Sweet Sixteen. . .

. . . and never been KISSED! Yeah right.

Cade turned 16 on August 18th. It was a pretty low-keyed day. We had celebrated over the weekend with a trip to Flagstaff. So the actual day was just filled with school and football practice. My mom did steal his car from school, clean it out, fill it up and return it before he ever knew. She also filled it full of balloons. He said that he was pretty mad at the dumb girl who did it, but when he found out it was Grandma, he thought it was pretty cool.

That evening Jake and his girlfriend brought over a slice of cake and sang to him. It made Cade feel pretty cool. Jake was a senior when Cade was a freshman, and they bonded over rides to school and baseball games. Cade often talks about how much he misses him. So Cade left to go hang out with them at the park.

Pretty soon it was nearing Lauren's bed time, and she just had to have Cade blow out his candles. So we called him and he sprinted home to let Lauren light the "sparkler" candles she had picked out for him.

Here are 16 things I LOVE about Cade:

1. His smile

2. He has the softest heart

3. He plays football like he doesn't have a soft heart

4. He loves to hang out with his sisters

5. He is a patient friend-he really thinks about what his friends need

6. He loves all types of music-from Chuck Berry to ACDC to Brad Paisley

7. He loves to stay up late and share his thoughts and ideas with me

8. He calls me "Mamma"

9. He isn't shy about telling me he loves me in front of his friends

10. He always finds Ryan and I (and his grandparents) after games and thanks us for coming

11. He can get along with any type of person-he has a wide variety of friends

12. He likes to mow the lawn

13. He sings at the top of his lungs while he mows the lawn

14. He has a thoughtful and sincere testimony

15. He has a beautiful singing voice

16. He takes out the garbage without being asked (who could ask for anything more)

AND ONE TO GROW ON: He opens the doors for women whether it is at the store, at school, or at church.