Taylor, Matthew & Brayden

Brayden got braces last week (3/18) and has not let me take a picture of him yet. He's such a goober sometimes. He is rounding out his select soccer season - he has two games left, and he starts middle school track next week. 

His current passion is skiing and flipping on the trampoline. He has skied more days than anyone else in our family this year. He skied 3 days at Winter Park, 3 days at Schweitzer, 5 days at Mt. Bachelor, and 3 days at Snoqualmie. He would ski every day if he had transportation! As for his trampoline abilities, he is not just flipping but flipping with homemade skis. Don't ask me how he comes up with these ideas. This kiddo is cut from a different cloth than me and Tommy. He LOVES skiing and wants to start jumping/flipping on skis, so he made his own version for practice at home. I've attached a video here and hope it comes through.

He loves his Annie-pooch

Tommy and I are leaving in less than an hour to drive over to Yakima for Taylor's drill team state competition. Today is the culmination of months of hard work and dedication. The team left yesterday and spent the night at a hotel because they had to be up and at the Sun Dome in Yakima for floor time (practice time) at 8:00 this morning. That's brutal, especially because their competition times are 1:30 and 7:50 today!

That's my girl up in the air

Tyson is such a cute boyfriend.

State sendoff

High school baseball season is in full swing (pun intended). I will ask Tommy to write more since he can give all the stats, but here is a quick preview of Matty-boy's success on the field. To watch this play out in real-time has been incredible. It's a dream come true for Matty (and Tommy!).

It's a wrap on Matty's first (maybe only?) basketball season at Liberty. As of today, the varsity team is still in the State Championship bracket. They have played very well in the past few weeks and beat several strong teams to make it this far. The next game is this coming Wednesday, 3/4, at noon in the Tacoma Dome. Matty will be there with the team, but he will not be wearing a uniform. 

Matty started practicing with the varsity team in mid-December. While he practiced with the varsity team and dressed for the varsity games the majority of the season, he only stepped onto the court during varsity games a handful of times, and it was usually at the very end for a minute or two. Regardless, it was a great experience for him. He was a starter on the JV team and really developed as a player this year. "Playing up" gave him the challenge and drive to be better. 

When the time came for the King County tournament, schools are only allowed to roster/dress 12 players. Unfortunately for Matty's basketball ambition, he did not make the roster of 12 (we believe he was the first one out). Fortunately for our family ski trip, he was able to come with us. Had he been on the roster of 12, we would have left him behind for the week so he could be at the practices and games. Coach Omar told Matty that he still wanted him to attend practices and be at the games (wearing the team suit and tie), but we opted to pull him for the week of our ski trip. This was a more difficult decision and discussion than I am explaining here, but it is not necessary to deep dive into the basketball dynamics. Haha.  

We returned from our ski trip a week ago, and Matty returned to basketball practices. The team played in the first round of state yesterday and won. Matty was there, in his suit and tie, recording the game with the team iPad. Even though the team won and moves on, Matty is not going to practice with them anymore because baseball tryouts start tomorrow. No downtime! 

Matty had a great freshman season in basketball. Having him dress for varsity games was never on our radar. We had a hunch he would play on the JV team, but we were surprised that he was one of the five starters and even more surprised when he was asked to practice with the varsity team. 

As of now, Matty says he doubts he will play basketball next season. He missed a lot of baseball this winter due to basketball, including a Perfect Game tournament in Arizona, so he says he does not want to miss baseball next year. Time will tell. 

We laughed when Matty made the HS instagram post about varsity basketball. He played in that game for about 30 seconds. Lucky kiddo!

Varsity basketball suit and tie

We took lots of pictures of Lucas and Matty because it is so special that the two of them played varsity this year. They have played sports together since preschool!

Taylor,

You are seventeen now. Holy moly! SEVENteen. That's like a whole new category that I am not prepared to enter. You are one year away from being an adult. Technically, parents are only responsible for providing for their children until age 18. Of course, we would never leave you on your own at 18, but it is surreal to think that in one year, you could be on your own.

As I said to you the night before your birthday, this one will not be your best. Your birthday fell on a Tuesday this year. And not only did it fall on a Tuesday, but it fell on Tuesday of finals week. Booo. You had a final on your birthday, and then you had two finals on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and two on Friday. You have also been stressed due to conflict with a friend on the drill team (Alivia) and you are upset about upcoming ASB elections. On top of that, you had drill practice on your birthday, and Matty had a JV and Varsity basketball game. So, your birthday was a bit of a bust. I tried to make it special, though. I surprised you at lunch and brought Wingstop for you and Tyson, and then I brought Crumbl cookies to your drill practice. I am not sure what you ate for dinner because you went to Starbucks to study. You came home from Starbucks around 9:15. Alivia came over shortly thereafter so that the two of you could talk, then Tyson came over around 10:00 and stayed until 10:30. At 10:30, you opened your gifts from us, but it was rushed because we were all tired and you needed to get to bed. Sigh. I wish we could have done more for you, but not all birthdays are the same.

How can I possibly articulate how amazing you are? The one adjective that comes to the forefront of my mind is that you are busy. So very busy. I am exhausted for you. You get annoyed with me often because I get stressed out that you are not sleeping enough, but you brush me off and say you're fine. Your life is so very full - you are a straight A student with a heavy course load (pre-calculus, physics, AP US history, AP psychology, AP language, Spanish 4, and ASB), you are super involved at school (ASB executive board, captain of the drill team, co-president of UNICEF, and founder/co-president of a new club called Active Minds, which focuses on mental health), you are the social media chair of the Newcastle City Junior Council, you have tons and tons of friends (evidenced by the 12 that came to your birthday party and the many you did not invite because we ran out of space), you have a darling boyfriend, you work every Sunday morning at the church childcare center, you are involved in a Young Life Bible study, and you are studying for the SAT and researching colleges. PHEW. Exhausting!

I feel time slipping through my fingers. You will be leaving for college in 19 months, and life with you will never be quite the same. I am cherishing all of the small moments at home, and I am also extremely jealous of the time you spend with other people and not me (I sound like a possessive girlfriend, don't I?). I want more time with you. I am excited for you to grow and explore, yet I am also sad to have to let you go. It's such a dichotomy. Anyways, I know time is precious. I feel it more now that I've lost my dad and know that my children are just a few years away from leaving the nest. As my dad always said, "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." And you, my dear daughter, have given me plenty of reasons to smile.

As I do every year, here are more details about you as a 17-year old:

• You have been on Accutane since last May. Your acne has improved tremendously. I love seeing your confidence grow now that you are not self-conscious about your face. You are absolutely gorgeous with your blue eyes, long brown hair (although your highlights make it look almost blonde sometimes), and your beautiful smile. The thousands of dollars we spent on braces were well worth it.
• You are still a teeny tiny thing. We do not talk about weight, but you cannot weigh much more than 100 pounds. You are still 5'1" and are clearly done growing. I will always worry about your eating habits, but I believe you have recovered from the eating disorder. You have strange eating habits. You will go most of the day with very little food and then come home at night and chow down, but as long as you are eating, I do not care.
• Your favorites foods are still pretzels, pretzels and pretzels. A recent breakfast hit is a salted bagel with cream cheese. You love Chipotle, Panera, Wingstop, and the Italian sub sandwich from Jersey Mike's. We went out for your birthday dinner last night. You really wanted to eat at Din Tai Fung, but the wait was too long, so we landed at Japonessa for sushi. 
• You are a friend to many. You are like your mom and want everyone to like you. I've explained to you many times that it is impossible for everyone to like you, but I can appreciate that you are kind to all. The other night, I was waiting for Matty after a basketball game, and a couple of senior girls came up to me. They asked if I was Taylor's mom. When I said yes, they both went on and on about how awesome you are. So friendly. So kind. So inclusive. I am always so proud in those moments. To know in those moments that you have such a strong character is more important than any grade, any dance achievement, or any elected office position.
• Your closest friends are Grace, Reece, Joann, Addie, Josie, Carmen, Bella, Kayla, Olivia, Hayden, Willow and Gabi. I would say that Grace is your closest friend, followed by Reece. What's interesting is that I have noticed a bit of a power struggle between Grace and Reece for your attention. You have navigated that dynamic well, although it makes me sad that G&R can't share you like Sara and Emily have shared me. 
• You and Tyson have been dating for almost 2.5 years. To think that you used to cry and cry because no boys liked you. Well, the irony is not lost on me. Tyson is a great kid. He's become an extension of our family because he has joined us for so many family dinners and family excursions. I adore him. He's a sweetheart; always greets us with hugs and is so good to you. I tease Tyson that he needs to teach Tommy a few things because he is always bringing you flowers and opening car doors for you. What a gentleman! While part of me wishes that you were not "tied down" to one boy through most, if not all, of your high school career, there is no one else I would want you to date other than Tyson. 
• You have taken the SAT twice. Your scores have been in the mid to high 1200s, but that is not good enough for you. You are starting SAT tutoring in March for the SAT in June. You are such a high achiever; I have no doubt that you will get into many colleges and have your pick of the litter. You are still very unsure about where you want to go. All of the options are overwhelming to you. You are thinking about political science/pre-law, which is super awesome and super scary to me because no one on the Bligh/Akers sides of the family have studied law. We are going to the east coast during spring break to visit Duke, UNC, UVA and Georgetown. I can't even allow myself to think about you going to school that far away.

    

Birthday Eve snuggles with Dad

Snagged this picture of you and Grace studying at the basketball game... on your birthday... lame.

Three very bored children waiting for our table at Japonesa

B-day Dinner!

17th Birthday Door Decorations

Happy New Year! We are back to school, work, drill, basketball, baseball and skiing. While we had a nice, relaxing two weeks off, it is always nice to get back to routine, take the Christmas decorations down, and throw all the cookies, cheeses and salty foods away.

Matty continues to practice with the varsity basketball team. He is starting on the JV team, and he dresses for the varsity games. So far, he has touched the court in three varsity games. Last night, he played for over two minutes in the 4th quarter when the team had a safe lead. This is pretty exciting for a freshman! The downside to practicing/dressing for the varsity games is that Matty feels obligated to be at every practice and game. As a result, he dropped out of his Elevate baseball team's trip to Arizona this weekend. He is really bummed but felt like it was the right call. Basketball trumps baseball during basketball season; baseball trumps everything otherwise. The next hiccup hits when we go to Mt. Bachelor in Oregon for our ninth annual ski trip with the Crumpackers. The varsity basketball team plays in the district tournament that week. It remains unclear if Matty will be one of the 12 boys that dresses for the games. If he is, then our trip will look very different this year and may involve me and Tommy tag-teaming in Oregon. We will cross that bridge in a few weeks.

Brayden went skiing last Friday night with a group of five other boys. He had a blast, except his buddy Viraj lost his snowboard and Brayden feels responsible. Brayden offered to help Viraj down a black run. Viraj was nervous about boarding down it, so he said he wanted to walk. Brayden offered to carry his snowboard. As he was skiing down, he fell and lost a ski. Both his ski and Viraj's snowboard went down the mountain. Fortunately for Brayden, his ski hit a bush and landed straight up. Viraj's snowboard when into a group of trees and was never found. That definitely put a damper on his fun evening. Brayden feels responsible, and we are currently working out a way to get Viraj another snowboard. Brayden has logged seven days of skiing so far this season: three at Winter Park with me and Tommy; three at Schweitzer with Brian and family, and one at Snoqualmie. I have already agreed to take a group of boys back to Snoqualmie on Monday since it is MLK Day. I will not ski since I don't have an Ikon Pass this year. Brayden is the only member of our family that got the Ikon Pass, so I am glad to see him getting a lot of use out of it.

Taylor went down with the flu last week. She had a fever last Tuesday night at the varsity basketball game. I made her leave early and drove her car home. She went to bed and basically stayed there until Friday. I have never seen her go down like that. She very rarely misses one day of school, and she missed three consecutive days last Wednesday through Friday. We were all a little stressed because her first drill competition was last Saturday. I was fearful that she would not have the strength to compete, but boy did she rally! She was pretty pissed at me for not letting her dance at the varsity basketball games last Friday night. I left after the JV game and before the varsity game to hang out at home with her. So, I was trying to cheer her up when Brayden started texting me about Viraj's snowboard. Not a fun night! Anyways, Taylor was up and ready to go at 6:30 on Saturday morning before the competition. The drill team placed 2nd in military and 3rd in kick. My girl is a star - she is front and center a lot and she is in almost every lift. I really like their dances this year and trust that they will do better in other comps.

I have never seen this girl sleep so much. Even Annie did not know what to do.

Matty boy - JV Basketball

The Drill Team's Kick Routine to Lady Gaga's "The Dead Dance." Taylor is in the lift in this pic.

Christmas 2025 was full of emotion. It's always a busy time, but there were many moments this season when I missed my dad and it all felt so heavy. As my mom kept saying, it is soooo permanent. We made the best of the season. Long gone are the days when I try to do something special/Christmasy every single day in December. The sad reality is that my kids are too old for many of the magical Christmas traditions: last year, they never opened their chocolate advent calendars. They no longer want to watch the kiddie Christmas shows (like the Grinch or Charlie Brown), and they are over many of our Christmas activities like Snowflake Lane, Garden D'Lights, Zoo Lights, etc. So, I tried to enjoy the season as much as possible without feeling the pressure to make it super special. I don't think anyone noticed or was upset by this.

Highlights of the Christmas season:

• Mimi was here from Thanksgiving through the New Year. She says she feels like she is in our way, but she really isn't. She is an easy houseguest. She does her own thing, but I know the weather gets to her (how could it not?). She gets overwhelmed with our busy family, but at least we keep her busy! I would guess that her favorite memories from the time here included making Christmas cookies with Matty and his friends, watching Matty play basketball (she cried when he played in his first varsity game because she said he looks so much like my dad at that age), baking with Brayden, and chatting with my friends when they were here for Mistletoe Margaritas and NYE.

Thanksgiving Table

Miss Annie tried to join our feast when Brayden went to the bathroom. ;)

• Uncle Ryan and Aunt Brandi were here for five days at Thanksgiving. Brayden was happy they were here for his 13th birthday.
• Tommy and I went to his company holiday party at the Chihuly Studio.
• Tommy, Brayden and I went skiing in Winter Park from 12/5-12/8 for Brayden's 13th birthday. Even though there was little snow (only 17 of 171 runs were open) and it was very crowded, Brayden enjoyed the one-on-one time with mom and dad. We enjoyed dinners out, pizza in the room, the hot tub, watching movies, and skiing!

On Monday, 12/8, we did not fly home until 4:00 PM. Tommy and I both worked that morning, and Brayden went out to ski on his own. He loved being independent.

• One night, my mom and I raced Matty from his JV basketball game to his baseball practice in Redmond. We planned to do some Christmas shopping while Matty was at practice from 8:00 - 9:30, but the mall by his practice facility closed at 8:00. Who closes at 8:00 during the holidays? We ate at Red Robin instead. I'm sure my mom will never offer to ride with me to a baseball practice again. It was a long evening, and we did not get home until after 10:00.
• I had a third surgery on my foot to remove a ganglion cyst. This is the second time I have had this particular surgery. The surgery was on 12/12, so I was in a walking boot through Christmas.
• Alexa and Ethan came over one night for dinner before they headed to Indy for the holidays.
  
  
  
• One evening, we went to dinner at Resonate and then drove around to look at the "Lights of Newcastle," which is a citywide holiday light contest. We enjoyed checking out the different houses (there were 28 entries) and voting on the Griswold Award (best use of illumination), Misfit Toys Award (best use of lawn ornaments), Traditionally Elegant Award (best use of design), and All Decked Out Award (best window or balcony)
• Taylor and I took Emery and Josie to Body Language Studio's Nutcracker. They had never been before and seemed to really enjoy it.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• We watched some new (to us) Christmas movies this year. I really enjoyed "Love the Coopers," "Bad Moms Christmas" and "The Holdovers."
• On Christmas Eve, we went to the 5:00 Christmas Eve service at BelPres. Adam Brown joined us. The Blighs came over for dinner after church. Tommy made filets on the grill. We started watching "Christmas Vacation" after 11:00 but most of us fell asleep on the sectional in the bonus room.

Our matching Christmas jammies!

• On Christmas morning, Tommy, my mom and I had a nice, quiet morning with coffee while the kids slept in. We did not start opening gifts until 11:30. My mom gave each of us a teddy bear made out of my dad's t-shirts/sweatshirts, and they are a treasure!

Don't worry, we were not drinking on Christmas morning! This was a joke!

Baby Bear <3

• We spent Christmas late afternoon into evening at the Bligh's. We opened more gifts, ate ham for dinner, and the boys played pool upstairs.

• We went to see the movie "David" with the entire Bligh crew the day after Christmas. We had dinner at Tapatio afterwards.

  Josie & Taylor Facetimed with Tyson

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tommy and I enjoyed an evening out with Brian and Kristen in Woodinville.
  
  
  
• Brayden went to Schweitzer Mountain from 12/28-1/1 with Grandma, Pop Pop, Brian, Kristen, Emery and Josie. We were all invited to go, but the rest of us had varying reasons to stay home (Tommy had to work, I had just had foot surgery, Taylor did not want to risk injuring her knee, and Matty had two fractured ribs). Brayden jumped at the chance to ski again, and the girls were happy to have him. 
• Tommy and I stayed up way too late between Christmas and NYE working on puzzles.
• Tommy and I hosted a last-minute NYE party and had about 20 people over. It was crazy how many people were available for NYE! Taylor and Matty ditched us for parties with their friends, but the highlight of my night was at 1:30/2:00 in the morning when they both got home and we sat around the kitchen island with the Pihas, Beppus, Katzes, Taylor, Grace, Matty and Danny recapping their nights.

  Big hugs from Harlo and Hartley Hobday

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I spent the majority of 1/1 taking down the Christmas decorations. Many people are sad to see the decorations go, but I am always happy to have the house cleaned up. It feels like a great way to start the new year - fresh, clean and organized!

Final pics of the season - Mimi and Brayden baking!