Can hardly believe my little buddy is 14 years old! Almost in high school.... it is just unbelievable. Dane has always been one of my very favorite people on earth. He is calm and steady. He is communicative and kind. He is perceptive and funny and makes me smile every time I see him. I could not love this birthday boy more and I feel so incredibly grateful to have him in my life. For Dane's birthday- Grandma surprised him by coming down for the day to brighten up a pretty dull day full of zoom classes at home. She brought down his favorite Nothing Bundt cakes- chocolate and made him feel super duper special. Aidan came over in the evening for Dane's favorite- pick up stix! It was a fun day and wonderful to celebrate such an amazing kid. Here is an excerpt from his journal:
Dane you have grown so much this past year- from a sweet little 7th grade boy to a responsible, mature (most of the time), young man. I am so proud of the person you are becoming and the ways you are growing both physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. And I am so grateful for the parts of your personality that remain constant- from the moment you entered this world to present day. You will likely always be an incredibly hard worker, a thoughtful and sensitive soul, a person who sees the humor in life and is very witty, calm and peaceful. And though you like to fight Dad and I more and more at this ripe old age of 14, you are still always respectful and loving. If your future children are reading this one day- hopefully they’ll realize what I’m getting at! You are a typical teen in many ways- argumentative, eager to exert your independence, annoyed with your parents here and there, and a little moody at times. That being said, you are also easy going and flexible, you are thoughtful and kind and a joy to be around. You argue with class and temperance. You have well thought out debates and you mostly know when to let things go. You will one day make the most wonderful father and husband. We are so blessed to have your awesome spirit in our home.
Favorite things: You love the Simpsons TV show. This year you enjoyed watching all 8 seasons of Psych. You enjoy comedy and adventure shows. You love video games, much to Dad and I’s dismay and you enjoy watching YouTube gamers talk about video games. You love gardening and planted a garden in our back yard from start to finish this past spring. You love cooking and spices and herbs. This year you learned to grill and to cook many dinners. You are proficient at making chicken parmigana, baked Mac n cheese, potato wedges, chicken rice and shake and bake, grilled hamburgers, chicken and steak, French toast, and lasagna. You love finding recipes and figuring them out. Your favorite candy is peanut butter M and M’s and Reeces peanut butter cups. Your favorite food is Chinese. You love teriyaki noodles and orange chicken most of all.
You love riding your bike. This year for Christmas you asked for an electric bike and when told it was out of the question because it did not fit in the budget, you saved up half the cost and paid in full. You love to ride around the neighborhood and on adventures around San Diego. You continue to love soccer. You have kept with this sport your entire life and you work hard at it. Three practices a week- always. You love your teammates but you suffered a blow when your favorite coach was removed from your team (Conner McFadden). You had a great bond and connection with him so it was hard on you. Hard, but still you managed to continue to press ahead with zeal. Because of the pandemic (Covid 19), soccer games and tournaments were put on pause for the year. Practicing regularly without being able to scrimmage or play another team takes its toll. You are a little burnt out to say the least. Thankfully you’ve taken up tennis this year - a sport that IS open for tournaments and matches. You have enjoyed playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with your buddies: Jack Larson, Christoph Kuebitz, Jarron Onan, and Luke Jorgenson. After practice, you have dinner at one of the boys’ homes and hang out for a while. Because you haven’t been to school in almost a year- this is an important time to connect with your friends. It’s been a weird year for sure! Aside from soccer and tennis, you have taken up boating this year and you LOVE to wake surf and wakeboard. You have become an expert at the entire boating experience and are such a help to Dad and I. You love to fish, to camp, to hike, to rock climb, to swim and to cliff jump. You are an adventure seeker and you’ve had the time of your life this year on so many wonderful camping adventures! We camped at Lake Arrowhead, Yosemite, Carlsbad State Beach, Olympic National Park in WA, and The National Tetons in Wyoming. We visited Pismo beach with cousins, Tucson, AZ to see the Rustands, Victor, ID with friends, Jackson, WY, Seattle, WA for two weeks to be with Grammy and Papa and St. George and Lake Mead twice each for boating adventures with old BYU friends! You love to ski at Brianhead,UT and Mountain High, CA. Though most of the world has been shut down for the year, you’ve certainly made the most of it with all sorts of outdoor adventures. You are always up for these adventures and you love the great outdoors.
Outside of all of these things, I cannot close without mentioning the love that you have for people. You love your family, you love your friends and you love your coaches and church leaders. You enjoy being around your friends at all times and you are truly happy when you are with others. You love to joke and play sports and just spend time with people- it’s a defining feature of your personality. You love your grandparents on both sides very very much and you text your cousins daily. You love to have long discussions with Dad and I. You ask many questions and you are interested in politics and the adult world around you. You are very spiritual and always bring the spirit into our family home evenings. When Evelyn is in a sour mood and Grant is hyper, you throw your parents a bone by answering the questions and always knowing just what to say. You stand up for your little sister and you work to connect with your big sister. You have a great relationship with little bro Grant, although you definitely have your moments of aggravation. Overall, I’d say he lucked out in the big brother department. You work to improve yourself and you want to be the best you can be. You are an amazing kid and one that I am so very grateful for. I love you Dane! Happy 14th birthday. Our family would not be the same without your sweet spirit.
