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This blue-eyed, once toe-headed toddler, favorite son of mine had a momentous birthday.

He's legit now 'cause he can date and drive.  Both scary and awesome all at the same time for us, his parents.

We started off the morning surprising him with a little something he had been wanting but didn't think he'd receive ….

A new, much more powerful amp & speaker.  It blows his old one out of the water.  It's funny to hear Mike encouraging him to 'turn it up a little more.'

Then we surprised him again by having some friends show up for breakfast.

He has some great friends, for which I'm very grateful.  

A couple of days later, we went and got his official driver's license -- and now this is the scene I've been seeing ever since ….  (That would be him and Haley as they left for their music lessons and then probably to Fiiz to get a drink.)

My heart in my throat every time he pulls out of the driveway.  So far so good, though ...

He also had his first choir concert at the high school.  He wasn't at all sure about taking choir but has loved the class so much.  Who knew that my deep-voiced son would end up singing tenor?

He continues to amaze me with his guitar talent.  He has 4 students now and keeps honing his craft …. like this ….

He and a few friends started a band and had their first official gig.  They had posters printed and hung them around town.


Some of Christian's biggest fans were there. :)  Cousin Spencer brought a date (all the way from Provo, no less!), Grandma Farley, the Schwabs, his YM leader Officer Hauze (who was on duty and showed up in uniform, which freaked a lot of people out), some friends and his amazing family ;) were all there.

They became a true 'garage band' when they had to move their gear into the garage because of weather.  Pretty fun gig, garage and all.

And then a momentous happening … He was asked to his first dance by his good friend, Rosie.  

He ordered a corsage today and went shopping with Rosie to pick out a tie that will match her dress.  Fun times ahead. :)

Trick or treat

Announcing Professors McGonagall and Quirrell ...

… and also Voldemort on the back of Quirrell's head.  Go see Harry Potter 1 if none of this makes sense.

At our neighbor's fun Halloween party -- everyone goes all out …

The failed magician who cut off his assistant's legs

The 80's workout couple :}

Wayne & Garth (how perfect were they??)

His wife is actually inside that amazing minion get-up!

Best (and creepiest) makeup award

My personal fave -- Claire & Jamie from Outlander

Real life cop, John, and his cute fake-cop wife

We had a trunk-or-treat in our circle this year, which was so fun! We'll definitely have to keep that tradition going.  Elle has wanted to be a secret service agent ever since she saw this picture of Christian a few years ago...

This was her version. :) Adults knew who she was but other kids asked her all day long who she was supposed to be.

It helped when Pres. Obama showed up to go trick-or-treating with her. haha!

Haley became Miranda, the internet crazy queen.  Haley does a spot-on impersonation of her.

Paige was a monarch butterfly, using one of my favorite dance costumes she ever had.

Christian was a crazier version of his real rock star self,

and was a renaissance gentleman for another party.

Our favorite Halloween craft this year.

And Elle was thrilled to carve pumpkins this year, until she actually had to stick her hand inside to pull out the guts.  Awesome.

Now, someone please get all of the candy out of our house before I eat it all.  Seriously.

Concert Goers

The first concert I took Haley to was Hannah Montana, when Haley was 5 years old and Miley Cyrus wasn't so gross.  Then, I sat outside of the One Direction concert while she had a fangirl-fest inside with Sydney.  This time, I took Haley and Kendall to see American Authors & Echosmith at a small venue downtown.

On the way there, we saw this guy out for a run.  Haley about died when she realized that he was the lead singer for American Authors.  So we stalked him for a bit ….

Yep, definitely him.  Fun, random sighting pre-concert.  

Can you feel their excitement at having a mom along with them?  

Everyone stands during concerts at The Depot, and the girls got a spot right up in front.  As in, super amazing great view...

Compared to my view ...

It's all good, though. 

I am a total American Authors convert now.  They were so fun to see in concert!  Their energy was infectious.

Another great thing about concerts at small venues? Both bands had a meet & greet afterward.  Haley got to hug the bands that she's been idolizing for a long time.  :)  Great night.

And they liked us, too. :) This was their post on Instagram the next day.

Oops

Our cute 17 yr old neighbor had a small run-in with our mailbox the other day. :{ Poor girl! I came out of the house and saw her truck high-centered on what was left of our mailbox, but Reagan was nowhere in sight.  Thankfully, she was ok and since mailboxes can be rebuilt, it's all good.  We couldn't believe how the bricks crumbled like a bunch of Legos!

How did that tiny tree not snap in half?

Fun Kodak moment. :)