can he really be 18?!

Because I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that I was pushing him in the stroller.

But the calendar (and my wrinkles) don't lie.  The boy has become a man child.  A big, huge, gorgeous man child.

All that Spencer wanted for his 18th was a big party, so we reserved our apartment clubhouse and he sent out the invite.

What he didn't know is that I was making secret plans of my own.  MwaHaHaHaaaaaa......

About six weeks before his birthday, I made a brilliant (brilliant, I tell you!) plan to surprise him with a visit from his friend Tyler who lives in Kansas.  I purchased the plane tickets and started scheming.

Here's how it all rolled out:

We spent the morning of the party prepping the clubhouse with party supplies, ingredients for our chili dog bar, soda, cookies, games, photo albums, corn hole game, fire pit, s'mores goodies, and balloons.

Tyler was due to land in Nashville at noon.  Jeff picked him up and we made plans to meet at a Target halfway between our house and the airport.  Why Target, you ask?  I love this part.  Tyler works for Target, so his idea was to wear his red shirt/khaki Target uniform and pretend to be an associate.

We have a Target just a few miles from our house, so I had to come up with a way to get Spencer to a Target 30 minutes away, just a few hours before his party was supposed to start. So... I ordered a birthday gift for you that was supposed to be at our Target, but there was a mistake and they're out of stock.  The one in Brentwood has it, and I think you'll want it before your party tonight.

When all the kids are with us, Spencer usually wants to stay in the van with the kids while I go in alone.  Which is why I said we were picking up a gift for him.  Because of course then he would go in.  It worked.  (and I wasn't entirely untruthful!)

When we were in the parking lot, Jeff texted me, "We're in electronics.  Send Nathan (who knew the secret) back to find us."  Which meant stalling Spencer, Ben and Alli at the front of the store somehow.  Hey, Nathan, would you head to electronics and look for some AA batteries?  I need Spencer to watch the kids while I use the restroom.  We'll come find you.

Now, mind you, I am a terrible liar, I'm having to do all of this on the fly, and my adrenaline rush is crazy, because it's all about to work out.  Somehow I've kept quiet for this long...if I can just make it a few more minutes without saying anything stupid!

We walk toward electronics and I spot Nathan.
Did you find batteries?
No, but there's something I want to show you.
Okay, make it quick, we need to get going.
We walk to the end of the aisle, and as Nathan's showing Spencer some earbuds, Tyler comes around the corner.....

"Can I help you find anything?"

He couldn't quite process it - he knew Tyler worked at Target.  Did he move here and not tell him?!  A few seconds later, it started to sink in and he realized what sneaky little devils we had been. They shared a man hug and Tyler explained it all, while Spencer marveled at my cover-up and determined he can never trust me again.  haha

Back to the clubhouse.  We have a party to get to.

Spencer wanted cookies and milk instead of birthday cake, so all week long our house smelled like flour, butter and sugar.  Spencer made all of the chocolate chip ones and those beautiful peanut butter blossoms on the right.  The boy makes a mean cookie.

Of course, we had to offer Oreos too, and a few guests brought cookies as well.

The clubhouse was a great spot for us.  Pool table, kitchen, several table and chair groupings, and a patio out back for the fire pit and corn hole.

(L-R Caleb, Nathan, Spence, Tyler, Nathan M)

Quite a few of Spencer's Kroger co-workers came.  

When it got dark, they had a little bit of glow stick fun.  :)

The party was a success.  Guests stuffed themselves with chili dogs, pasta salad, and of course milk and cookies and cookies and cookies.

We wrapped things up around 10 and called it a good night.

For Spencer's birthday dinner the next day, we went to Tito's with Grandma and Grandpa Maize.  It's his favorite Mexican restaurant, just down the street.  Where, like Cheers, they know his name.

AND, where you get to wear the birthday sombrero.

AND, where the tradition is to get a good dose of whipped cream in the face.

Now, we were seated in the outdoor patio, and since Spencer knew the in-your-face tradition, he strategically placed himself where no one could walk behind him.  He did not, however, plan on Juan scaling the outside wall.  That's the kind of guy Juan is.

For Tyler's final night here, we went downtown to give him a little touristy taste of Nashville.
We had a picnic at Cumberland Park, threw pennies in the river, and walked downtown to listen to the music, eat ice cream and people-watch.

This picture sums it all up, really.  18 just feels so good.
Poor Tyler.  Your time is coming.

This kid, this milestone, this firstborn of mine, he's just something else.  He's a deep well of good stuff.  He's an observer, watching others' choices and consequences and using that to guide his own.  He's solid and responsible and has some wisdom built up, but still leaves his room a mess.  He goes above and beyond at work, is always on time if not early, and listens when his co-workers need to talk.  He does the dishes when I ask but leaves the empty milk carton on the floor if the trash is full.  He's 18.  He's into gaming, he's a 50/50 chance on going out for a family hike, and he'd like to have a girlfriend but not just for the sake of having one.  He doesn't know what he wants to be or where he wants to go next, but he's longing for an adventure.  He runs to the store for me.  Picks up kids for me.  Pays his car insurance on time.  Sometimes he just wants to sit down and watch a movie together.  I know 18 means he's making plans to step out and give this big life a try, and it's bittersweet.  He makes our home better.  Every time we silly dance in the kitchen or laugh at his impersonations, I bottle it up somewhere in my heart, because I know I will always have him, but I will not always have him beside me.  He's such a great young man, and I'm so proud of him.  Happy birthday to my first baby.

Spencer's first prom!

 This guy.  This guy can work a tux.

 Spencer's girlfriend Bethany invited him to her high school prom.  They've been dating for a couple months now and make each other very happy.  She's pretty wonderful.

 They are headed to dinner with a group of friends as I write this.  I can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow.  Or really late tonight.  Whichever happens first.

And the boy had better take pictures.

They look so great together!

Of course I have to give props to their florist.  *wink, wink*

this is a man with a job.

 Mmhmm.....he'll be fillin' those bags, rolling those carts....

and generally rockin' the scene at our friendly neighborhood Kroger.

His first job.

I'm so old.

i am so behind!!

Our summer came on with a fury and I haven't even posted the last school pics!

 On Sunday the 18th, we had a graduation ceremony at church for Spencer and Nathan's class at the Net Academy.

They honored the kids with their academic awards, and also with character awards.

Which I must confess impresses me more than the academic, even though Nathan got the highest academic award.  Of course.  (Smarty that he is!)

Nathan also saved ALL of his merit bucks, which is something they earned for things like saying their Bible verse, showing good character, keeping their desk tidy, etc., and came in with the most bucks, which earned him a brand new tablet.  It was a big deal, because he had left his old one in the back of the car window and roasted the poor thing.
He's determined to keep this one roast-free.

I'm so proud of my boys.  The academy was a great fit for them this year!

a weekend in Gatlinburg

Our youth group has spent the past few months preparing and fundraising for their Gatlinburg cabin retreat.  Last Friday, the moment arrived.  I dropped Spencer and Nathan off at school that morning and gave them hugs.  Then I got the word that my friend Mia had to drop out of the trip.  And did I want to go in her place?   

HECK.

YEAH.

So I called Jamie to see if he could have Ben and Alli for the weekend, totally expecting that not to work, and expecting to have to call several people to share the load, and juggle kids around, and is it worth all this trouble, maybe I should just stay home.....

But it worked!  Jamie said they could spend the whole weekend with him.  So I finished work that day, drove home and packed for myself and Ben and Alli in a fury, and off we went at 4:00 in the afternoon, headed for the hills, with 17 kids, 5 adults, and many boxes of groceries.

 We arrived at night and were met with the hill from hell.  Seriously.  The picture above is not the hill.  It's the boys' cabin and the pool house.  I didn't want a picture of the hill we had to climb!  It was too steep for one of our vehicles, so we had to  unload and walk up.  Oh. My. Word.  It was, maybe, a 60 degree angle?  It was crazy!  But we made it. (Although the strain was so intense that Spencer and I each tasted blood at the back of our throats!)

 The view was worth the work.  I have no idea how they build cabins up there on the tops of the mountains, but I'm glad it wasn't my job to figure it out.

 This is the view from our living room.  The fog was so thick most of the time that we weren't able to see the valley below (or anything, really!) but occasionally it would clear for just a minute or two, so I had to hurry to get this shot from the second floor.


Here's the bunch we went with.

 I love them.  They are awesome.

 And appropriately weird.

The cabins are where we spent all of our time for three days.  In the pool, the Jacuzzi, at the pool tables, arcade games, and theater rooms.

 (Spencer's friend Israel)

 (Youth group leader, Derrick, with Nathan and his friend Max)

 On Saturday morning, they were given a gingerbread house challenge....girls against boys, with no access to the directions or picture.

 The girls did an incredible job with the details, but didn't get the to to go on right, so even with all it's beauty,

 the boys' manger scene won.  We had to admit that they deserved the win.  It was very creative.  How do you top a gummy baby Jesus?

 You don't.  You feed it to the bears!

 This is my friend Georgia.  We stayed up until 4:00 the first night talking.  That should give you an idea of what our weekend together was like.

 They piled into the living room of the boys' cabin on this afternoon to hear Derrick give a lesson about Revelation and the Millennium reign.  He doesn't water things down.  Our kids like the good stuff!

 The adults each took turns sharing our testimonies.  I didn't know how interested they would be in that, but they ask good questions, and really like to listen.

 These were our cabin roomies.  :)  Our cabin smelled SO much better than the boys'.  You don't even want to know.

 We shared our meals together every day in the girls' cabin, and thanks to Georgia, we had some good eatin'.

Which we needed to make our way back down that stupid hill!