Can't believe this little girl is twelve. Although in some ways it's quite believable. She's seemed like a 16 year old for as long as I've known her. I remember when Ev was a wee little five year old... after ransacking my make-up bag, she waltzed into my room with full on lipstick and blush a plenty. When I told her she couldn't wear it out to school, her reply was: But MOM! This is my dream!
All of her make up dreams came true this year as she's been able to wear light lipstick and mascara. She is loving it. Ev is a hard working, intelligent, funny, problem solver with talents galore. I adore this girl and can't even imagine what her life has in store for her. She is one in a million! Happy 12th birthday Ev!
An excerpt from her journal:
Favorite Things:
Evelyn, you LOVE anything and everything music. I thought I was into music but my passion doesn’t hold a candle to yours! You love to sing and take voice lessons every week with Peggy Clapp. She has really helped you to increase your range and strengthen your head voice. You take piano lesson with Laura Miles and though this is not your favorite thing on earth…. you have really grown and made amazing progress as you’ve stuck with it! You just now are beginning to enjoy the fruits of your labors as you write music and/or perform singing/piano solos. You enjoy covering popular artists and knowing how to play the piano has come in very handy. But of course, that doesn’t stop you from complaining CONSTANTLY about piano practice- ha! Your recent hobby is playing the guitar and ukulele. You are amazing at watching youtube videos and then understanding how to perform on your own. I am so proud of your video editing techniques and all of the creativity you put into your youtube channel and music.ly videos. You want desperately to move out to Hollywood and become a famous actress and singer. This is your dream and you think of it daily. Your role model is Dove Cameron from the Disney channel. You would give anything to have a show like she or Sabrina Carpenter. In the meantime, you settle for auditioning for all of the local plays. You have had the opportunity to perform in so many plays this year! “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”- you played Sally Brown. You were Wendy in “Peter Pan”. This past summer you were thrilled to be cast as Sandy in “Grease Junior” and currently you are performing as a munchkin a jitterbug and an optimistic voice in “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s been such a wonderful experience to be a part of various theatre companies. This is most certainly your passion and you are so extremely talented in musical theatre. I am so proud of you! When you are not performing or editing videos, you love to do gymnastics and hang out with little sis. She looks up to you so much and you two are very close. You love to practice hair styles and play around with make-up. You love to bake and cook. You are pretty amazing at everything you try! This past weekend you did face painting for a three year old’s birthday party! There is rarely something you can’t do. You always say to me whenever you solve a problem, “What would you do without me??” You love watching Liv and Maddy and Once Upon a Time. Your favorite food is chicken salad sandwiches, steak and hamburgers. You love treats but they almost always upset your stomach so you try not to eat sugar too much! You are crazy about Meghan Trainer songs.
Ways you have Grown:
This year you have grown leaps and bounds and I hardly see a little girl inside there at all! It makes me both sad and excited. I do miss my little Evelyn, but I’m so proud of the young lady you are growing up to be. So far, I feel you have your head on straight and you focus on the important things in life. You read the Book of Mormon this year cover to cover and have worked so hard on your Faith in God goals. You do get side tracked by make up and music.ly but you have a good sense of your self and you are making great efforts to be a good big sister to your brothers and sister. They all look up to you and love being your friend. Lately, you’ve been going out and playing soccer with the boys— they are thrilled! You struggle a little with time management and really dislike being told what to do and when to do it. You prefer a note or a text with a list of things to do. When you are commanded or asked in person, it is a pressure point for you. No wonder I struggled so much when you were a toddler! Your stubborn streak has continued throughout your little life thus far. You are doing so well with your school work and writing. You scored very high in all academic subjects on the state standardized tests this year. You are a very high achieving person and you’ve always been an excellent reader. This year you’ve loved diving into young adult fiction like “The Hunger Games”. I think your least favorite subject is science. You are still small for your age and your little figure is quite petit. You are 4 feet 9 inches and your beautiful red hair and blue/green eyes are always a show stopper. You are told all the time how beautiful you are… and it definitely goes to your head. You have so much confidence and charm. You are a natural leader and you aren’t afraid of ANYTHING or anyone. You love scary movies, books, rides, adventures. You are never affected by mean remarks of others and always handle any criticism in stride. You are very mature for your age and very motivated. You are not super organized… your bedroom is messy and your papers are everywhere. Hopefully, that will come with time!
Memories/Stories:
This year you traveled to Tucson to visit the Rustands, to St. George and Las Vegas over Spring break. You visited Palm Springs a few times and Seattle over the summer. We went on a fun trip to Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa and Stacy and Troy and then a 5 day Disney trip with Grammy and Papa and all of your Stevens’ aunts, uncles and cousins for Grammy and Papa’s 64th birthday. You love going on adventures and traveling. This year you decided that you’d like to try homeschooling on for size. It’s been very interesting to figure it all out- but you’ve met wonderful friends along the way and you are learning so much about time management and taking ownership of your education. I help you organize the week, but you are mostly responsible for every subject. You work very hard and yet, now have time for better quality plays and more musical classes. Though it has been hard, I’ve loved having the extra time to spend with you at home. You are very helpful to me and I just love knowing everything that is going on in your life and being there throughout the day together. This year you’ve started to babysit not only for our family, but also for others! You are a wonderful babysitter— you are so responsible and so awesome with kids. Children and babies love you and all of my friends trust you even at your young age to babysit their kiddos. You love babysitting jobs and you love to make money. You are very hard working when you want to be. With your money you always want to buy clothes, make up, jewelry and hair accessories. You are extremely stylish and always look very nice. You know how to style your own hair perfectly!
I’m so proud of all you are accomplishing and the young lady you are becoming. A few words to describe you: feisty, focused, determined, talented, musical, funny, creative, intelligent, problem solver, loving, leader, tender, responsible, stylish, and a good friend. You are such a wonderful part of our family and we love you so much!
