The Twins Turn Sweet 16!

The twins had their Sweet 16!

They celebrated with a fun boy/girl party at our house, playing games, watching movies, and eating lots of healthy snacks (the boys had a cross country meet the next day and wouldn't let me make them sugary treats!)

A few days later on their actual birthday, we had a family celebration with lots of balloons, gifts, and actual sugary treats!

 The kids got some very fun and thoughtful gift including a Bluetooth adaptor for their truck, a frisbee game for Tanner, air pods, and running shorts.  And some iron-on vinyl, sweet kicks, gel nail dryer, and a hammock chair for Ashlyn.

A couple of weeks before their birthday, our family won a gift card to a local bakery through a library competition and we used it to buy some gourmet cupcakes for Ashlyn and then we swung by and bought Tanner's favorite dessert, pie!

Ashlyn's sweet friend Cassidy swung by later and offered to be Ashlyn's first date, complete with flowers and all.

10 Things About Ashlyn

1.  She is a business owner.  She started a new Etsy shop this year to make and sell bracelets and she has been busy all summer stocking her shop.  She also continues to make graphic files for our family Etsy shop and probably sells more files than I do in a year.

2. She is a hard worker.  In addition to her Etsy shops, she also works a 20 hour a week job at a local restaurant.  She figures she has probably washed over 10,000 pots, pans, and dishes this year.

3.  She is incredibly artistic.  In her spare time, she can often be found creating beautiful art or practicing her calligraphy.  It wouldn't be a birthday if she didn't receive art supplies of some kind.

4. She is becoming such a good cook!  She has learned so many great baking skills this year at the restaurant and is a master of cookies, cakes, and is even learning to master bread and rolls.

5.  She is very clever and funny.  She has such a mature sense of humor and always has a witty observation about life and keeps us laughing.

6.  She is so smart.  She is taking so many AP and advanced classes this year that I am worried she is going to be buried.  But she is so stinking organized, that I know she will pull through.  She has a 4.0 and has a desire to be a valedictorian and so far she is right on track.

7. She is so stinking cute and makes modest look hottest.  She has such a cute sense of style and has always made a goal to dress modestly, which sometimes creates a challenge like when we tried to find a swimming suit this year and had to shop at 10 different stores looking for a modest suit!

8. She is a good driver!  She made it through her first year of driving without so much as a scratch or a ticket.

9. She is a picky dang eater and struggles to find dinners to fit her sensitive palate.  I think she is really looking forward to college when she can live off of Ramen Noodles and Captain Crunch.

10.  She is thoughtful.  Of our kids, she is the one that will write us thoughtful letters to tell us how much she loves and appreciates us.  She is also very responsible and has been a great help to babysit her brothers and sisters while Mom and Dad go on out of town trips!

We sure love our Ashy!

10 Things About Tanner

1.  He is an insane runner!  Last year he joined the Cross Country team and ever since he has dedicated his heart and soul to running.  This summer he joined a running club formed by one of his Cross Country teammates and he ran over 300 miles in two months!!  He earned a team jacket with his name on it and he looks awesome in it.

2. Tanner is a hard worker.  He took a job with a neighbor this year doing landscape curbing and worked early hours, long hours, and the hottest hours of his life shoveling sand and running a concrete mixer.

3.  He almost lost his hand in a concrete mixer.  Silly boy stuck his hand in the concrete mixer while it was running and it caught his hand!  This boy is protected because after worries that he would need a cast or stitches, he needed neither and was back to working 2 weeks later!

4. He has the softest heart in the world for animals.  This boy loves his dog, Bailey more than he probably loves anyone else in this family.  Bailey's puppies became his children this year and he was the most protective new father I have ever seen.  He has done a great job raising the puppies.

5. He has a really fun group of friends and they have made it a goal to have a party a week Corona or not, and they darn near succeeded.  They always have so many fun adventures fishing, swimming, cave exploring, and playing night games, it makes me wish I were a 16-year-old boy.

6.  Tanner got a new truck and it may have been the best day of his life.  This kid almost made looking for a truck a full-time job this summer and he sadly watched as one truck after another in his price range disappeared within hours of posting!  Finally, he found an awesome Ford F-150 and he has been the happiest boy ever since.

7.  This kid still loves to fish.  He actually is on his third fishing pole this summer as first Ashlyn and then Zac lost his good fishing pole.  He is becoming quite the expert on how to catch fish and will spend every spare minute he can find fishing.

8. Tanner is super smart and has managed to pull off a 4.0 so far through two years of high school and is also working towards valedictorian.

9. Tanner is such a fun brother!  He is often found hosting a mad game of basketball in the pool, in the basement, or in the driveway.  He always has fun ideas for games to play outside and even makes his own games up, keeping the kids very entertained!

10.  He still tells Mom and Dad, I love you every night before bed and every time we end a phone conversation.  He has a loving heart towards his siblings and is very easy to get along with.  It would be very rare for Tanner to be in a fight.  He is also very responsible and we appreciate that he is such a help with babysitting when Mom and Dad have a getaway out of town every now and then.

We are so blessed to have Tanner Man in our family!