I am still in shock that Darren is now a teenager. Yikes! We had a fun couple days of celebrating. His birthday was on a Friday. His first birthday gift was a surprise. I tricked him by leaving his lunchbox empty except for a note that told him to meet me at the front gate of the school. When he got there, Allison & I had a large pepperoni pizza, soda, gum & licorice waiting for him to share with his friends. I could see the excitement and surprise on his face when he walked up. Score one for "cool Mom!" 
After school, Darren opened his presents and checked out his Snickers cake. (not one of my better accomplishments) There weren't many gifts, as he only wanted CASH, to save up for an airsoft gun he wants. We got him a couple outfits, and saved the cash for last. I tried to think of a fun way to jazz up the cash gift... I think I succeeded:
I taped one dollar bills together, end to end, and rolled them up. I made a slit in a box and he had to keep pulling until they all came out. This was fun for all the kids! 
A family tradition of ours is that the birthday kid gets to pick the restaurant of their choice for dinner. Darren chose Wood Ranch. Yum! His friend Michael shares the same birthday so we invited him along. After Wood Ranch, Jason took the boys to an indoor go-cart raceway (MB2) for a couple races. Score one for "cool Dad!" The boys had a blast and I think Darren had a pretty cool 13th birthday!
The next morning, Grammy came to visit Darren. She brought a couple cousins along with her and we all went bowling.
We thought this was a pretty funny picture... I haven't ever seen a 3-way split of the pins like this. Nice shot Darren!
I'm so proud of Darren. He is a great kid and I feel so blessed to have him in our family. Although we have our moments, I am truly impressed with the young man he is turning out to be. He is kind, thoughtful, repentant, compassionate, fun.... the list goes on. I appreciate Darren's dedication to his priesthood responsibilities and am proud of him for developing his testimony in Jesus Christ. He sets a good example for his younger siblings in doing so. I love you Darren! Happy Birthday my teenager! Please don't make our next few years together TORTURE!! ha ha
Monday, October 25, 2010
Darren's 13th Bday
Posted by Nicole at 10/25/2010
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12 comments:
Yikes! Happy Birthday Darren! I LOVE MB2! FUN!
I love the money in a box idea! What a fun way to give cash. :)
can you be my mom?
How can you have a 13 year old?! Love the cash box! So fun! Basically, it looks like Darren scored on his day.
I really CANNOT let Andrew see this post or he may ask to come live with you. You really are a cool mom. Probably the coolest!! AAAAHHHH We have teenagers!!!! Weren't we just teenagers???
Loved the lunch and money ideas! Way to go! Good luck with the teenage years...
Pizza lunch for friends is definitely a huge score for cool mom! Loved the money box too, what a great idea! So crazy that you have a teenager!!!
Darren is sooo handsome!!!! Love you Darren!!!!
You are creative. I feel like I have lost all of my creativity over this past year:(
Wow! We totally missed his 13th birthday! Oops! I looked at my calendar and that's when my sisters were coming, I was so preoccupied with that (among other things) I missed it. We'll make it up to Darren. 13!!! EEEK!!!
Looks like a Super 13th Birthday Darren, teenager! As always you Mom and Dad made it a special one for you! Like the cool gift of the money you received. Love you Darren.
How fun! I love the money box.
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