Today she drove away.

Not for good, thankfully. She was off to soccer practice, followed by an 8-hour shift at work.

She’s a busy kid, between sports, babysitting, her job at Subway, and hanging out at the horse barn. Throw in a knee surgery and weekly physical therapy appointments, and let’s just say this girl’s shiny new driver’s license brings as much freedom for her parents as it does for her. Whatever will we do with all the newfound free time?

It’s an awful market to shop for used cars right now, but thanks to Clark’s diligent searching we finally found her a 2012 Subaru Forester. She loves it! Clark also gets credit for logging hours of driving and parallel parking lessons with this girl, who passed her road exam with flying colors.

Her Sweet Sixteen fell on a Monday, and she didn’t get home from school and soccer until 8:30 PM. It didn’t leave much time for celebrating, but we did our best.

First up was a late dinner (she requested grilled chicken quarters and a tossed salad) followed by gifts and a homemade ice cream cake. The gifts took a bit longer than usual to open since there were a full sixteen of them! She pretty easily pegged who contributed what to the array. Windshield wiper fluid and a tire pressure gauge? Yep, that would be from Dad. A bluetooth adapter for her car? Only an older brother could know about that essential gadget. A bottle of her favorite face cream? Definitely Mom. There were a few surprises as well, including a Cotopaxi bag, a breast collar to match her saddle, and an Alaska State Park Pass. Oh, and of course a bag of chicken feed. Always a popular gift around here!

Later in the week a small group of family and friends gathered at Alaska Axe Company, and we are so thankful everyone left with all digits in tact!

Her card featured 16 images from the past year, and reminded us what a busy one it has been. She was the last in our family to become eligible for the COVID vaccine, which opened up the world of travel for us again. We went to Mexico, New York City, and Hawaii in the past year alone.

And now that she has her wheels, she’s really ready to fly!

Happy 16th to our girl!