! We all sat back and marveled at the majesty that is our family- these kids are so blessed to have each other and this rich family legacy. They love each other so hard and I can't think of a single thing more valuable than that.

But the beach was a blast. I actually cried when we got there and was dealing with sooo much anxiety (like PTSD). It was exactly a year ago and the last Parker/Savi birthday party when my brother exploded at me and it’s been giving me nightmares ever since. I didn’t see him for about the first hour or so and I was sweating bullets. Not that I thought he would do or say anything to me again, but the wound isn’t completely healed. He was nice. Whew.
I wish we could have stayed allll night but we loaded up with the majority for an easier exit and drove home (no traffic- thanks Covid!) and got home a few minutes after Tanner. We all showered off, got our comfy clothes on, and had family movie night while we are snacks, popcorn, and ice cream.
Happy birthday Parker. You are my sonshine forever and always!!!

Deep thoughts with Jack- he cracks me up! Still our most entertaining child and the most obedient. He's good through and through. He asked all of these questions in a matter of minutes.