Alexia's 15th Birthday! -

You guys, on Monday, Alexia turned FIFTEEN!

What in the world?! I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that Alexia is a year away from driving!

Alexia has been equal parts determination and curiosity since day one.

Nothing sums it up better than this.

I love getting one-on-one time away from home with my firstborn! She has come to understand the kind of mom I am when I only have one person fighting for my attention! I say yes more, I have more capacity to listen and ask questions and laugh.

She is tenacious in the face of trying new things. She is always up for an adventure.

She loves playing the piano and is committed to taking weekly lessons. She prefers to play by ear, but has remained disciplined to sit under formal training.

She is a night owl. In fact she is the only night owl in our family.

She is a master baker. Her chocolate chip cookies are unrivaled.

She has also mastered the homemade cinnamon roll, click HERE for her recipe.

She is a can-do person, a workhorse, loves being outside and tackling projects. You will rarely find her sitting around. Instead her preferred pace consists of going hard, doing one thing after another, then crashing. I often find her asleep on the floor in a random nook of our house.

She is creative and has found a way to calm her mind through watercolor painting.

She laughs easily and is geared towards making new friends and being inclusive, she loves mixing friends from different circles and creating a wider circle of friends.

She craves peace in relationships, but is not afraid to speak her mind or be up front. She very much dislikes chaotic environments, and will often slink away to a quiet, peaceful place of the house, when her siblings are being loud and rambunctious.

She dreams of having a farm and owning horses of her own, when she grows up.

She is passionate about horses and has led the way for our family entering into being in the horse world. I recently tried to back the truck up to the horse trailer (Ryan was working upstairs in his office), but after several attempts I got out and told her I was going to go get Dad. By the time Ryan had come downstairs, she had already backed the truck up and hooked the trailer on!

She manages her time well. She is the last to go to bed, the last one to wake up in the morning, but the first out the door to go to school. (And is often barking at her siblings to hurry up and not make her late).

She is an enneagram 9w8. Described as “the most complex combination of the enneagram”. She is a beautiful blend of peaceful and feisty.

Here’s a recap of Alexia’s freshman year of high school…

First day of high school!

And what would the high school experience be without the dreaded yearbook photo?!

This year, all of the freshmen start their day at the middle school and get bused over after first and second period to the finish their day at the high school. As parents, we appreciated this small buffer. Next year, the high school is switching to all freshmen being at the main campus full-day. Which turns out to be logistically convenient for us as Naiya is a rising 9th grader and this allows us to have two morning dropoffs, instead of three.

Alexia played on the JV Women’s Soccer team and had a blast. She played outside midfielder. Since soccer is a fall sport here in Maryland, it was a great way for Alexia to meet new friends and start the new year off with being a part of a team. She also had her besties from middle school on her team, which was SO fun!

Our high school football team made it to the State Championships played over the bridge at the Navy Stadium. This was our first year to attend football games and cheer the Bucs on! It was also the first time she has not sat with us as a family, instead she ran down to the student section each game to be with her friends.

Geez, I realize how many “firsts” our family had this year with Alexia going to high school! Our first Homecoming!

Alexia chose to go with a small group of six to dinner at Bridges (us moms sat a few tables away) before the dance.

Alexia knew her main high school sport would be swim team. She has swam competitively since she was 7. She jumped in as a freshman and had the fastest time for Breaststroke, and therefore swam that event in every meet. She qualified for the Bayside Conference swim championship meet for the 200 Free, 200 Free Relay (A team), and 100 Breast. She then went on to qualify for Regionals in the 100 Breast and 200 Free . We were most astounded (but not surprised) when she agreed with her coach to try the 500 Free mid-season. This is 20 laps! They even have people at the end of the pool that hold up a count sign giving the swimmer a visual cue of what lap they are on. I swear I could have left the pool deck and gone and grabbed a coffee and she would have still been swimming.

The graduating 8th grade class from last year all made their alumni appearance at our younger three’s school Christmas program. All five of these (now high school) kids have younger siblings still at the school. Four of the five also somehow ended up in the same geometry class together in high school. Lord help that teacher, four years of inside jokes, I cannot even imagine. Ha! We just love this group of kids, really.