Molly's 15th birthday

Molly turned 15 on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. Her golden birthday. We started her celebrations the weekend before her birthday. It was her year for a party but she opted out of doing a party and wanted to take two of her best friends, Sloane Ellingford and Sadie Job, to the cabin. Fortunately, it worked out for all schedules (not an easy task) to go the weekend before her birthday. We left on Friday afternoon. I picked up the girls and we headed up for our girls weekend. I had grabbed Subways earlier and they ate those on the drive. (We had to wait for Sloane to finish volleyball so it was dinner time when we were driving.)

Sadie and Molly had gone shopping for food supplies. They were planning on staying up all night. They brought games and movies. I got them set up in the basement and left them to it. I went two floors higher to the master bedroom...and still heard them a few times in the night. They achieved their goal and finally crashed at 6 in the morning.

Sadie, Molly, Sloane...and all their junk food

Molly was a little upset with me that I didn't wake them up in the morning. They finally got up at 11:30. I had French Toast waiting for them and then they wanted to go shopping. It was after Labor Day but luckily most of the shops were still open. We had a late lunch at Zipz.

Molly, Sadie, Sloane

Sloane, Molly, Sadie

Molly and Sadie

Sloane and Molly

They wanted to do the lake next. It had rained through the night and the morning but the sun came out that afternoon. I had two paddleboards in the back and the car pump to blow them up. I had never done that without Justin but he walked me through it before we left and all went well. They stayed on the lake for about an hour before I made them leave. They would have stayed longer but I was getting a little worried about the time and driving home super late.

Molly, Sadie, Sloane

Molly, Sloane, Sadie

They changed/showered/packed. We had to wait until the dishwasher ran through the rinse cycle so I could turn off the water before we could leave-just enough time for a golf cart ride on the golf course. We left after that and got home around 10-later than I would have liked but not too bad. The girls all seemed to have a good time. I know Molly did and it was way easier than throwing a party!

Sadie, Sloane, Molly

Her birthday was in the middle of the week, Wednesday. It's an early morning for the older kids-they catch the bus at 7 am. Molly usually eats breakfast at school so she can sleep longer (and it's free). I did ask for a breakfast request and she wanted huevos rancheros. I had prepared the beans the day before so all I had to do that morning was toast the tortilla and fry an egg. Corn tortilla, cotija cheese, refried black beans, fried egg, salsa, avocado=yum! I enjoyed her breakfast very much!

Of course, it was a day full of "things": preschool and piano for me, soccer practice for Molly, Young Women's and Young Men's for all of us (since Brynn and Ivy just go with either Justin or me). She made dinner super easy for me because she wanted a variety of dishes from Global Grill in town so I was able to order those and pick them up after preschool. She walked to Panda Express with a friend for lunch (thank you, Elayna!), and was happy to go to practice after school. When she got home she had a quick dinner. I had gotten the Thai bowl, Indonesian curry bowl, and the Argentine blackened chicken and alfredo bowl. A delicious variety!

She wasn't sure if she was excited to have Young Women's on her birthday or not but she ended up having a really great time. We combined with the teachers and went mini golfing. We got shakes when we were done-on the teachers dime since they had barely used any of their budget.

Harrison and Hunter Baird, Jude and Justin Ellingford, Emma Stinebaugh, Lauren Whimpey, Ben Chappell, Sloane, me, Molly, Sam Steiner, Rachel Larsen, Tyler McPhie, Luke Pulley, Rendi Holm, Kelsey Larsen, Pallas Andersen

Molly and Rendi

We finally were all home at 9:15 that night so we could do her birthday presents. Ivy and Brynn had both made her something or found something in their rooms that they re-gifted. From Justin and me she got her favorite treats (orange cream licorice and two other things I can't remember-white cheddar popcorn maybe?), some potted faux succulents, a hair waver, and a ladder shelf for her room.

She had requested chocolate angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. We sang to her, ate cake, and made everyone go to bed right away.

My mom (maybe dad?) came up to watch Molly play soccer the next Saturday then came over after to give her her presents. My mom had taken her birthday shopping earlier in the week so she got a new school outfit, a new dress (picked out at Raspberry Days), a hair drying brush, and a flip book kit. She looked cute in her dress the next day!

One last celebration at Gene and April's on Sunday afternoon. Dinner with Molly's favorite rolls, then presents. From them she got her 15-year-old doll, a waterproof blu-tooth speaker, and a new bathrobe. We played games and the Wii before going home. I took the birthday banner down that night which officially ended Molly's birthday week the next morning. Back to real life but a happy birthday week it was!