sweet sixteen!

Today Miss Hailey celebrated her 16th birthday!

I have had sssooooo much fun today with Hailey!  Turning 16 has made her very happy!  She had her very own father and mother chorus of happy birthday before she left the house, and time for a couple of pictures!

She stayed home from seminary (she never misses and is always on time! - seriously), which gave us a chance to have a couple of labs tests done that the doctor had requested last week.  Pretty good birthday morning huh?...giving a little blood and a little urine.  Next we went the the Omelet Express for breakfast.  Pretty tasty!  While we were eating, she got a text asking if she got it? (from Nate, her very best boy-friend)  She was like, "What is he talking about?"  After a little detective work, we figured out that he had left something for her at the front door.  We had to rush home to see what it was before she could go to school.

Nate dropped this off at 3:30 this morning!

He made these cupcakes himself!

And he is desperately trying to turn her into a BYU fan.

It was an especially good morning.  I was hoping she would also have a good rest of the day at school.  When I picked her up after chorus practice her arms were full of all kinds of birthday offerings and her face was one huge smile!  She said, "The whole chorus just sang Happy Birthday to me.  It sounded beautiful!"  We then went for a little practice driving and came home for present opening and dinner before play practice.  These are the rest of the photos.  (I finally put my new lens on my camera from Christmas.  I think I am really going to like it, what do you think?)

making a wish...hmmm, i wonder if it had anything to do with a first kiss?

she blew them all out...hmmm, i wonder if her wish will come true?

Here is a little update on Hailey...

Birthday dinner request:
grilled chicken
steamed cauliflower and broccoli
pasta and Recipe #99 sauce
yellow cake and rainbow chip frosting

She recently auditioned for her school play.  She was asked to join the cast because she could tap dance, and her teacher from last year was doing the choreography.  Then she decided she wanted to be a part of the chorus and have a little bigger part, so she went to singing auditions and she is all in.  She practices the songs with the chorus during her lunch break and right after school.  Then she goes to the gym for some exercise, runs home for some dinner, and heads back to the school for dance practice at night and on Saturdays.  The play will be the first week of March.  In the meantime, she will begin swimming with the swim team on February 7th.  Her life will be very tricky for about a month, but if anyone can do it Hailey can!  She is loving the play!

She is taking her driving test the first week of February in Las Vegas.  She is feeling a lot of pressure, but she is a very good driver, she should pass no problem!  I am excited for her, but I am a little sad for me.  I will miss watching her whip her clothes off as she changes in the car on the way to the gym.  I will miss her singing to the songs on the radio.  I will miss her telling me about her day as we drive from here to there.  I will miss spending that time with my little girl.  We will have to set aside time on her calendar for mother/daughter dates, so I can see her and talk to her and laugh with her and play with her.  I sort of feel sorry for her, because, since she is my last...she can't get rid of me very easily!

We love you Hailey!  Hope you had a Happy Birthday!!!