On the occasion of George's 16 birthday-- which was a couple weeks past-- I would like to publicly state that George may very well be the coolest, most interesting, intelligent, funniest, unexpected, talented, authentic, creative, enjoyable teenagers I know. 
The day before his birthday he completed his summer project of building himself a gas-powered minibike.
George said he was going to do it and Abe and I thought, "Sure-- go for it."-- the way a parent might humor a little kid's desire to build a go-cart, knowing full well that after an afternoon of meeting with obstacles, the kid would give up and move onto something else.
Ah, but George is different from most kids. He figures things out and solves problems. He comes up with solutions and he doesn't give up. He researched like crazy, scoured Facebook Marketplace for parts, worked odd jobs to earn cash to buy parts. And sure enough, he did it.
He got his license at 7:00 am on his birthday, but a fat lot of good it's done him since then-- since he just wants to ride his minibike everywhere:)
George is pretty chill. He's a fly-under-the-radar kind of guy, and unlike some other Foxes I know, he doesn't relish being the center of attention. Rather, he needs time alone to think and tinker on his many projects.
Here is the aftermath of his birthday lunch at Chubby's.
One of my favorite things about George is how amazing he is with his nephews and little kids in general. He is their favorite and with good reason.
He enjoys helping out Bethany and Elinor by tending Charlie and Daniel.
He is good to his mama too. Thrifting is our favorite way to spend a day together. . No one is more fun at DI than George, and he finds THE BEST finds
And the kid is in a rock band! I mean, that's just cool! He is the bass guitar player
It's been so fun to be roadies this summer and follow Redwood Revival around to performances.
Draper Days wasn't the best weather, but it was an awesome show.
A few pics of the band
This was a fun summer kickoff party at the house of one of the band members.
Next week he will be a 10th grader and will take a choir class and seminary over at the high school. He's got his license and hence, more independence. His schedule is soon to get busier and he'll make lots of friends and have wonderful experiences. That is as it should be and I am glad about that. But can I admit something?
I'm going to miss him being around so much. I'm grateful I've gotten to spend so much time with him as he's grown up. The high school years go so fast and I sure wouldn't mind time slowing down a bit with him.
