And so it begins ...

This post is all about my sweet son Kevin, who will be turning 16 on July 7th! (tomorrow)

Today he took flight ... literally! Kevin has been dreaming of this day since before he could talk. We've held him off from flying lessons for as long as we could, and then realized that this is likely where he is really headed. He dreams of flying the BIG stuff like 777's, DC10's, and 747's all over the world, and I don't doubt for a minute that he will accomplish it.

When he was just a tiny little guy he spent hours "flying" planes all over the house. I always knew where he was from the propeller sounds he was making with his mouth, as he jumped off high places holding his toy airplane and landing his planes on creative runways. His favorite was the wrist bumper and mouse pad, arranged to resemble a runway with a tarmac at the end. His favorite matchbox airplane he called his "Virgil Plane", and if it was ever lost, we had to spend hours looking for it. This particular plane was named after a friend of ours who is a pilot and would occasionally land on our grass airstrip and eat dinner with us. Virgil now lives in Alaska and is a bush pilot.

In the last several years he has spent countless hours flying planes on his flight simulator. He can tell you about many airports and different types of planes. If you ever watch him playing in a soccer game at his high school, which is conveniently close to the local airport, you will notice him look skyward when he hears a plane in the sky.

Kevin was such a cute and loveable little guy, with a charming smile and sweet hugs. Here he is as a ring bearer with the flower girl at his cousin's wedding, before we had to bribe him to take pictures.

As a young boy his blond hair always drew a lot of looks, and I happen to think that his white blond hair still is quite good-looking. I definitely like it better when it's cut a bit shorter than what he likes it, but I choose my battles with this witty guy. He is quick with one-liners, and wise words of wisdom, and often has us laughing! He is pretty opinionated about Texas, Michigan, and women drivers. But I can forgive him for that. Colorado is his dream home ... mountains! That's all he wants! He doesn't ask for much, does he?

And so, my son ... Dream Big! Fill up that Pilot's log book and tell me the stories of your travels. I can't wait to see where you'll go! The sky's the limit (literally)!

Kevin with his pilot's log book and first entry.