Sydney turned 16!

 I blogged about my pregnancy and now that baby is 16. That feels so huge in this space and I'm so grateful for this little time capsule, even if my posts are getting less frequent and my stories a little less "isn't this precious." For your reference, this is the same person who drove us to school this morning: 

This girl. She is such a delight. I rarely get a picture anymore that's not of her not flipping the bird (sorry :/ ) She's so quick and witty that no one will ever win a verbal sparring match with her, and in the words of her second grade teacher that still ring true "She's always saying things that are so funny, but you know you shouldn't be laughing at them." She is also thoughtful and sweet and silly and so much fun to hang out with. She makes the best playlists and loves America (in a liberal way.) She is constantly surprising us with random new skills she's learned; handstands, sign language, driving a stick shift, the list goes on and on. I'm constantly in awe of how eloquently she speaks her mind and how she is able to stand up for herself without hesitation. One of her teachers recently asked her where she found the confidence of a six-foot man and I don't know if I've ever heard a more on-the-nose description. She gives me so much hope for the future. 

She hosted a small party for her birthday and it was so fun to watch these girls together. They went to a trampoline park (drove themselves!) and then came home to swim and grill. Her best friend made her cake and they all made sure that her pictures were perfectly composed and executed. It was exactly the party that Sydney wanted and everyone went home and she was in her pajamas snuggling her puppy by 8:00. We followed that up the next morning with traditional birthday donuts and then she spent the day at the zoo with her boyfriend friend. She'll get her license in a couple weeks and is angling for a new curfew since apparently her current curfew is "for 15 year old bacons." 

It's hard to believe that I only have a few more years with her in the house (because she is VERY quick to remind us that her plans include moving far away) and only a few more weeks of spending the mornings with her on the drive to school. I am not naive to what a gift it is to have kids that are such a joy to be around. 

Our First Strongman Competition

I don't have the words to describe how amazing this experience was. Both of us were nervous, and excited, and nervous. We both agreed that we were just doing it for fun and it was fine if we bombed it, and we both knew we didn't mean it. I wasn't sure how Averson would do with the overwhelm of crowds and being the center of attention and I wasn't sure how I would do if I got trounced by all of the other women competing. Spoiler Alert: It was fucking awesome. Maybe one of my top core memories. 

We got energy drinks. It might've been a mistake or it might've been the greatest decision ever. Averson on energy drinks is HILARIOUS

Battle scars from the Atlas Stone! 

She took second place!! And she won one of the events (the truck push, which was INTENSE)

First! I got moved down from the Masters (aka "senior") division 

For this event, you had to run three heavy objects from the line to the back of the truck, then run around the front and push the truck to the line. Averson completed the entire event in a minute! 

Atlas Stone. We'd never even tried this event and both of us were worried. Averson was so nervous they couldn't even practice it ahead of time. And then they went out and fucking killed it with the heavier option! I was so proud and maybe cried a little. 

The third event was an overhead lift. I wasn't too worried about it because it's pretty close to CrossFit (but not the same) and the weight was heavy, but not impossible. I realized during my heat that the crowd was getting louder and I heard the announcer talking about "pink shoes." Afterwards, both judges were laughing and high-fived me and a few people from the crowd came over to congratulate me. Turns out I defaulted to my CrossFit muscle memory and repped out the lifts WAY faster than typical. Oops :P 

 

13!

 I was not prepared for how aggressively this birthday would hit. I am now solidly the parent of teenagers, and my baby has transitioned from being an actual baby to being this amazing little human with the most incredible brain. This year has not been easy for any of us, most of all Averson, and while I feel nostalgic about their babyhood (man, they were a fun Little) I am blown away by their grit, their tenacity, and their perspective and I feel so honored to be a part of their process. Blogger loaded the pictures in a weird way, but I also kind of feel like that's fitting. Happy Birthday, Averson. I'm just obsessed with your little brain and I can't wait to see what the next year brings < 3

Things I want more of

Inappropriate clothing items. And teen drivers who are pretty good drivers

Puppy naps

Snow adventures with new friends

Homesteading hobbies (and Greek Yogurt you could eat like cheese)

Book sales. SO MANY BOOK SALES

Date nights

 

That was pretty cool

 Last week as part of my new job I got invited to a press event being held by the Pro Football Hall of Fame to honor "Healthcare Heroes." I got to tour the group around one of the clinics I oversee, and then got to meet four football legends; Rick Jennings, Warren Moon, Darrell Green, and Fred Beletnikoff (who I admittedly did not know until running it through C) and Iman McFarland (who I also did not know but now I'm kind of obsessed with her.) C sent me with a football and the cards he had so I was able to get signatures from everyone. Warren Moon told me to tell my husband "hello" and I book-needed with Iman McFarland, who is a book AND space nerd (I recommended The Six). AND, I saw and touched a Super Bowl Ring. It was such a cool and random experience and it was really neat to see how much they appreciated the work that the center is doing too! 

Banner Day in the mountains

 

It's been 8 million years since MLK Day, but I don't want to lose sight of what is good in the midst of all the things that are definitely not good. Sydney has been asking to hike, so on MLK Day we packed up Posie and some snacks and headed out together. It was a delight. Posie was adorable and alternated between walking on her tiny little legs and being carried. The weather was gorgeous and even though it was crowded, it wasn't overwhelmingly so. The girls were fun and silly and it made my heart so happy to see them enjoying themselves and each other. 

I have very few socially appropriate pictures of them. Mama tried and all that.... 

I like this guy

And then! We stopped at Goodwill in the little mountain town and C excitedly found me to say that they had two pairs of Doc Martens in my size. You guys? The ankle boots are BRAND NEW and I got them for $60. The lace up ones fit like a glove and are perfectly broken in and, because it was a holiday, I got them for TWENTY DOLLARS. I've committed to making Docs my entire personality now, obviously.