Another teenager in the House

Mason turned 13 this weekend.  It's hard for me to believe my littles are all growing up into their own people, with their own interests and desires.  With Christmas just a week ago, John and I didn't know what to get for Mason.  And he's such an easy-going, east-to-please kind of guy, it's always hard to think of the perfect gift for him.

He has been wanting an ipod for a while.  John didn't love the idea of giving one of our children a temptation to check out of family interactions, to "plug in" to seclusion.  I agreed with him on that one.  But at the same time, I wanted to give Mason something teenage-ish, something he would think was cool and would be able to connect with his peers on. 

So we compromised, and decided to give him an ipod without earpods and an ihome for speakers.  That way, whatever he was listening to, we'd all be hearing around the house. Which would hopefully encourage a good choice of music as well.  So I purchased both and was super bugged about the price, which was much more than we'd usually spend on a birthday present.  Yea, we're kinda cheapskates.  But I'm OK with that.

Then I had a good idea.  I bought ipod and ihome, then offered it to Mason if he wanted to keep it, or he could take $100 instead (which was much less than what I paid) and could spend it however he wanted to.  He gladly took the $100, then started looking on craigslist for a used ipod and ihome.  After a while, he started saying that he really didn't need an ipod and thought he could still be a cool teenager without one, and that saving $100 was the best idea.  Awesome!

I'm impressed with Mason's reasoning.  He doesn't mind having used things, and he's not focused on name brands or "things", but more on people and relationships.  He is a homebody and seems to enjoy being home, just chillin' with the rest of us instead of hanging out with friends.  I like that.

To celebrate his birthday, Mason invited 7 friends (three of which were his dad, Taylor, and Andersen. . .so really 4 friends) to go to SE Arizona for an overnighter and hike Devil's Hole the following day.  They left yesterday afternoon, stopped for pizza for dinner, then stayed the night at my inlaws house.  This morning after getting up, they visited Grandpa Jim and watched the "shakers" shake all the pecans off the trees and worked with him for a while, then headed to Devil's Hole, a rock climbing place close by.  Parts of the course are quite challenging and scary at times.  Sounds like most of the boys did really well, with the exception of one who had a lot of fear and shed a few tears.  But all in all, they had fun and got home safely this afternoon.

Then tonight for a birthday dinner of his choice, we had lasagna, green salad, steamed broccoli and french bread with cheesecake for dessert. 

What we love about Mason:
John-I love how easy going Mason is.  He is so easy to please
Rebecca-I love how hand Mason is.  He likes to be helpful and fix things around the house.  He'll make an awesome handyman husband someday.
Taylor-Mason is my best friend.  I love how many memories we share together, and how I always have someone cool to hang out with.
Abby-I love Mason's sense of humor.  He makes me laugh.
EmmaClaire-Mason always shares with me and is really kind to me.
Andersen-Mason is nice to me, and sometimes teases me but not really bad.
Kate-I love Mason because he gives me gum and candy.

For the record, Mason measures 5 foot 3.5 inches and weighs 105 lbs. 

Love you Mase!