Happy Birthday Olivia!!

Some of the silly games we play with our kids are quickly forgotten.  Some stick in our minds like they were played just the other day.  Olivia and I (Chad) had a game that we used to play and it seems like we played it just this morning, yet here we are with another teenager in the house.  The game we played was simple, I made her promise that she would not get any older than six.  Sometimes she would agree as we sat together snuggling in the chair, both us of not wanting the moment to pass. Other times she would be ornery and tell me just how big she was going to get in playful defiance of my wishes.  Well, the tears are flowing as I type this and think of that little girl and the father/daughter game we played.

The truth was that part of me really did want to keep her a little girl forever, but now as I have a teenager, I'm realizing what I would have missed out on.   Her joy for life is contagious and affects everyone with whom she comes in contact.  She makes us laugh every day, sometime when we don't even feel like it.  Right now she is dancing and singing in the other room, to a song coming out of a birthday card that grandma bought.   It's funny to watch, but the song is just right for our Squirrel because she really is  "Some Kind of Wonderful"!!!!  Happy Birthday Olivia!!!  We love you!!

What is your favorite activity? 
basketball

What is your favorite color? 
turquoise

What is your favorite "toy?"
notebook

Who are your best friends?
Miriam, Sophie and Maisee

What do you want to be when you grow up? 
missionary teacher

What does Dad do all day? 
subs or flies

What does Mom do all day? 
laundry and subbing

What do you do all day? 
school/basketball

What are your favorite books? 
the Divergent series

What are your favorite movies? 
Bourne identity

What are your favorite foods? 
empanadas

What makes you happy? 
when everything goes according to plan

What makes you sad? 
Thinking about Ecuador

What makes you mad? 
when i stress out

What do you like to do with Dad? 
laugh, because he's "funny"

What do you like to do with Mom? 
talk 

Highlights of 2016
Greatest Lesson Learned 
that i can make new friends wherever i go 

Hardest Thing this Year 
moving

Favorite Memory 
playing Dutch Blitz with friends

Looking forward to 2017
Want to Learn 
How to make new friends

Want to get better 
at not being so stressed out and trusting in God

Goals for 2017 
making the Idaho basketball team