blow something out: (of candles, matches, etc.) to extinguish

* You should first make a wish and then blow out the candles on your birthday cake.

get ahead of somebody / something: to do better than other people in a job or work.

*Nancy doesn't have a natural talent for music but she gets ahead of it with hard work.

grow apart: stop having a close relationship because time, interests, etc, have changed.

*Although Lucy and Tim had grown apart, they lived together for the sake of their children.

get up to something: (about children) to do something usually bad

*It was evident from the look on their face that children were getting up to something.

get across to somebody: to communicate, to make something understood by making it clear.

*I tried hard to convince her not to abandon her husband and children, but I couldn't get across to her.

be taken aback: to be surprised and confused.

*My mother was taken aback when she came home and discovered that I was going to rent another flat to live on my own.