Last Band Concert!

Forgive me.  This is my first senior, the first time I have a child that I birthed finishing high school and getting ready to join the world of adults.  We're figuring out what "lasts" are the ones we need to focus on, and which ones are maybe less important.

Scott had his last band concert.  It was great.  They ended with the 9th-11th graders playing the school song and the fight song for the seniors, one last time.  I did record it, but took no pictures.  I did, however, get a picture of the last time he hauled the drums back to the band hall.

Memories! ☺

Top Ten Percent

Scott got the official word that he was part of the top ten percent of his graduating class.  He knew he was close, so he worked extra hard to push himself up a couple ranks to make it.  We learned that it means he has automatic acceptance to several Texas universities, so that's a nice perk!

Here they are!  He's on the top row, second from the left.

Arting

Gracie's advanced art class was invited to paint ceiling tiles for their classroom.  With a partner, they chose another painting to enlarge and paint directly onto the tile.  She and her partner chose a painting from a Texas artist who has a vision impairment.  I think it turned out great!

Senior Awards

The Senior Awards evening began with some sweet tunes from the jazz band.  I'm a little partial to the pianist.

Scott was given a Scholar Award, based on his grades, which he was expecting, and then he was awarded a $1000.00 scholarship from his old elementary school, which was a surprise!  This is the first senior class that attended the elementary school (it was built in time for them to go to 4th grade), so this is the first year they gave a scholarship, and we were excited to hear them give it to Scott.  The Principal, Mrs. S, and Scott's old teacher, Mr. G, presented it to him.

Well done!

While You Were Sleeping

Happy Mother's Day

Ben gave me this beautiful bracelet for Mother's Day this year. ❤

The weather was so beautiful that we went for a walk that afternoon.

Then I took some selfies with the wonderful reasons that I'm a mom:

I am blessed.

Super Saturday--with Scott's VR Party!

I did not often take the opportunity to be a parent volunteer for the band.  I was on the "uniform washing team," but I never did chaperoning or concessions or anything like that.  I guess I finally succumbed to the pressure, and I signed up to help decorate for Scott's final band gala.  Hooray!  My jobs were to wash the senior posters before they were hung on the wall (Scott's is on the middle left pillar, top row), and putting on tablecloths and the glitter and ribbons under the centerpieces. 

Meanwhile, Scott was having his 18th birthday party.☺ He took Alex, Ben, and Jacob to a virtual reality Star Wars experience, and since I wasn't there, there were no pictures!  But never fear--there was the same company in California, so when we visited in June, I got a picture of him there.  It totally counts:

(Ha!  I just noticed our reflections in the glass!)

  Then he, Ben, and Jacob came back to play the Switch.  I think Scott may have treated them to lunch?  Happy birthday!

That evening I accompanied him to the awards portion of the gala.  Here he is with the senior percussionists (plus Mr. H, his percussion teacher since 7th grade, and minus Grant, who wasn't there).

All the seniors made posters that lined the hallway to the dinner/dance/party area.

I left him to his friends and had a quiet evening at home.

Where was everyone else all day, you ask?  Well, it was another "bring your friends for free" day at Six Flags, so Joseph's family invited us again, and Ben took the 5 kids there.  They had an amazing time, after the rain stopped at about noon.  Ben sent this picture of Tessa, Benson, Gracie, and Caytie waiting to go on Cat Woman's Whip:

It was a good day.

Do You Gaga Ball?

The school where I was PTA President (for 5th and 6th graders) had limited outdoor resources for the kids.  (See photo below for evidence--a dirt track and soccer goals, plus a wall with a basketball hoop around the corner, is all there is.)  Our PTA really wanted to get some outdoor equipment for the school, but the cost was way beyond our budget, even with a super successful fundraiser.  However, the Venturing crew that Ben and Jason run for our girls was willing to do a service project, so our PTA purchased the supplies for a gaga ball pit, which WAS in our budget.  (It's a game kind of like every-man-for-himself below-the-knees dodge ball inside an octagon.)  The crew (and some extra Ropers) met up one Friday night and put it together!

They did a  great job, and I'm glad to have left even this little legacy for the school.  Every time I drove by after this, it was being used.  Hooray!

Emma's Movie Party!

Emma wanted to have a movie party, but since she was gone for her birthday, it was postponed until we had a rare open evening, which happened to be a Thursday.  (PS--Thursdays are "Think College Thursdays" in our school district, so those that want to wear a college shirt to school...which is why there are several BYU shirts in this picture!)  She wanted to take her friends Alyssa and Lucy to The Avengers: Endgame, like Gracie had, after eating some fruits and veggies and cheese, meat, and crackers--and donut holes.

I got to be the chaperone for the evening, and none of us had seen it yet.  We all enjoyed it a lot!  Happy birthday to our Emma!

A Fond Farewell

When we were engaged, Ben and I bought a 3-year old washer and dryer from some friends who were moving (partly with money from Ben's grandma for our wedding).  We soon put the pair to work--hard work--for the next 18.5 years.  Then one day in May, the dryer stopped working.  It wouldn't turn on at all.  After doing some investigating and finding fried wires, we decided that it was time to put the dryer out to pasture.

I had to get a picture with my partner in crime before it was off to be recycled.

Thank you, my friend, for all the hours that you worked for us, with hardly a complaint!

We now have a lovely brand new dryer in its place.  I'm hoping for another 21.5 years from this one.  (PS--the washer is still going strong!)

Scott is EIGHTEEN!

Scott's birthday was on a Tuesday, and since he wakes up before everyone else to go to seminary, and eats before he goes, he said he'd just like some cereal for his birthday breakfast.  I made sure we had some Cinnamon Toast Crunch on hand.  He did stop in after seminary before he left for school to open his gifts with everyone, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures of this.  (What??)  He got a camera and some juggling balls, both of which he may need for his mission... 

His request for birthday dinner was crepes, which I think we had on an earlier day, but I can't remember why.  (This is why you don't wait to blog about things, kids...)  He and Ben made that dream come true.

I did make a cake for him.  I found a recipe in a magazine I wanted to try, and made it and poured it in the pan, and licked my finger, and realized I had left out the sugar!  So I had to dump it all back in the bowl and mix in some sugar, but that made the texture of the cake much more dense.  At least it tasted good, especially with the berry compote in the middle and whipped cream frosting.

It is an amazing thing to watch your children grow into adults.  It helps when they follow a path that you know will bring them joy.  I'm so grateful for the 18 years we've had with this boy, our firstborn.  

Thanks, Scott, for taking it easy on us.  I can't imagine life without you.  We will really miss having you in our home when you leave!

And just for fun...