Teenager!

Quinn celebrated his 13^th birthday, and with that he officially entered the teen years. That’s a pretty crazy thought, but it’s our reality now so I have no choice but to believe it’s true. His birthday celebrations started with his actual birthday, when he chose dinner out at Five Guys. Traditionally, we let the kids pick their birthday dinner that is made at home but this year, Keely had dance class that would have made a normal dinner at home difficult to fit around so we decided to go out for dinner. After Five Guys, we had marble cake with buttercream frosting at home (all made from scratch by James) and he opened his presents from Mom & Dad, Keely and a few others that were mailed from our family farther away. He got a new Kindle Paper white and saxophone stand from us and a cool t-shirt (this is what awesome looks like J) and a pack of Root Beer gum from Keely. The following weekend, we traveled to New Jersey and celebrated with the grandparents. Quinn chose lasagna for dinner, ice cream cake for dessert and he got some art supplies from Nana & Papa and a 3 month t-shirt subscription from Aunt Annie.

The last hurrah to ring in his teen years was probably the best part…on Columbus Day weekend, we traveled to Kings Dominion with Quinn and two of his best friends to ride the coasters and scream at the Halloween Haunt. We opened up the park at noon to overcast, chilly skies. Luckily, there was only a little rain throughout the day and the cool weather probably made the crowds lighter. Our bad luck with coasters getting stuck seems to be following us as we were one ride away from being stuck on the first coaster we waited in line for, and the kids were one ride away from being stuck at the top of the Drop Tower. Aside from that and one of the coasters being closed for the day, we had a pretty fun and successful time riding anywhere from 12-15 coasters and never had to wait more than 30ish minutes but mostly just walked on each coaster. 

We also let the three boys ride the Extreme Sky Flyer, which pulls you up about 150 feet and then drops you to freefall and swing in midair like a pendulum until you are lowered back to the ground. Quinn actually was the one to pull the cord, so to speak and release them to soar 60mph. We have a video of them flying, and it’s awesome but they all screamed pretty loud. Keely thought Quinn was going to throw up because he had his hands over his face, but he was just cold (thank goodness). It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for them, and I know they all had fun with one more adventure!

At night time, the park becomes ‘haunted’ and that was pretty scary (for most of us). There are many mazes to walk through and there are areas of the park where scary people jump out at you, then sometimes follow you until you walk out of that ‘haunted’ area. I have not screamed so much in a very long time, if not ever. We only did two of the mazes, but Keely would have done more – she is so not scared, and my little daredevil. The boys were a bit scared, but I think they tried to play it off to be cooler. After all, what 12-13 year old will admit to being scared?!?! So not cool. I, on the other hand, could scream all I wanted, and scream I did. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again, but it was a little much for me.

We almost closed the park at 10 PM but left about 9:30 PM and were completely and utterly exhausted (some more than others). It was a long, tiring but fun day…Quinn and friends had a blast, which was our goal so that is all that matters!

So now we have entered the teen years. I never imagined we would be here so quickly, and I know that these next few years will most likely fly by. I am trying to enjoy every moment, tough as that is, with Quinn as he grows into a smart, funny, independent young man. He has his moments of independence, but I know he loves us and appreciates the support we give him as he tests these waters of adolescence. I don’t know what kind of road lies ahead, but I trust that we can be strong parents and raise a strong, happy, healthy teenager and give him the preparation he needs for the ‘real world’!