Congratulations Sparky

Look who graduated from Kindergarten last week!  GREAT JOB SPARKTASTIC!

Concert Update

Good news.  The gentleman who we thought was having a heart attack was having a seizure due to a change in medication.  He will be fine.

Pops Concert

The Pops concert is my favorite music night of the year--and one of my favorite nights, period.  It is so popular that they must do it for 2 nights.  It features all the choirs as well as solos, duets and trios who audition.  Last night was the concert that features the prince's choir.  (He didn't audition for any small group numbers this year, but I'm hoping he does something with his sister next year as a special gift to his mother!)  His choir did 3 numbers...one of them was about 10 minutes long!  It was a great night, only dampened at the end.  As the seniors were closing the show with the song they'll sing at graduation, there was a commotion in the back of the theater.  They stopped the song and ended up having to call an ambulance as someone was having a heart attack.  It was a sad end to a great night.  We hope the gentleman is okay.

 First she combined 3 choirs for "Pop Music".

Can you spot him?

 How about now? 

Center, middle

 They did "Thriller" complete with costumes and makeup.

$4 tshirt from Walmart cut up for us.

He's on the left, second black shirt in.

 Crawling to the front of the stage at the end of the song.

He's center.

 Finally there was an awesome Beatles medley.

Complete with look-alike clothing...

 He's above the mic...

 choreography...

And props!

GREAT SHOW!!

Birthday Celebration #4

Last night we had the final (really, I think it is) family celebration for the prince.  Grandma and Kathi were able to join us.  He picked out this awesome ice cream cake at Dairy Queen, and when his friend, working behind the counter, asked what he wanted written on the cake he said, "to me!"  So she did! 

That seems like a lot of celebrating, and it is, but I look at it like this:

1.  You are here, on this planet.  That's a pretty spectacular miracle really.  We should all celebrate that every chance we get!

2.  Kind of like not regretting rocking my babies to sleep, I'll never regret the multiple birthday celebrations.  At times they were stressful because we had a lot going on, but I'll never regret having done them.

So celebrate, my son.  Life is good!!!

Birthday Celebration #3

Ally, Mel, the prince, Jake

Saturday night they decided to go fishing.  I think this was just an outing, but since it happened on the birthday weekend--and even on his birthday--he's considering it a celebration all about him!  Before heading out they stopped over here for burgers.  After fishing...and after we were in bed...they came back for cake!  I guess, if there's cake, then it's a celebration. 

Birthday Celebration #2

Saturday several friends met in the park for a picnic to help celebrate.  Sorry, they forgot to get a photo for me.  Darn kids!

Birthday Celebration #1

The prince believes one should celebrate for a month!  Why not!  So Friday night the birthday celebrations began with a trip to the drive-in movie.  You'll have to trust that this was taken at the drive-in...I'm going to.  

Ally, the prince, and Jake

Wild Life

Who knew we'd see such "wild life" in the city?  I saw this duck--ON TOP OF A BUILDING--a couple of weeks ago.  That is not the first time I've seen him up there, and sometimes he's not alone!

Yesterday was GREAT weather, and I took my students outside for a little while.  One of them spotted this frog/toad/jumpy thing.  He was quite far from a water source, but we left him alone...until the maintenance guys started mowing in this area.  Then it was time to rescue him.  One of the science teachers was willing to house him, so one of the brave students picked him up and took him to the teacher.  As he was carrying the frog, the frog was "leaking" all over the sidewalk.  I think the kid scared the pee out of him!  :)

Both of these photos were taken with my cell phone, which doesn't have zoom.  Consequently I couldn't get any closer in the duck photo and was fearful the frog would jump at me when I bent down toward him to get the photo!



Columbine Update

Finally--the blue columbine have caught up with the yellow!  Aren't they pretty?

Honors Party

One of the perks of being inducted into the National Honor Society is that your get the following day off from school.  About 1/2 of the kids from the previous evening got together for some fun.  They went bowling in the afternoon, and in the evening they met at one of their houses for a fire pit and hot tubbing.  (They also rock-climbed--this house has is all!)  I've decided that what you are seeing are the kids who will one day shape our world.  I think we're in pretty good hands!  (Do the girls seem disproportionate in numbers?  They are.  This is the "Smarty Pants Girls Club" class.  Over two thirds of the inductees are girls.  Rock on, ladies!)

I can do that!

Here is Amanda, doing one of her cool horse stunts.

And here is the princess, not to be outdone by her cousin, attempting her own horse stunt.

Robin Update

As of Saturday, the eggs had started hatching.  :)

Even manly men can't resist a baby!

It is impossible to resist holding a baby.  It's like eating one potato chip.  And even the manliest of men will do it.  They may not smile, but they'll hold that baby!  Here's a line up of some of the important men in the prince's life, not to mention a great opportunity to look at how he grew from May through December of 1995.  Awwwww.

 With Grandpa Rick.

He was still in the hospital in this photo.



 With cousin Matt in early summer.

Had some nasty baby acne going on here.



 With Great Grandpa Darrell.

4th of July in Glacier.

 With Shane at the grand opening of his liquor store.

Late summer.

With Grandpa Chuck at Christmas.



And finally with Uncle Blake the same Christmas.

His t-shirt says, "Santa Rules!"

Happy Birthday to the Prince

Happy 17th birthday to our baby boy!  We used to call him "nugget" (as in gold, not chicken) when he was little, but we would shorten it to "nug".  If he was upset we'd say, "What's the matter Nug?"  One day he toddled up to me and said, "What's the matter Nug?"  It was his way of telling me he wasn't having the best of days.  He was such a cutie.  He still is.  He's funny, smart, and a loyal friend. 

We simply couldn't love you more! 

Happy, happy  Birthday!

Batting a Thousand

For the second week in a row, the king has had to come to the rescue of a family member who locked their keys in their vehicle on a Friday night.  This week it is the prince.  Good thing we have the king around to rescue us!

About "Tears In The Darkness"

Phew!  I finally made it through "Tears In the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March And It's Aftermath" by Michael and Elizabeth Norman.  It has taken me a month PLUS to read this book.  I didn't really want to read it, but since I didn't finish a recent book club pick, I wouldn't allow myself to not finish this one.  I didn't read anything while trying to get through this one either so it was just one of those books I forced myself to read.  It wasn't long enough to merit taking this long to read.  I just avoided picking it up for days at a time.  I gave it 2 stars.  I might have given it 3 if my attitude had been better.  This is the true story of Ben Steele who joined the military during WWII and had the misfortune to be sent to Manila.  The Japanese took control of this island after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and Ben and thousands of other US troops were taken captive and forced on a grueling march to the other end of Manila.  Along the way they were tortured and killed in staggering numbers.  Ben survived, later became an artist and helped document the atrocities through his drawings.  They are part of the book, and they are gruesome.  This book was long on military war details and shocking beyond words about the horror of war.  I feel much the same about this book that I felt about reading Elie Wiesel's "Night": I'm glad I read it, but I'll never read it again.  And I'm glad I finished it, because the last few paragraphs about Steele's heart aneurysm at the age 82 are as amazing as his journey.  By the way, Steele is a well-known artist in this area, and is still alive.  He continues to speak about the torture he suffered and even engages young people with his story.  This book is also required reading in our area at the highschool level, and both the prince and the king have read it and really enjoyed it.

We're so proud!

Tonight the princess was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.  This is a great honor.  In addition to having at least a 3.6 GPA, you must also get the highest score possible on our state testing in math and reading and meet the character criteria as well.  We are so proud of her!

 Here she is lighting the candle for character,

 before giving her speech on character.

She did a great job,

and was so poised and professional.

 Signing her name in the Honor Society book

that holds the names of so many

students who paved the way.

 Getting her gold cords--gold denotes a 4.0 average.

They will wear these cords at graduation.

 Taking the oath.

And finally, here she is after the ceremony with her English teacher.  This teacher runs the Honor Society program and will also be the chaperon the princess has been assigned to during the upcoming trip.  We love her and have been so grateful that she's taught both the prince and the princess!

What a great night!

Final Choir Concert

Yesterday the princess performed in her final choir concert at the school she has attended since Kindergarten.  By my calculations, she's performed in at least 18 choir concerts, a couple of musicals, and one opera.  She has also been a member of several elite choirs that she auditioned for.  She's headed to high school in the fall, and I'm excited that she's chosen choir as one of her electives.  She's lucky to have had such a rich music program and some really outstanding music teachers throughout these years.

Dodged a bullet!

The princess will, on Monday or Tuesday, get to be in the senate galley in Washington DC to observe a session.  This is a cool honor, as not everyone gets tickets to this event.  I'm excited for her opportunity to witness our government at work.  I'm really excited that she won't be there on Thursday.  On Thursday they start the hearings in the Secret Service Prostitute case.  While it's certainly topical, I'm not sure it's middle school appropriate.  Phew!  She'll be in NYNY on Thursday and headed home by late afternoon at that!  Good timing.

The No-No Girl

While scanning some photos the other day, I came across these.  They were too cute not to add to the blog, and I see a pattern.  Can you spot it? 

No, Mama, I'm not sitting in the dishwasher.

At least it was full of clean dishes.

And the prince thought this was hilarious.

I'm thinking maybe he helped her up there!

 No Mama, I'm not playing in the refrigerator.

Check out all the dairy products in there!

 No Mama. 

I wasn't playing in the ashes of the wood stove.

 No Mama. 

I am not climbing up to touch the stove.

 No Mama. 

I didn't just write all over myself

AND the car seat with a green marker.

No Mama. 

I am not in the living room,

on the white carpet,

with the chocolate beaters!

These cracked me up!  I love the marker one.  And clearly it's hard to not cut of the heads off little people when photographing them...couldn't be my camera skills.  Gotta love the kitchen too with it's gold appliances.  We had replaced flooring at that point but not appliances or the base boards.  Kids are expensive you know...what with the need to keep replacing the markers and all.  Given her antics I have to wonder where her mother was in most of these shots (probably running to get the camera), and how did she survive injury-free?

Aunt Robin

My brother's phone has a fun ap...if you like rabbits!  Where was this photo at Easter?  And Robin's a good sport for letting me put this on the blog.  Oh wait, don't tell Robin I put this on the blog!  :)

Jackie

Look at that great smile!  Braces didn't stop her!  She wasn't nuts about babies, but she was a good sport to pose with her cousin.  Early 1998.  Smile on, Jack!

A Death In The Family

It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of Cat, the beta fish.  Cat lived for 1 and 1/2 years with the Prince (part of a clever invite to a dance).  He survived the dungeon that is the Prince's room, irregular feedings and infrequent bowl changes, not to mention the introduction of a gold fish who lived there for a couple of months.  Yesterday the Prince found him floating belly up.  RIP Cat.

Refugees

Look at these poor little children.  They came to visit us for a week during the summer, and this photo was taken toward the end of the week.  I think they really, really wanted to go home and see their mama.  Poor little orphans. 

Dance Recital!

 Last night was one of my favorite nights of the year--DANCE RECITAL.  It was a great recital.  It started on time.  It was only about 2.5 hours long (including intermission), and the dances were GREAT.  Perhaps the best moment of the night (for me) was when, after the girls got done with their modern "Pearl Harbor" piece, someone gave them a standing ovation.  I have no idea who it was, but something tells me it was a veteran.  All the girls (and the two little boys) did a great job.  I can't wait for next year! 

Every dancer needs a great support system.

The princess couldn't ask for better.

The princess and Christian with one of their dance teachers.

She cares so much about these girls.

With Val. 

She has danced with Val for 3 years  now.

She teachers two dance classes under Val's guidance.

Val's off to college in the fall.  We'll miss her.

Pizza party afterward.

Great friends and great times.

The princess always tells us not to get her flowers.

This year she was given flowers by one of her dance teachers and by Val.

They look great on our mantle.