Happy 17th Birthday to McKay!

17 years ago I gave birth to a 9 lb 11 oz 23" long baby boy that we had begged Heavenly Father for.  It seemed like it took forever to get him here, yet the last 17 years have zipped by!  McKay had a nice relaxing birthday after working at his new job at Jiffy Lube all day.  (I can't believe I have to go to work on my birthday!)

 How do you celebrate a 17 year old's birthday?  You search all over Google for a pizza place that is as close to New York Pizza as possible and then go try it out.  Not bad!  The salad was pretty good too!

The trickiest thing about celebrating a 17 year old's birthday is figuring out what to get him.  All he asked for was a cake (more on that below).  We finally settled on getting him Prima Arta (some fancy metal that has a low melting point and is apparently fun to play with--go figure), the Harry Potter book that just came out and a motion sensor light for the toilet as a last minute joke item courtesy of his dad.

 McKay asked for a ridiculously complicated Star Wars AT-AT cake that would have cost a fortune to make never mind the time.  I have a good friend that makes super tasty cute cakes so I gave her a call.  We came up with the idea to put a Lego AT-AT on top of a white cake.  It turned out and McKay was surprisingly satisfied and pleased.

 Brotherly love.

 That's one way to blow out a candle.

The other way is to blow out the candles while blocking your brother from blowing them out.

17 Things We Love About McKay:

1. He continues to work hard in school.  He sets high goals and achieves them.
2. His brother is his best friend.  He had Jaxon have been very close.
3. He looked all summer for a job.  It was discouraging, but he found one and he takes pride in doing his very best at work.
4. He is starting to step out of his comfort zone.  He finally went on a date this summer
   
   and has asked a girl to the high school's Homecoming dance.  I hardly know who he is anymore!
5. He is determined.  We bought a manual car for him to drive.  He wasn't too happy about the manual part, but he has got it figured out!
6. He still writes in his journal every night.
7. He exercises every night.  He rarely misses.
8. He is careful with his money.  He still rides the bus to school to save on gas money.  He does, however, like to buy specialty sodas.  He collects the bottles.
9. Spanish is still his favorite class.  He enjoyed using his Spanish knowledge when he went to El Salvador this last spring with his dad to provide dental services.
10. He still enjoys playing sports.  He was on the Lone Peak sophomore basketball team last season.  He didn't get much playing time, but he still worked hard at practice and wanted to contribute to his team.
11. He is willing to help me out.  Whether it is running an errand for me or watching his younger brothers so his parents can go out for a night on the town, he is always willing to help.
12. He does a job well done.  He is great at mowing the lawn and cleaning bathrooms.
13. We don't have to worry about him getting into trouble.  He is one responsible kid!
14. He is still handy in the kitchen.  His brothers are always begging him to bake something.
15. Takes pride in his height even though he didn't grow much this past year.
16. He sings in the shower.
17. He is a saver.  He holds on to Easter candy for 6 months waiting for the perfect time to eat it.

Happy birthday McKay!  We are anxious to see who you will become and what you will accomplish during your 18th year.