Marcus is an Adult!

My boy turned eighteen!  It finally feels like this man child of mine is as old as he should be.  Marcus hates birthdays and attention on his birthday (he's so weird) and absolutely refused to let us do much to celebrate.  Luckily, Amie and Aubrey picked that weekend to come up and visit us so it felt like a great way to celebrate Marcus's 18th birthday without really celebrating.  We haven't seen these Boston friends of ours in ten years but we picked right up where we left off.  This is the first girlfriend of Marcus's whose mom is already a friend of mine, so having them come stay wasn't awkward at all.  Marcus got to see Aubrey and I got to hang out with my friend so it was a double win.

opening presents and Henry fell in love with the card Randy gave Marcus

Aubrey carried that box on the plane with her so it wouldn't get squished.  She gave Marcus a Gym Shark hoodie which he LOVES

We took them to lunch at Din Tai Fung, our favorite restaurant. Aubrey did a great job trying food she doesn't like :)

We rented a little electric boat and cruised around Lake Union.  It was so much fun!  We drove down all the little canals in between the floating houses and then pulled up to Ivar's seafood and docked the boat while we picked up lunch.  Luckily, Marcus has driven boats before because it wasn't as easy as it looks! 

Marcus tied some sweet knots so we could dock our boat safely.  Eagle Scout for the win!

The Seattle Troll was only a few minutes away so we had to get a picture

That night was a lacrosse game and Ethan's girlfriend Riley joined us

for the fun.  I did a double take when I walked past the bathroom and saw girls prepping for the game.  It seriously stopped me in my tracks.  Could this be what it will be like to have daughter-in-laws some day??

Boys need lots of hoodies so they can give them to their girlfriends to wear.  It's a thing.

Also, boys really love having a girlfriend to cheer them on and hug them after a game.  The smelliest athletes have got to be lacrosse players.  They reek of sweat and mildew from wet gear.  It's potent!

We spent the day doing Seattle things and Ethan even got to tag along.

After eating Beecher's Mac 'n Cheese we headed to the gum wall

Yes, they are wearing matching Nike hoodies that they tie-dyed together.

Ethan is finally taller than me!

We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island

Ocean!!  And it was cold!

The next day was Sunday and Aubrey invited Riley to come to church with us.  She accepted the invitation and I wish I had a picture of our church pew full of my family plus two girls.  I caught Randy's eye and we both looked at each other with looks that said, "Is this really happening?!"

After church we drove out to Snoqualmie Falls while Marcus and Aubrey made plans to miss the flight and extend Aubrey's stay.  Didn't happen though.

And here's a cute card Aubrey gave Marcus of the two of them with their dads sixteen years ago.  
We all had a great weekend together and look forward to getting together more......at prom!

Happy Pandemic Birthday, Marcus!

Marcus turned sixteen!!  Or should I say, Marcus turned sixteen and who even cares because he can't do anything so he doesn't feel too excited about it.  Poor kid.
I ventured out to find a bakery that a friend told me about so I could surprise Marcus with some amazing donuts in the morning.  While I was out, I figured I'd try to find some toilet paper since apparently it's gone if you're not at the store first thing.  A lady at the bakery tipped me off to a junky store called Big Lots so I headed there and bought the last two packages.  Score!!  By the time I got home, Marcus had already gotten up and made himself breakfast.  How depressing is that??
We ate donuts and hung out, frequently checking the news and our phones for more updates since things were just beginning to shut down.  I think we were still holding out hope for something to stay normal.  I can't remember what we even did that day but I know we finished the day off with spaghetti and meatballs--his favorite meal since the age of two.  He didn't get to open many presents because they all arrived late (even the grandparents failed this year).  Poor Marcus.  But eventually he got some clothes, a fixed screen for his cracked phone, and a fancy massage gun that feels pretty amazing after a long run or tough workout at the gym.
Marcus doesn't have his drivers license yet because the DMV is closed.  He passed the written exam with a 94% and will be one of hundreds of kids anxiously waiting for May 4th when things might start opening so he can take the drive test.  Marcus got money to take a girl out on a date and instead, he used it to take his brothers out for ice cream because we all know a date is not happening anytime soon.  Luckily we have a friend who bought a home gym set for his garage and is kind enough to let Marcus use it (by himself) every other day.  It has saved us!  So even though the world seems to have shut down, I still get to do a normal thing by driving Marcus somewhere, dropping him off, and returning to pick him up.  It's frustrating he can't drive himself but I LOVE getting out of my house.
So happy birthday, Marcus!  Sorry for a lame, pandemic birthday!