February kicked off with a quick trip to celebrate my beautiful mother’s [insert significant number I’m not allowed to say] birthday! At this tender milestone age, she successfully got out of her very first ESCAPE ROOM, first by watching her twin daughters–then by uncovering the pivotal clue that helped us all escape. Proving once again that age is just a number, and our Mom is pretty amazing!

Then on the third day of March, our teenager got her [GULP] driving permit! After 30 grueling hours of online study, she walked right into the DMV and aced that test. The picture above is her glowing face as she left the testing room. We followed that up with an outdoor photo shoot–and a well-deserved Starbucks.

Behind her is the car she’ll inherit when she officially passes the driving test in September, and the one we’ll all be sitting in while she practices for that test. Her sister has some thoughts about that:

Thankfully, little sis isn’t the one sitting in the passenger seat for this adventure. And in fact, when we discussed who’d be the best parent to “teach” how to drive (don’t worry–we signed up for 10 hours of AAA training so we’d be off the hook for any actual teaching), her mom was at the bottom of the two-person list.

Everyone thought Dad would be the best copilot, and that Mom’s role would be to teach parallel parking, which I am phenomenal at doing. Roles set, we started off with some driving. I hate to spoil the surprise, but Mom (that’s ME) has become the favored instructor. Apparently, “Dad is great, but Mom is more encouraging.” HA!

I’ll admit, trying not to reach for the Oh, Sh*t handle every time there’s an important driving decision to be made is not easy, but somehow I’ve found the courage and composure to pull it off. As opposed to well-meaning Dad instructor, Mom instructor is calm under pressure and reassuring when a new driver accidentally maneuvers OVER a curb to turn into the mall parking lot. Not that that happened. It did.

But I’ll also say that this teen is already a solid driver who makes great decisions. All she lacks is confidence, which will no doubt come with time behind the wheel.

Later in March, that same teen took the stage in a school performance of CHICAGO (the musical, teen version)! From the moment they announced the show, I was thrilled and began talking it up to anyone who would listen. I was committed to getting as many friends as possible to the theater, and let me tell you, these actors did not disappoint. I went to 5 shows and sat on the first row every time. I sold 25 tickets. I would do it again. Maybe I’m a stage mom?! Yikes.

But back to the most important actor on the stage (to me). As parents, we only see a glimpse of a song or dance at home, in sweats, and not often. These kids rehearse for hours and hours over two straight months, learning every line, song, and dance (Zoe was in 10 dances!) And then, we’re invited to a dress rehearsal where we see our “children” in costume for the first time. I almost didn’t recognize our gorgeous daughter…

Sure, that’s a sassy face, but it’s CHICAGO! And that pin-curl wig… wow. Every second on stage she was present, powerful, and magnetic. Yes, I’m biased, but since she ended up with a Sophomore of the Year Award for Theater, I’m clearly not alone in my opinion. Here’s just a few members of her fan club at the show, lit by the hand-constructed stage with brilliant red lighting:

To wrap up what has turned out to be a very Zoe post (I’ve got another one on the way for Spring Break, followed by some awesome Ella stage moments!), here’s that actor’s glowing face AFTER the show, holding a picture of flowers and a sweet gift from another fan:

She did that makeup herself, which apparently lasted through 2.5 hours of onstage dancing and singing. WHO IS THIS KID?! Anyway, stay tuned for more Johnson Family shenanigans. We’re so busy making memories it’s hard to capture them all. Can someone slow this train down?! Actually, don’t. We’ll just enjoy the ride.