Happy Sweet 16

My sweet boy is celebrating his 16th birthday today. 

There’s so much to love about this kid. Where do I possibly begin? Keagan has the greatest sense of humor. No one can make me laugh like he can with his quick wit and jokes. Unfortunately, too few people are privy to this side of him. Even with extended family, he often reverts to his quiet, introverted self and remains serious. They are totally missing out! 

Everyone knows how athletic Keagan is, but this summer he started lifting weights and running again just for the fun of it. His competitive spirit can cause some heated situations on the field and court, but I LOVE his trash talking - unless his opponent is Evan. 

Keagan has few really close friends, but his ties to loyal friends run deep. His standards are high; he has little tolerance for those that are not as committed or those that don’t share the same morals. He has a clear sense of direction for his life and has always cared more for how he views himself rather than caring about how others think of him. 

This kiddo takes his road test in September. He’s wanted to drive since he was three, and he picked out his truck more than a year ago. I can’t wait to see his smile as he takes his first drive in it! 

Happy birthday, Keagan. I love you big!

Happy Birthday, Keagan

My baby boy is 15 today! Most people know Keagan as the “athletic kid.” There’s no doubt he has a competitive spirit and loves to win. The inner circle knows him as the “funny kid.” No one can make me laugh harder. But I hope everyone recognizes his compassion for others. 

When you let a through ball get by you, he will be the first one to pat your back and encourage you to keep your head up. When his teacher loses her best friend, he will be at her room every day before school to check on her. When the autistic kid gets scared when the school loses power, Keagan will be the one to sit on the floor with him and talk him through his fear of the dark. When Keagan’s pulled from the game or injured on the sidelines, he won’t mope (for long anyway); he will cheer for his teammates (and maybe even holler a few tidbits of coaching advice.) 😂 He’s a far better person than I am; I’m so proud to call him mine. 

We started celebrating at 0545 with a slice of lemon cake from Starbucks. His favorite!

We had his favorite New York style barbecue chicken pizza for dinner and cheesecake for dessert. 

Then we opened gifts. Besides the knee injury and the obvious discomfort, I think he had a pretty good day. Next up is the driving permit test! 

Happy birthday, Keagan! 

We Pulled it Off!

We celebrated Keagan's birthday one week early with a surprise party at Excape Games. Keagan had NO clue and was completely caught off guard.

He thought we were going to an Army/office party tonight. I told him days ago that we had to support the agents by attending a family support meeting. Evan even gave a convincing performance moaning about how he didn't want to spend his Friday night with people he didn't know. 

Keagan fell asleep today after school, and when I tried to wake him up to go to the "office" party he yelled, "I'm not going to that crappy party. I'm rolling over and going back to sleep. You tell Dad I don't care about any work party." 

Yeah, he feels real guilty right now. 

Now, for the past hour, we haven't heard anything but how great and fun and wonderful his "office" party was. We even heard it was the best birthday party yet!

The guys didn't escape, but they had a great time trying to. 

Happy early birthday, Keagan!