The LONG awaited day has come. Our baby has turned 16. She didn't want a big party (believe me, I TRIED!) so it was a pretty low-key evening. One of her best friends from elementary school came to have dinner with us--Tatum chose Olive Garden. Then we came back to the house for ice cream cake. Papa Frank came up for the weekend as well.
Her birthday was on a Friday this year--which means no school for her so she normally sleeps in. But NOT today! She was up bright & early ready to open all her presents--her dad thought she should wait but NO WAY. She was pretty excited:)
ORGAN SHOE😂 Not that exciting but she really needed them:)
FIRST DATE:
So Tatum was just SO SURE she wasn't being asked to Homecoming (which isn't even until Oct. 20th) but surprise, surprise. Some cute football player for Heritage asked her on her birthday night--what a good guy--waiting until she was "officially" 16. I don't know him but I like him already. He did his research and found out she like Dr. Pepper and she found out he like Reeces Peanut Butter Cups.
His IG post with her response:)
Monday, October 2:
I made the appointment weeks ago for her drivers test. In AZ you have to be 6 month PLUS a day. So she had to wait a couple days before the MVD would be open on Monday. We were there bright & early and she passed the first time with flying colors. Way to go baby girl! Grandma Donna....you got this one too right? I know you do😉
I keep telling myself that I'm DONE blogging. I'm pretty sure I'm the last person still doing it. But I just can't. I don't use social media so this is my outlet. So I've got a little catching up to do.
It has taken me some time to make this post because quite frankly, I miss this boy oh so much that it hurts my heart. It took me weeks to even go back into his room. When Carlie went on her mission, she had already been in college a year. Max just left. And it was and is still shocking. And it sucks. But I've finally decided that if I can't rewind my life by about 12 years, then THIS...right here right now...is where I want to be. Words cannot describe how proud I am of this kid. He was HANDS DOWN my MOST difficult kid but how rewarding it has to watch this guy this summer.
His first week of "At-Home MTC" was rough. Tears every single night. It is the most helpless feeling to watch your great big boy cry and not want to make everything right for him. His MTC companion Elder Price, lived in Gilbert so he was able to meet up with him every day which was awesome. These two hit it off immediately and had a great week together.
His best friends--Aidan G., Jackson G., & Ricky W. came to the airport to see him off:)
Elder Price & Meeker
Mexico City--CCM:
Max loved his time at the Mexico City Missionary Training Center. LOTS of rain (which is LOVES). And he loved his district. I talked to Elder Price's mom and she said she had NEVER seen her son sing and dance before his mission. Well, that's what I've decided to call "The Max Factor." Where ever this guy is, there's a party happening and it usually involves singing and dancing. (Once a theatre kid, always a theatre kid I guess:)
Cool story: Max met an "Elder Bluth" at the CCM. They both loved to play basketball and would meet up everyday to play. They had a common friend, Kyle N. Kyle lived in Queen Creek (which is how he knew Bluth) but went to high school at Heritage Academy in Mesa. So he and Max would great friends and teammates on the court. BUT I quickly figured out that I knew Elder Bluth's parents VERY WELL! I went to high school in little ol' Deming, NM with Nick & Stacey. Small world sometimes.
Max was most definitely ready to leave the CCM after 7 weeks there--he even managed to catch a parasite and had to visit the doctor and go on some antibiotics. But he survived. One of the sisters posted this on her FB page. I'm thinking the sisters were hoping for a "sweet" video of them singing for the last time together in the CCM. But once again, "The Max-Factor" came into play. If this boy is around, fun WILL be had:).
New York, New York Mission:
Max was SOO excited to be back in the states. First order of business--Chick-Fil-A in the Dallas airport. Then on to NYC. He was assigned to Stamford, CT for his first area and he absolutely LOVES his trainer and this area. He's thriving.
Pres. & Sis. Holmes
Max & "Elder Mooker" (a sweet member made this for him)
Not shocking that Max had a baptism his first week there. A sweet 10 year old boy who adores my Max.
Another Small World Story:
One of Chris's old companions from 25 years ago--Nebraska Omaha Mission 1995-97--reached out to us on FB. His son is currently serving in the New York Mission with Max. So of course these two boys met up the second they could at a Zone Conference to re-create this picture of their dads many years ago.
I could go on and on but my heart hurts too much right now. I love this boy of mine with every fiber of my being. I could not be more proud of him. I love watching him grow and THRIVE. NYC, take good care of my boy.💙💙💙
Sunday, July 30, 2023
The Meeker & Knoop families are NOT family reunion families--for lots of reasons. But Travis and I wanted to get our families together again this summer before Max left on his mission for 2 years. So we planned a trip out to Rocky Pointe, Mexico and we all met up there for a few days. It was exactly what our family needed before the big changes started happening. I have also always wanted to take my dogs to the beach so we made it happen this trip!
We our six people plus Max's girlfriend, Kiersten, plus Travis's six made 13 total. We found the most beautiful house on a secluded beach in a less touristy area and it was absolutely PERFECT. We pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves so our doggies and kids could run wild and TONS of seashells to be gathered and made into cute crafts. We even made our own "Family Reunion" shirts that we all wore. We called ourselves the "Kool Kneeker Klan." KKK..I know, we're not racist, we just crack ourselves up.
Me & Trav
LOTS of dog pics but they were just having the time of their doggie lives and cracked us up:
Honcho kept watch on the balcony of the roof:)
Taylee & Honcho
"Fancy Lola"
Honcho wanted to Boogie Board
MY FAV PIC
Something we had NEVER seen before--whale bones washed up on the beach!!! CRAZY!!!
Taylee & Asa ran around finding dead things all over the place--fish, crabs, etc...😂. They were soo proud of their discoveries!
The house was BEAUTIFUL with plenty of room to relax, nap, watch TV, and do crafts!!! We all made cute shell frames for our group pic.
I love how Honcho inserted himself into this photo:)
Beautiful Sunset
It was the perfect 4 days for our families to get away and decompress before BIG changes set in. We laughed, ate good food, went into town, & Travis made best friends with every Native there. I could have stayed another week for sure. Back to reality...ready or NOT!
This is the Meeker family residing in beautiful, sunny Chandler, AZ. Chris and I have 4 beautiful kids: Carlie (23), Ethan (21), Maxwell (18), and Tatum (16). Thanks for stopping by:)
