Sweet 16

Somehow I skipped right over the most important event of the summer: Cat turned 16!  Turning 16 is such a huge milestone, and though we spoiled her with more gifts than usual, the day was actually pretty ordinary.  We did have a yummy sourdough waffle breakfast with our housguest, Elijah, who was hanging out with us until Ben took him to BYU soccer camp later in the morning.

Many of Cat's friends weren't available on her birthday because it fell on a holiday this year, so she used the time to do schoolwork (have I mentioned that Cat chose to take 4 summer school classes online this summer in order to make more room for science and math classes during the year?) and take it easy around the house.

Cat received some fun gifts specific to her unique personality, including a stuffed dinosaur backpack she fell in love with earlier in the summer; an "I ❤️ Mr. Darcy" tote bag like the one Jane has in the movie Austenland; and painting supplies.  She also received some lovely sentimental gifts: a pearl necklace and earrings set that Grammy bought for her on a trip to China several years ago; a pearl necklace I had made using a single pearl from the string of pearls I received when I turned 16 but which I had shortened several years ago; and two beautiful silver necklaces from Mema.

Gifts also included flowers from Ben and a cactus from Eliza.

When I gave Cat a cool keychain with her own key fob for the van
so that she doesn't have to borrow mine, she thought it was a key to a
car for her to drive, and she was a great sport, laughing it off, when she
realized she was not receiving a car (though we'd told her she wouldn't).

Dinner at Pizzeria Limone - hard to beat!!

Tres Leches cake for dessert, as requested.

Again, because Cat's birthday fell on a holiday we had to wait until the next day to go to the DMV and turn in her paperwork to receive her official license. But THEN she was finally an official licensed driver!  Later that night she invited several friends over for a cookout, volleyball, and a movie.  It was great to have them all here!

Cat passed her driving test the week before her birthday using
a nearby testing company which had her drive right by our
house on her testing route.

Officially official!

Then, a few weeks later Cat was able to focus on job-hunting.  She applied to several places, and two of them offered her a position on the spot.  She chose to start hostessing at a nearby Chinese buffet.  I managed a quick pic when she arrived on her first day, and Suz's family was in town during Cat's second shift so we paid her a visit!  She likes it so far, and we like that she usually just works a 4-hour shift on Friday evenings, and another on Saturday afternoons.  Perfect.

Because of the inflated prices of used cars it was almost two months before Ben found the right car at a tolerable price for Cat to drive.  (The inconvenience of juggling two cars between three drivers sped the process a bit.)  He picked it up on a Friday and we hoped to show it to Cat before she left for work that afternoon but we ran out of time, so we hid it in plain sight (first the garage, then the driveway) and pointed it out to her late that night after she'd worked and gone out with her friends.  She was so excited and she loved it, especially when she found out that it has a CD player!

Since this is not Cat's car, but a third family car which - hopefully - all of the other kids will be able to use one day, I wanted us to have a name for it so we wouldn't be referring to it as "Cat's car."  We all conferred over the matter and went with my original suggestion: Flo.  I liked Flo as a nod to Flo-Jo, since the car has good pick-up.  So far, it's stuck.

The last big milestone was official permission to date!  Cat had her first official date just a few days later with her good friend Dustin.  Done, done, and done.

Cat is just an incredible young woman.  She is fun, smart, driven, creative, talented, spiritual, adventurous, silly, and real.  She is a deep thinker, a music enthusiast, and a social butterfly.  She tries hard to find balance in her life, to plan ahead, to be responsible, to educate herself, to take time to appreciate nature, and to be healthy.  While mourning the fact that I only have two more years of her as a child living at home, I'm also excited to witness all the great things that are in store for Cat.