It feels like you’ve grown SO MUCH in the last year. Not just physically, though you have really sprouted up lately - you wear a size 8 shoe and are just a few inches shorter than me. But you’ve grown a lot emotionally and mentally. I feel like you are a totally different child than the one I wrote about a year ago. You’ve matured and are handling challenges and setbacks in such an adult way. You’ve always been an old soul and a rule follower and a people pleaser. You are kind and generous and while you might fight with your sister more than I’d like, you truly are the best kid I know. I love you so so much and I can’t wait to see what freshman year will bring. It’s a brave new world out there and I feel like you are about to hit your “high school era” where you find your tribe and thrive!
- The Israel-Gaza conflict continues.
- US enters war with Iran - in Feb 2026 we launched a strike against Iran and a key area, the Strait of Hormuz is right at the heart of the conflict. An important shipping canal that is key to moving oil. Until this is sorted, gas prices will remain high.
- Russia-Ukraine war continues - over 4 years after it started it’s sadly still not resolved.
- AI went from the cool new thing to talk about to being a massive capital investment with all the drama that goes along with it. From towns banning data centers to foreshadowing of a “AI Bubble” similar to the housing bubble…it's really everywhere now and working its way to entwine itself into every day use. You can’t even Google like the old days anymore, now it’s all powered by AI and searching the old fashioned way is a thing of the past!
- The World Cup (Soccer) - taking place every 4 years, for some reason this year was the first year I ever really heard much about it. We aren’t a soccer family, but it was everywhere this year. I think the take away that I got from it is that the news cycle focuses on how different we all are, but the stories from the World Cup games proved that maybe we aren’t so different after all, and coming together for something simple, like sports, can help give us all something to share.
- The Louvre Heist
- Winter Olympics
Current prices:
Eggs: $3.75 - down finally! Eggs have been high for years and they still aren’t back to pre-covid levels but they’re headed in the right direction finally. We love eggs in this family so I buy them no matter the price, but $.97 for a dozen eggs wasn’t uncommon just a few years back.
Gas: $4.50 a gallon - ugh! A few months ago Trump started a war with Iran and gas prices have gone up, up, up since then. It’s less than ideal. Diesel is over $5.50 a gallon right now, you know, just in time for camper season where we’re driving the big truck every weekend and getting 8 miles to the gallon. Great for the budget!
Plane ticket: $450ish. Up from last year, and the gas prices are probably driving it.
- To try new things - you really have!! This year you had your first “honors” class (Algebra) and now, in highschool you are taking 4 honors classes. You (and I both) are a little worried about the amount of homework you’ll get, but we’ll figure it out. You and Hazel also did your first ever musical theater show and it was a really good opportunity for you both. I’m so impressed with how you handled the stress of being on stage and how you worked through things that you maybe would have just bailed on 2 years ago. You’ve come a LONG way Peanut Butter….a long way. I want you to stop and look back. Look back and admire how far you’ve come.
- Color Guard - we made it through summer color guard practice and it was a lot! We’ll see how fall goes, but I hope you like it and choose to stick with it.
- Braces off! And you look so beautiful!! Just in time for Hazel to get hers on. She just got her top braces on a few weeks ago.
- Your first date to a dance, and also your first break up. You and Jayden lasted just under a year…it was sweet while it lasted and I think it was really good for your confidence and also a good milestone to have behind us (both the fun stuff and the breakup stuff). He took you to your first ever dance this past fall and it was very fun for Grandma and I to take you shopping and help you find the perfect dress. You were ADORABLE. And, while the breakup bummed you out, it didn’t last long and you’ve moved past it. Your maturity is truly impressive, sweet girl.
- Your first babysitting job! That’s right, you are officially employable. You and Stella are both certified babysitters and now that you are 14 you are legally old enough to babysit. Don’t tell anyone, but you had your first real job early summer (technically not 14). You babysat for Destine and her daughter Riley but the funniest thing about it is that Destine you YOUR babysitter not that long ago! It’s wild how fast things change. Wild how fast you go from the kid to the babysitter.
Current President: Donald Trump (yes, still….still here… still messing things up)
Your best friends:
Stella
Kayden
Evie
Pop Culture:
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding
Ozzy Osbourne died
Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso
Le Boo Boo toys - the dumbest things in all the land! The Cabbage Patch Doll, Beanie Baby, Furby of 2026.
The phrase “Six….Seven…” (said with hands making a weighing two things motion) - Ugh! Every parent on the planet hates it. But I think we’re close to that one running its course.
A sweet story about you:
I already shared about all of the new things you tried this year but I want to spend a few minutes telling you how much I’ve seen you grow this summer. I think Graduation was a confidence boost you didn’t know you needed (and I didn’t know I needed for you) but right on the heels of that was the summer theater program. I didn’t say it out loud, but inside I was really worried that you’d let the pressure and stress of being on stage in front of everyone get to you and that you’d quit. But, a day or two before the first show I gently asked you about it and you said to me “Mom, I’m really nervous but I realized that sometimes if I try to do something hard and that really scares me, then the next time something hard comes up, I’ll know I can do it”. Girly girl, my heart swelled with pride. We’ve been working really hard fo years to get you to understand that…to get you to understand how to push through and to know that whatever is happening your brain is worse than what is really actually happening. That you don’t have to borrow worry and that you are amazing just as you are! That you have everything already inside of you…it just needs to be unlocked. My god, I love you so much and I am so excited for the journey ahead of you.
Fashion trends:
Fancy nails are EVERYWHERE right now. I’m talking fancy like everyone is wearing fake nails with cute creative things. You girls all have at home nail kits, you make them for yourselves and for friends…Erin is spending $100 a month on getting them professionally done…everyone, everywhere is living in nail mania!
Wide leg pants and strangely Bermuda shorts are back. I’m all in on the wide leg jeans…they are comfortable. I’m not so sure about the Bermuda shorts though. I’m not buying into that one just yet.
Scarves are back - 90s/2000s baby!
What was on your birthday list this year?
More nail colors and nail items
Birkinstocks
New Mermaid tail
Fancy Markers and coloring books
Robucks
Mini-brands
A jewelry box
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