Fifteen brought change he didn’t see coming and mostly handled well. After a broken collarbone derailed part of last year, he came back healthy, but the bigger shift was leaving the club he’d played for since he was four. It was his call, his opportunity to take, and the new team has been a great fit so far.

Soccer also took him further afield. We watched a World Cup game in Dallas (Argentina v. Austria) and, along with everyone else in that stadium, saw Messi break the all-time goals record, the kind of thing you tell people about for the rest of your life. He also spent a week at a soccer camp at NAU, living in the dorms with friends. It was our first real taste of what it might look like when he heads off to college someday and I’m not sure we’re ready for that.

School stepped up a level this year too. It’s harder than last year, but he’s kept solid grades — thankfully, he’s got the intelligence to match the workload.

His entrepreneurial streak didn’t stop at clothes. He’s moved into reselling sports trading cards, and with a little help tracking sales, he’s built himself a nice little side hustle.

Up next: he’s eligible for his driving permit in January. Fifteen might have been the calm before that storm.

Fourteen arrived fast. Suddenly he’s in high school, certain he knows everything—like most teenagers—and just as quickly learning that the world has a way of humbling you. This year felt bigger, more complex, and more real.

Travel centered around soccer and experiences that matched his growing interests. We went to Charlotte and Orlando to see Club World Cup games, where he watched teams he’s followed for years—Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus, and Bayern Munich—play in person. One of the highlights was coming home with a souvenir goalie glove from a player.

Soccer, however, brought its share of challenges this year. Injuries made it a tough season, including a broken collarbone that sidelined him at the worst possible time—one week before high school tryouts. It was a huge disappointment, and watching him process that setback was hard.

High school itself has been more demanding. He has one especially tough teacher, and the expectations are clearly higher. Still, through two quarters, he’s pulled out all A’s and B’s.

Outside of school and sports, his interests are expanding. Music has become a bigger part of his world, and this year he went to his first concert—a milestone that felt very “14.” He also had a moment of pure confidence in Las Vegas, where he made ten free throws in a row at a store challenge and walked away with a very expensive pair of shoes. Another quiet milestone came in December when he finally got his braces off.

What stands out most this year is his entrepreneurial streak. Sawyer has started reselling thrifted clothes online, learning how to spot value, price items, and make his own money.

Thirteen felt like a pivot year. Sawyer is 13 going on 21—noticeably more mature, and suddenly sounding older too. His voice is changing, his confidence is growing, and he’s starting to carry himself with a quiet self-assurance that’s new this year.

We traveled to Costa Rica in 2024. One of my favorite moments was watching him get his picture taken with a seal—pure joy, no phone, no distractions. Just him, fully present.

Soccer continues to be a big part of his life, and this year came with a milestone: Sawyer was named captain of his team. Watching him grow into that responsibility has been a real privilege.

Outside of soccer, he’s a huge Phoenix Suns fan and had a few surreal moments meeting players he admires. Seeing his excitement—and then how calmly he handled those moments—was another reminder of how much he’s growing.

Sawyer remains a straight-A student. School comes easily to him, and while procrastination is still part of the equation, he always finds a way to get it done.

As he finishes 13, we’re looking ahead to high school. I’m excited for what’s next for him—and grateful for this year in between childhood and what’s coming. Thirteen was a good one.

We finally took that trip to Paris that we originally planned back in 2020, we added a couple of destinations we went to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Sawyer liked all three countries but Paris was his favorite, he liked the shopping and we went to the PSG stadium where his favorite soccer player, Messi plays. Messi signed with InterMiami in the MLS, we surprised him with a trip to Nashville to watch them win. We went to a Diamondback World Series game too, but sadly they lost. He continues to be a great student, and got straight A’s again. He still loves playing videogames, and has won competitive tournaments online. . He continues to love playing soccer and flag football. We travel often on weekends around his sports schedule. His team won the State Cup and we travelled to Colorado for the regionals, they didn’t win, but played great.

It’s still difficult to travel due to COVID, but we planned a trip to Costa Rica with family friends, it is the first time we tried leaving the US during COVID, everyone had to have a clean test to enter the country or the trip would be ruined, thankfully everyone was ok. Sawyer loves these family and friends trips because he gets to play on the beach with his friends. He continues to be a great student, and got straight A’s again. He still loves playing videogames, going to Dave and Busters, and is really good at claw games,we have a lot of stuffed animal prizes in our house. He also has a collector mentality. He likes to collect autographs, sports cards and memorabilia. He is becoming a sneakerhead, he loves Nike sneakers and has multiple pairs. He continues to love playing soccer and flag football. We travel often on weekends around his sports schedule.

It’s still difficult to travel due to COVID, but we planned a trip to Hawaii with family friends, it is one of Sawyer’s favorite trips because he got to go snorkeling and play on the beach with his friends. We started the school year online, but eventually they went back to in person schooling. He continues to be a great student, he doesn’t have the best study habits, but school comes easily to him as he has some natural born intelligence. He still loves playing videogames like Fortnite and Fifa soccer. He loves going to Dave and Busters to play video games. He continues to love playing soccer and flag football. We travel often on weekends around his sports schedule.

What a strange year. We were planning a trip to Paris when talk about COVID first started. By March, Sawyer was doing online school and we were trying to provide tech support so he could do online school. He is still a straight A student, but it was an odd year. He has gotten really good at a video game called Fortnite and he plays alot. He continues to love playing soccer, he is the smallest kid on the team, but most aggressive, the other parents call him the honey badger, he wants to try flag football as well. Our vacation wound up being to Roswell, New Mexico which is not exactly Paris, but still fun.

We had a great year. Sawyer is excelling in school, his teachers said he is the best 2nd grader when it comes to math and he finished 2nd in reading, which is a dramatic improvement, he hated to read at the beginning of the school year. Sawyer tried out for club soccer for the 1st time and he made the team, at the end of the year he tried out again and he moved up to the 2nd team which has the 11-20th best kids on the team. We went to Japan and LEGOLAND

on vacation, and had many new adventures.