Absolutely Awesome Eight: Happy Sweet 16th Brinley!

I could not have predicted how this little bundle of energy would have grown into such a beautiful young woman. It's been an amazing 16 years since Brinley joined our family on December 27, 1999. I knew the moment she was born that her temperament was very different from her older brother. She had her own opinions but was willing to let him lead out. As young siblings, the two of them rarely had a squabble and now that they are teenagers, their relationship continues to be void of conflict. How refreshing!

Brinley's 16th birthday fell on a Sunday in 2015 but we celebrated it over the course of a few days.

Left-overs after church - the delicious reuben sandwich she has become fond of. We really celebrated by busting out a bag of potato chips and opening a bottle of sparkling cider.

Opening her presents...

No real surprises since she picked these items out and didn't open them on Christmas morning.
Sweater/scart, sweater-boots and a gift card to Ross. She really appreciated the cash from grandparents as well!

Not sure what flavor of jelly bean Erica got - but it was nasty!

Erica and her boyfriend, Steve, drove up for the afternoon and visited us at our house before joining extended family for Sunday dinner hosted at Chris & Julia's place.

A game of "Bean Boozeled" - became intense.

After a lovely meal of tuscan soup, salad and breadsticks (like Olive Garden), we sang Happy Birthday to Brinley. My weekly meal assignment is usually to bring a green salad but this time we brought dessert - two mud pies. Peppermint/mint and cookie dough. .

Brinley, Anna and crazy Jack.

We also made and brought cupcakes for the younger cousins who might not appreciate mud pie:)

There was a houseful and we enjoyed our time together before parting separate ways. Brandon and Stephanie jumped on a plane the next morning, Erica and Steve drove back to Salt Lake after dessert. Cam and Bob & Janene and we returned home. Thanks Chris & Julia!

Stephanie, Brinley, Erica

Birthday celebrations continued but not until after Quinn's oral surgery early Monday morning. We loaded him up in the car at 5:15am and were home by 9:00am. One tooth removed with a spacer put in, one tooth capped and another one filled. It was an insurance nightmare but hopefully the hard part is behind us now. Quinn did well and slept a lot that afternoon. Wish he would have inherited his father's teeth however!

I don't know who appreciates Brinley's birthday tradition of having Chinese food more - Brinley or the rest of the family.

It's certainly nice for me NOT to prepare a meal following the intensity of the holidays!

Sure love these people...

Tuesday morning - it became official.
Brinley completed the requirements to receive her driver's license.

And Aaron and I were finally able to take her out to eat. We opted for lunch instead of dinner since she was out of school. And there were evening plans in place already....

Nobody has been counting calories around here - that's for sure. After a delicious lunch together, Aaron dropped us off at Ross so Brinley could use her gift card while he ran a few errands - and picked up the cake for her surprise birthday party held that evening!!

I snapped this group shot while people were trickling in (before Brinley arrived).

There were 20 friends that joined us for the evening.

Brinley came through garage door and everybody jumped out yelling surprise!

Aaron took Brinley and Jantzen to clean the bathrooms/garbages at the office while I got everything ready for the party. The decorations and snacks were simple enough. Aaron and I kept this on the low-down so not even our own kids knew what was happening until I asked them to help me blow up balloons. They were as surprised as anybody that their parents would do such a thing....

The kids mixed and mingled and snacked until it was game time.

Aaron and I spearheaded a few games including a wrapping paper game.

Adam - "The Thinker"

They boys' team didn't exactly understand the rules but still won prizes for 'most covered'.

Caroline - a penguin

Bekka - The Statue of Liberty

Duct tape and wrapping paper and imaginations.

Brinley - a birthday candle. She even blew out the flames. Her team won prizes for originality.

Lots of laughter with the paper plate game. Everyone followed a series of instructions while drawing a specific picture on a paper plate that had to remain on top of their heads until the end.