Our high school has a contract with a photography studio, so all the seniors are supposed to make an appointment and go in for a quick photo session. You’re not obligated to buy any of the pictures (and I’m not sure how many people actually do), but you do have to choose one for the yearbook.

Hunter timed his appointment to coincide with his haircut schedule. He didn’t want a totally fresh cut for his yearbook photo, but he also didn’t want his hair looking shaggy. 🙂

I went with Hallie to her appointment, so naturally, I thought I’d do the same for Hunter. Apparently, having your mom tag along is only acceptable if you’re a girl. Even though I’m a photographer and probably have more experience than the college kid taking his picture, Hunter wasn’t having it. (For the record, one of the sample poses legitimately looked like “Shots by Deb” from Napoleon Dynamite, with the guy resting his face on his fist.)

I wasn’t about to embarrass my 18-year-old by insisting on coming along, so I stayed home and let him handle it himself. He only had to call me once from the appointment to clarify something, so I count that as a success. He walked in the door with his proof booklet and already knew which photo he was going to select for the yearbook. He looks so old. He looks so much like Steve in high school!

It’s just the first of many “senior” moments. I feel like I just did this not that long ago and here we are again. Something tells me having a senior boy is going to be a whole different experience than having a senior girl!

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A few more photos from our sandy week…

The beach was made for playing, and it was a shallow beach this year, so our “playing fields” were tight. Football, rugby, spikeball, cornhole, and every other game the kids could dream up. I think the only thing used more than the football was the shovel! Nothing like a good hole at the beach to keep the kids entertained.

And that’s a wrap on fall break.

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When Hallie was a senior in high school, all of her friends were going to Carlsbad for fall break (with their families) and although it wasn’t our first choice, that’s where she wanted to be, so we went as a family and we had a great time.

Fast forward three years, Hunter is a senior, and you can imagine where he wanted to go…Carlsbad. His group was much smaller than Hallie’s but it was still where he wanted to be – so we obliged. The beach really became an extension of our neighborhood with 12 families just from our immediate neighborhood, and many families just on the other side of the street. It was a non-stop party. Totally a different experience than when we went for Hallie (and we loved our trip with her) – partly because our kids are older and more independent, partly because we stayed in a different location that we enjoyed more, and partly because all the kids had so many friends staying at our same resort they were entertained sun up to sun down. Far past sun down!

When the kids weren’t at the beach playing in the waves or throwing the football, they were in the resort pool/hot tub, or grabbing a treat at Handel’s (a daily occurrence), or playing Secret Hitler in the courtyard. The teenagers would often head back to beach after it got dark, or found grassy areas to play spikeball until late into the night. The adults sat in the courtyard talking and playing games waiting for teenagers to make their return and the resort was generous in their “quiet hours” when we were a little less than quiet. Luckily, our group took a large portion of the resort so we took over one whole side and kept the noise in our own corner.

We lucked out in weather – warm for California, but felt like home for Arizonans, and we left the morning that hurricane Rachel was starting to leave her marks on the waves and beach. In fact, the kids were hoping for a morning at the beach before we drove home and there was no beach. Waves were crashing the stairs and we were happy to make our exit before the rain made it’s way to land.

We parked the car at the beginning of the week and only moved it once when we made a field trip to the San Diego temple with the kids. This temple just had an open house after an extensive closure/remodel and we were happy the kids could go together. (They kids thought it looked 3d printed!) Hunter’s friend didn’t have church clothes with him but he was willing to join in the clothes he had and I’m so happy he did. One of my favorite moments of the trip was watching them baptize each other. At one point, Hunter really dunked his friend to make sure he was fully immersed in water and the smile he had coming out of the water looking up at Hunter was priceless. Pure love and friendship; they just chuckled together. Oh how I wish I could’ve captured the moment with a photo, but its burned into my memory.

It was a beautiful and memorable week. The kids enjoyed their freedom to come and go as they pleased and Steve and I enjoyed the company of friends and a slower pace for a few days. Bennett is already banking on the idea of coming back for his senior fall break!

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The elementary school had a fundraiser night with the Diamondbacks and Briggs asked me every day if we were going. Baseball is not my favorite sport to watch, so I figured this would be a good father/son activity. But then the neighborhood text thread started rolling and we were coordinating with other families. And before long, the father/son activity turned into a family activity and we were all going!

When the kids were younger, we had the Pogo Passes that got us into three Diamondback games every year, but it’s been a lot of years since we’ve had those passes and I’ve been to a game. I suppose the nice thing about baseball is it’s a pretty chill environment, and when you go with friends you can just hang out and talk, which we did!

We brought the party.

We chose a great game to go to because they actually won and the boys made it on the jumbotron which is way more exciting than the game taking place. It seems as though every kid has aspirations of making it on the big screen when they attend a sporting event. My kids have been trying for years to make it on the screen at ASU games but we literally sit right behind the cameraman and they don’t stand a chance.

The game happened to fall on September 11th, and we ended the night with a win and the roof opening to a patriotic fireworks show. Every event is made better when you end with fireworks.

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Ever since we took some of Hallie’s friends to Six Flags for her 18th birthday, I envisioned doing the same for Hunter. And as much fun as I think Hunter would have had on that trip, we gave him another option. Six Flags…or a trip to Wisconsin to watch the Packers play. Hunter was born in Wisconsin and hasn’t been back since we moved away when he was two years old. He has been a die-hard Packers fan, even in their non-glory days and he has longed to go to a game. When we gave him his options, there was no hesitation or “let me think about it”. He knew he wanted the Packers game. They were playing the Arizona Cardinals at the end of August which seemed like the perfect match.

Aside from the Packers game, Steve took Hunter on a trip down memory lane – a lane he has no memories of. They toured our old stomping grounds including our old home visited Steve’s brother who still lives in town and stayed with some old friends. Hunter will finally have memories of his birth place Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Lambeau Field lived up to all his expectations. It’s the experience he was hoping for and they attended a preseason game so it wasn’t snowing yet! Bonus!

The Packers are the oldest community-owned team with the most total titles. While living in Wisconsin, we learned they have a very loyal fan base which was fun to witness. And Hunter counts himself in that number!

Are the Packers good this year? No. But that doesn’t really matter for a true Packers fan. They still pack the stadium and bring the energy. Steve accidentally cheered for the Cardinals just once and got enough side-eyes to not do it again. The Packers pulled off a late win and it was the cherry on top.

Hunter can’t get enough “Wisconsin” gear (which includes all their professional and college teams). And what better place to thrift gear than in Wisconsin! They hit up several stores and he came home with a full suitcase. Six Flags would have been a fun trip, but he made the right decision – a trip to his homeland and a Packers game was the perfect 18th birthday.

Hunter knew his gift was the Packers game, but he did make a simple birthday meal request: White sauce macaroni and cheese. This is a meal I started making when they were little. It was a cheap and easy meal and they would always request it for special occasions, including the first day of school. It was literally a jar of store-bought Alfredo with some Parmesan cheese and spices added. Ironically, the special spice I add to it is called “Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle” from a spice company in Wisconsin, Penzey’s Spices. I haven’t had the spice in my cupboard for years which is why I stopped making the meal. But Hunter made a request – he wanted his favorite childhood meal as he transitioned to being an adult.

I couldn’t order online and get it in time. Luckily, I found a store 35 minutes away that carried it. I debated whether it was worth the drive and Steve assured me it was. So I tracked down the spice and added it to his birthday bucket. He was a happy boy when I whipped up that college-level meal for him on his birthday. He didn’t even eat it on our special “Happy Birthday” plate.

The night of his birthday, we hosted an evening of games, soda bar and acai bowls. 9 square, ping pong, corn hole, and of course, Secret Hitler. Hunter planned on 30 friends – and way more showed up (who doesn’t love a free acai bowls?!) We love a house full of teenagers.

18 is going to be a great year.

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