Happy 15th Birthday Hannah Banana!

Thursday was Hannah's 15th birthday and for the first time in several years it was not plagued with the flu or with the windy season.  The day was beautiful and the birthday girl was healthy and happy.  This year I was lamenting the fact that we always have the exact same birthday photos so the girls decided it would be great if they changed that up a bit.  That meant that getting a good picture, where anyone at all was being serious, was next to impossible.  Oh well....
We started the day early because it was a school day but homemade buttermilk biscuits and bacon eased the pain somewhat.  Hannah also awoke to a decorated bed thanks to Emma.  Emma worked so hard on helping with Hannah's birthday this year and I was so appreciative of that considering she is way more craftier than I am.  Last year Rachel decided that we should no longer open gifts in the morning so Hannah decided to follow that tradition.  Well, she did request to open just one, so we indulged her.  Gifts this year included the Frozen movie, One Republic CD, clothes, shoes and jewelry.  What more could a teenage girl ask for? Her very good friend Jade stopped by after school to surprise Hannah with flowers and cookies. afterwards, we has our usual dinner of Green Chile Enchiladas and Spanish rice. Same old Chocolate cake with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting was enjoyed for another year....basically, we could just re-read the blog post from last year's recap and it would be exactly the same.  The thing that would not be exactly the same though would be Hannah Banana.  She has now survived almost a whole year of high school...that makes her a little different...a little changed... Hannah knows more (educationally speaking and otherwise!) thanks to her year of high school.  She now sees things a little differently than me and is not afraid to vocalize that.  I mostly like that new part of her personality, it makes her interesting to talk to.  I am beginning to realize that different points of view are OK. ( Well, not really, I still think that I am usually right and that my point of view is the best but I do try to make an attempt) I am enjoying watching Hannah figure things out. Armed with what we have taught her combined with her own unique personality she is managing just fine. The different she is becoming is a good thing. Of course, she is still the same in many ways and that is a good thing too!  She is still a homebody who likes to make carrot and spinach smoothies in the morning.  She is still my walking partner after school who likes to tell me her entire days events hour by hour.  She still loves Harry Potter and is in fact currently re-reading the series. She still sings in the shower and makes us all smile. (Except for Rachel who usually tells her to knock it off and that she is so sick and tired of hearing her sing the Frozen soundtrack!) The rest of us  kind of hate the Frozen soundtrack now too, but other than that we love hearing her sing.  Happy Birthday Hannah here's to another happy year.

Jade and Hannah

Melting Candles make quick work

Nice do Dad

I seem to be shrinking each year!

Emma made the super cute owls!