As the calendar flipped to February, we were just days away from Hayden turning 18. Hayden. 18. Yup. Our last one made it to adulthood.
And you know what? I'm not really sad about it. I mean, you've been here. You've seen the blog for the last 13 years. I did ALL the childhood stuff. I exhausted all the Pinterest Boards. I spent all the time with them. I did all the projects. We had sleepovers, built blanket forts, conducted Olympics, made traditions that included frozen tshirt contests and weird Christmas trees, we simulated governments and job interviews and candy bar elections. We celebrated Presidential Birthdays, made up kid friendly drinking games in True American. We had Leap Day time capsules, and ate a meal from every country in the world. We made everything from slime to stools, watched all the Disney movies, we made videos, took all the trips we could possibly afford, and made it to Alaska and Hawaii. We had Finer Things Club, and played Survivor- we had sticker charts, and the 'X' system, and trust charts. We read Harry Potter, and then lived it. We volunteered. We ran through fountains. We picnic-ed. We ate an untold amount of Uncrustables on Tom Sawyers Island in the Magic Kingdom. I could go on and on. But, basically: we did it all.
And now, we have three empathetic, kind, well adjusted, well-rounded humans. And that was always our goal. Asa and I did it, the biggest project of them all: raising kids. And now, we're on to our next adventure. Life with adult children. And boy do we deserve it. It was a long chapter- perhaps an entire Part one. And now, it's time for Part Two. I couldn't have picked a better person to do both parts with me. Thanks, Asa. It's been amazing raising these humans with you. Long days, short years. Awesome times.
The night before Hayden's birthday it was Chess Club and TAB at the library. Hayden is so loved there, and Asa and I were there for Chess Club anyway, so the whole group of teens, some librarians, and some of our friends from chess, all surprised Hayden by jumping out at him in the meeting room and singing Happy Birthday. Marina even brought cupcakes for the event. It was all very nice.
Of course, we did the midnight thing- where we all wished Hayden a happy birthday. Olivia even texted.
And even though Hayden is 18, they still asked me to make the pirate treasure map to find birthday presents. I thought it'd be cool if instead of our house, I made a map of the whole street, and hid things around at other people's places. Of course, everyone was on board- and Hayden didn't know that's what I was doing until they opened the map. It went over well.
Genesis was able to come over for Hayden's birthday too, so she went on the hunt for us and contributed her presents to the cause. Among Hayden's favorite gifts: finally getting the piano tuned, and a bunch of canvases I scored on Buy Nothing the day before. I had gotten smaller ones on Amazon, but then someone just happened to be giving away giant canvases. Hayden's been working on those ever since.
The neighbors did also swing by for cake that evening, which was nice. And we had a little party. Jake and Ama even came down for the event on a work night, which was super nice of them.
Hayden wanted a kind of low-key birthday, which I think was delivered upon. But the day after, Asa and I took Hayden to Epcot to teach them how to be a Disney adult. It went over super well, after all not only did we get to go back to the Moana part (Hayden's fave!) but it was the Festival of Arts, which is right up their alley. We talked to artists, walked around and looked at all the amazing works, listened to some Broadway singers live, and ate some very tasty snacks. Hayden even got themselves a really cool painting with all of their birthday monies.
Overall, a successful birthday for the newest voter in Pasco County. And just like that, I'll never have to sign another waiver for a kid again! Woohoo!
Now, here's the thing. This blog stopped uploading pictures awhile ago. Obviously, because there's been a few blogs without them. I tried and I tried- I emailed support, nobody could figure it out. So, eventually I thought 'what if I started a new blog?' And, sure enough, it worked. So, we're not only moving on from Waterstraut childhood, we're moving to a new blog. If you want to continue to follow our adventures you can do so here. But, as the kids are all grown up, you're mostly just going to find me and Asa adventures. So, you know, follow if your interested, or stop here. Whatever you like. Either way, thanks for reading for the last 13 years. It sure has been something else.
The End.