Our Twins Turn Fabulous Fifteen!

Jonah and Micah turned 15 on September 22!! 

In Idaho, turning 15 is a big deal because that's when you can get your Driver's License! They didn't get their licenses on their birthday, however, because they didn't finish driver's training until the beginning of May, and you have to wait 6 months after you finish the training to take the driving and written test (in order to have plenty of time to practice driving with your parents) before you can get your license, which means they couldn't get their licenses until the beginning of November.

This year, September 22 was the date of the Bob Firman XC meet in Boise. We worked their birthdays around the cross country schedule, and as a result, the celebrations for their birthday were spread out over a few weeks. 

They got to open up their presents a week early. When we got back from camping at Challis Hot Springs on Sunday, September 16, we had Jonah's birthday meal, Micah's birthday dessert, and they opened up their presents before Ammon left to return to Moscow. 

Ammon got them shirts from his university.

Micah got a kickstand for his motorcycle.

Jonah's gift was a new-to-him, lightly-used iPhone6.

His previous iPhone was cracked and breaking apart.

Jonah got a new clutch for his motorcycle.

Micah's big gift was a new mountain bike.

His old bike was getting too small for him. 

Jonah wanted to have spaghetti casserole.

We also had garlic cheesy bread and fresh

cucumbers from the garden!

Micah's dessert choice was pumpkin pie. 

I thought and thought about what I could do to make their birthday feel special, even though we were very limited to what we could do: they couldn't leave Eagle Island State Park because races were happening all day, they couldn't do a distracting activity because they needed to stay focused, and they couldn't have sweet food because they needed to have strong, healthy bodies. I finally figured out what to do just the DAY BEFORE!! I bought some posterboard and markers and made birthday posters in the hotel that night. The twins said they could have healthy fruit popsicles, so I bought enough for the entire team (which included high school boys and girls and junior high boys and girls) as a birthday treat.

On September 22, the twins were in two separate races. Jonah ran in the JV race, and Micah ran in the Varsity race. Josh and I, along with other friends and family, held the posters all through the race route (a 1.5 mile loop that the high schoolers run twice) so the twins could see them separately and periodically while they ran. They liked them and it made it so fun and change things up a bit! Athletes from our teams ran in several races throughout the day--Bob Firman is a HUGE meet with racers from multiple states, and races go on ALL day. Paying attention to the time is important, as racers need to make sure to get themselves to the start line when it's the right time and stay focused on their warm-ups and food intake. I made sure I didn't bring out the popsicles until both boys had raced, but unfortunately it was still before one of the girls' races, so some of the kids didn't want to eat them.

Their teammate Keyra also shares a birthday with them!

Me holding up my poster during the awards ceremony. 

Micah holding the poster during Jonah's race.

Kanyon and I were off of school for Harvest Break beginning the last week of September, so I was able to be in Salmon for two weeks. We had Micah's birthday meal and Jonah's birthday dessert on Wednesday the 26th after they came home from school and XC practice.  

Micah chose to have steak and mashed potatoes.

We also had fresh corn on the cob from the garden.

Jonah's birthday dessert was no-bake cookies. 

I know it looks like Jonah is shorter, but he's not...

See?! Same size!

They finally got to blow out their birthday candles after the fact!

This year was their rotation to have a friend birthday party. They wanted to have a pizza party at a restaurant and go to the movie theater in town, but no movies that came to town were ever good choices (the theater only has two movies at a time). They finally decided to just have a party at our house instead. We decided to do it on Wednesday, October 3. The home XC meet was in Salmon early that afternoon, so they would be home earlier than on a regular weekday with XC practice after school, and the weekends were all scheduled with XC meets or other appointments, so it ended up being the best day. Since it was right after a XC meet, that meant their friend Hyrum (from WJ) would be able to come, too. Each twin invited two friends: Nathan Deschaine, Erik Oliverson, Anthony Barton, and Hyrum Spence. I picked them all up after the XC meet. We picked up pizza from Dave's, got a movie from RedBox (they watched SOLO, the newer Star Wars film), and the boys hung out and played at our house for a while before I took them all home (except for Hyrum who spent the night at our house, and I took him home the next day). It was one of the easiest birthday parties ever! The boys got along great, and Josh and I really enjoyed having them all in our home! They are all such fine young men, and this wonderful party was a great way to end Jonah and Micah's birthday celebrations!

Hyrum gave the twins each a pair of nice athletic socks that they wore for the

home District meet the following week. 

We are so blessed to have Jonah and Micah in our family. They are so easy to parent, and are great teenagers! For as mischievous as they were as toddlers, they're really quite the opposite now!! They both do so well in school (both straight A students), they are both athletic (they run cross country and track), and they are so hardworking (they change irrigation pipe for grandpa in the spring and summer and started working for dad at the golf course last fall). They are outstanding citizens (both working towards their Eagle projects), righteous (they serve honorably in their priesthood capacities at church), and are polite and good helpers to Josh and I (they're such a huge help to him while we are living separately). I am grateful to have them as my sons, and I love the men they are becoming!