2/5 of this house is teenager

So it's the middle of summer and Landon turned 16 yesterday and we leave for Italy in 1.5 days and it's 115,000 degrees outside and work is busy and I've been trying to go to yoga any day I can and I have missed writing so much. I spent part of this week in DC and much of yesterday getting my work inbox down to 5 emails from 645, which I'm sure will be blown up tomorrow but at least I'm starting from a lower number than I've had for a long time, so tonight, I am writing a blog post!

I also completely packed for an 11 day trip to Italy in my beloved carry-on suitcase and I am feeling VERY accomplished. James and the kids can pack their carry-ons tomorrow, but I have a day full of calls and meetings and I don't want to yell at anyone in my house, so I am done. I love everything I brought and am so excited about our upcoming adventure.

Bonnie is the very best and the only reason I'm fully and happily packed early, though Milo certainly also assisted.

I don't know what we would have done without him.

But let's go backwards- to last weekend when the tiny baby who prompted this blog to begin back in 2006, back when it occurred to me at the same time that getting pregnant in law school AND starting a blog were both great ideas, celebrated his 16th birthday with his two best friends.

I wanted to throw Landon a big sweet 16 birthday pool party and he fully quashed that idea and asked for a sleepover with his two best friends from Weatherford with pizza, muffins, video games, swimming, chocolate covered pretzels (both white and dark), and a trip to Main Event for bowling and arcade games.

No cake, no theme, and NO singing of Happy Birthday.

And so, that is exactly what we did. And he had the very best time, which is exactly what he deserved.

It's hard sometimes to realize we're on the back half of parenting and I truly miss a house full of chubby toddlers with joy and chaos in their hearts, but it's a daily comfort to know what awesome little humans these kids are becoming. Also, just a note to reflect on how on earth we can be the parents of two teenage children?

On Friday morning, I was sending some emails from my office before heading out to work and Landon, who found out the day before he got a 5 on his first AP test, was holding Milo up to the mirror and reassuring him of how very handsome he was.

It's those little moments, that are small and unremarkable but also them acting as their truest selves, that I love catching the most. I love the snapshots into who they are: a text, a short conversation on a car ride, a random drop by their room at a quiet moment... teenagers are a trip and the goddamn best.

(For context on the chat below, Claire kept sending me links for things to buy with her money on Amazon Prime day because I won't give her the password to our Prime account and I often had feedback on her choices.)

I should note that 9 year olds are pretty freaking great too.

She may not have a phone yet, but she still finds ways to show pieces of herself through writing.

In between all the work and emails and yoga classes, we've been soaking up some family time. Sequence, which we've owned forever and I remember playing with my family as a kid, is our new favorite game of choice.

On the 4th of July the kids decided it to was too hot for a parade that can't pass out candy, so we cleaned out closets instead. Pretty sure if they'd known my idea of a good time, they would have opted for the parade even with the heat.

But look! It's so beautiful. (That's my office closet, otherwise known as the travel, ski, memory, and holiday closet.)

Landon's actual birthday was yesterday, and in between I went to DC for work for 3 days, Claire got her cast off (yay!!), and James went to Austin for Sections where he went yet another best time in the 100 breaststroke. I also wore clothes, even though no one else in this house is ever out of athleisure or pajamas, and I take pictures of me in them because no one else is awake when I leave.

Anyway, we celebrated our firstborn's day with a dinosaur themed table, presents, donuts (the girls' pushed him into it), no cake, and dinner at Chuy's with about a dozen flour tortillas of his very own.

We took a picture and I realized I really am definitely no longer the second tallest person in our family. I probably haven't been for a while, but this really brought it home.

[Sob.] But dinner was delicious and Landon was absolutely delighted with his perfect birthday meal.

He and James spent the whole day today at the Dallas Card Show (basketball and football cards are his new obsession) and they were gone for 8 hours and had the very best time. The girls I had got pedicures and also enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It's been a good weekend, ahead of what will be a great week (Italy!!), followed by a return just in time for Landon to take his driving test and then all 3 kids to fly to Colorado all by themselves for a week with Papa & Gigi in the mountains. Life is pretty good.

One final random story before I go to bed because it's 10:30 and I have to get to work early and also we leave the country on Tuesday: In cleaning out the office closet we found the old kitten tunnel I bought for the cats a while ago. They loved it, then ignored it, so I rolled it up and put it in a bin, and upon discovering it again, I decided we'd donate it to my friend who just adopted two kittens. Milo, like any child, re-discovered the tunnel as soon as I set it out and now it is his very favorite thing and is in it all the time and the new kittens will simply have to get their own.

Happy July!