Andrew's a Teenager!

Andrew turned 13 this month!  It's hard to believe he is that old!  Sometimes when I put Skyler in one of Andrew's old outfits it blows my mind to realize he has changed so quickly into a young man!  Andrew decided this year that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with his friend Tony, who turned 13 just a few days after Andrew.  I was somewhat relieved that I didn't have to plan a big party but I also felt a little sad that he wanted to do his own thing without me.  Tony's mom went along as a chaperone/driver but they didn't want me to come since that meant three siblings tagging along as well.  The weekend after their birthdays they had their big celebration.  They went to a movie and to dinner.  They were planning on swimming after that but the pool had to close because of lightening so they went to Tony's to play Lego's instead.  These boys can still spend hours building Lego's even if they are 13!

On Andrew's birthday after the kids got home from school Kaitlyn disappeared.  I couldn't figure out where she had gone.  I went to check her room and the door was closed with this sign on it.

She was secretly making cards and pictures for him and spent hours that afternoon in her bedroom.  Then she wrapped them up in her blanket and put them on top of his stack of presents!

We did have our own family party on his actual birthday.  Nothing fancy.  Just cake, ice cream and presents.  But really, what else does a 13 year old need?  Oh, his one request was that I make Calizones for dinner.  My family loves Calizones but I hate to make them since they take forever and make such a mess but the birthday boy got his wish!

I am so grateful for Andrew in our family!  There is never a dull moment with him around.  His Honors English teacher asked the parents to write a paper for her to get to know the kids in her class this year.  I figured this was a pretty good summary of what Andrew is like at this age.  Here is what I wrote about him.

Andrew is the oldest of four children in our family.  He has always had a lot of energy.   When he was a toddler I struggled with finding an appropriate outlet for all that energy in such a small body!  Now he loves to run, ride his bike, play soccer, and play basketball.  He enjoys running 5Ks and trying to beat his best time and is excited to be on the cross country team at Mt. Ogden this year.  He often rides his bike with his dad on long 20 mile marathon training runs.  He was just getting into mountain biking when he had an accident that resulted in several stitches in his leg.  I thought it might scare him into staying on the road but he still loves to take his bike on the trails.  When we moved to Utah three years ago he took up downhill skiing.  He was a natural and picked it up easily.  He’s also a bit of a daredevil and loves to race through the trees and go off jumps!   He’s never been a child to just sit quietly and watch TV or play video games.  He’s much happier when he is active.

                Andrew has an outgoing personality and has always been able to talk to anyone.  When he was a young child we would frequently go over “stranger danger” but no matter how many times I told him not to talk to strangers he still talked to everyone.  As he has gotten older I have found that to be a great character trait that he can relate and talk to anyone so easily, even adults.  Because of that, he has always had a lot of friends and gotten along well with others.

                Science has always been fascinating to Andrew.  When he was little he used to tell everyone he wanted to be a marine biologist when he grew up.  We would go to the library when he was a preschooler and instead of heading to the picture books he would go to the nonfiction section to check out something about science.  At twelve he doesn’t have any definite career plans but his favorite subject in school is still science even though he has excelled in all areas.  He loves to do scientific experiments with things around the house even though sometimes I’m not too thrilled with the mess that it ends in!

                Andrew has been working hard in boy scouts.  He’s not quite 13 yet and he is only one merit badge and his project away from becoming an Eagle Scout.  He loves the camping, hiking and fishing they have done as a scout troop.  He started playing the piano just over a year ago and has amazed not only us but also his piano teacher in how quickly he is advancing.  Although he doesn’t always like to practice he enjoys being able to sit down and play some of his favorite pieces that he has memorized.

                One of Andrew’s great qualities is helping other people.  Often at parent teacher conferences I have been told how he helps other students that are struggling without being asked.  He’s a huge help to me around the house.  When he was gone for a week at scout camp this summer I really didn’t know what to do when I couldn’t ask him to help me with various chores.  He’s been a great helper this year in our yard mowing the lawn every week to pay for his scout camp.  His baby brother was born in June and he adores him!  He wanted to hold him every second he could this summer.  He’s been a great big brother and the only thing he really doesn’t want to do is change diapers!

                Andrew is a hard worker and loves to learn.  He was excited to be accepted into the honors program at Mt. Ogden and has always made getting good grades a high priority.  I hope you enjoy having him in your class this year.

In September Andrew finished his cross country season at Mt Ogden.  Their last meet was the district meet.  Andrew placed 7th.  Both the boys and girls team won the meet.  The Mt. Ogden boys dominated so much that they took nine out of the top ten places. 

Celebrating a district championship with Coach Stoker and Coach Turley

The only mishap of the afternoon was right before Andrew finished.  Instead of coming straight to the finish line the course went past the finish line made a U turn around a tree and then to the finish.  The grass was wet so Andrew was trying to sprint to the finish and slipped.  He was amazingly fast jumping up though!