Nineteen

My baby turns nineteen today. That sounds... well, not so much a baby. I know that last year, eighteen, he officially became an adult, but we still had his senior year of high school to go (which he did entirely at the community college), so I could still pretend. But now ... well, he's a really wonderful young man, and I'm so incredibly proud of him and thankful for the years we've had and excited for all the possibilities in front of him.

 He's decided to do his freshman year at the community college, with the plan of transferring to a state university once he has a clearer notion of what sort of degree will best suit him. Seems sensible to me, and I'm selfishly pleased to have him "at home" for another year.

Here are some "birthday" pictures...

Katie and I made the cake together. I did the writing (her handwriting is still a work-in-progress), but all the rest of the artsy-ness is hers.

Nineteen candles create a nice blaze!

And also this spring/summer...

(Harry is doing very well but looking a little ragged because, after shamefully neglecting to keep his fur brushed, Ed and I decided that the only solution for his awful mats was a haircut. And our pet-grooming skills are not ever going to be in high demand outside the family, I'm afraid. But rest assured that he is doing fine and enjoying his shorter summer coat!)

And Katie has had a busy summer so far, starting with having her wisdom teeth out. I have a picture, but... Anyway, that's out of the way! Last week she was away at camp, where, she says, she had the Best Time EVER.
(The drop-off and pick-up pictures, as per tradition!)

(Intermission)

 And my favorite part of camp, which is the bit where we stop mid-way (Camp is a three hour drive. Each direction.) and get frozen yogurts!

In other news, I'm flying up to Maine next week to spend a week with my parents. I'm really looking forward to seeing them, and to giving my dad a break with the cooking and so on, but Ed and Finny are going to miss me. Still, they'll love me more than ever when I get home, so that's something. Travis has started a job at Bojangles, learning how things work in the fast food service industry. So far he's learned to cook chicken, which is, of course, a good skill to have! Katie has put in a couple job applications, but so far no one's bitten. That's okay too, as it's really nice to have her around the place after all her busyness with school and friends during the school year.