Saturday, June 22, 2013

200th Post, a Father's Day Contest, Choir Concert, Moving Up, and a Supermoon Hunt!

 
A while back, Matt upgraded my cell phone to an iPhone 5, and after a little ribbing from Amber, I FINALLY downloaded a couple apps. (I'm not a manic app user and Amber keeps asking me what the point of having an iPhone is if I don't use the apps. :p) One was a photo app (Repix) and it's what I usually use when I post mobile pics to my facebook page. (In fact most of the pictures for this post are off my iPhone.) When I was going through my pictures to download the ones from the choir concert, I found this one that Sissy created. It took me a second to realize it's of a tree in our very own back field! I Just had to share it.
 
 

So the kids have both been in choir this year and they had their final concert and awards ceremony in the 13th. Eli is one of 5 boys total for all three grade levels. At the beginning of the year, he was the only 6th grade boy. I posted about this on Facebook, but I have to go more into it. When Mr. Lewis (the director) called Eli up, he gave us the greatest compliment EVER. He told a roomful of parents and students that if they were looking for a good male peer role model, Eli was the one to look too. And I couldn't agree more. This last year, he has grown so much and accomplished some amazing feats, one being taking his LA grade from a first quarter D to a final quarter A. I'm so proud of my son! He is awesome, amazing, wonderful and I am so grateful he was recognized for that.


Liz is always so mellow when it comes to choir. Mr. Lewis awarded her with the Even Keel award. She's always ready for anything and nothing phases her. Mr. Lewis... here's a secret... you don't see it affect her because she vents at home and then starts over every day. :)
 


 The biggest highlight for all of us, Liz included, of the concert and awards was when Eli was one of 9 students total from all three classes to receive Mr. Lewis's highest honor, the Director's Award. He was also the only boy to receive the award. Again, I am so grateful that Eli received this recognition. Parents and siblings can tell you all day long that you rock, but sometimes you need to hear it from an outside source. he was blushing furiously, but you could tell how proud of himself Eli was and that meant the world to Matt, me and Liz.
 

I entered a Father's Day contest sponsored by our favorite coffee company, Lock-N-Load Java (a Veteran owned mail-order coffee company) and I won! I was so happy to be able to share a story about my Dad, I wasn't expecting to win. Matt didn't want to do anything fancy for Father's Day, so we gave him exactly what he wanted... the kids let him play video games and watch Game of Thrones and we had bacon burgers for dinner... and I didn't lecture him on the amount of bacon he ate. :P
 
On Monday, Liz graduated from 8th grade. I'm still absorbing that and adjusting to the concept that I now have a freshman in high school. It's so surreal. But one thing that lessons the fear in my heart for her as she takes another step closer to becoming a grown up is that she surrounds herself with people who love her for her. When she walked out of the gym on Monday, certificate in hand, she was with her best friend, Grace. These two girls are almost as different as night and day, but they balance each other. The best part about their friendship is that they remind each other to stay young and not to grow up too fast. And they support each other as much as they can. I love seeing them together! 
 
Tuesday, the 8th graders went to Wild Waves, but Liz opted not to go. (She said it was because there were some people she just didn't trust to follow dress codes and she didn't want to see them in swim suits.) It was a really good idea too, because her voice disappeared Monday night right after her solo when the 8th grade choir sang at graduation. 

Tonight is the Supermoon and we went out to see if we could find it. It was such a BEAUTIFUL day and as the sun came close to setting, the clouds began to role in, so I didn't think we'd be able to get a good look at it. So we went on a moon hunt. And all I can say is WOW! Isnt' it beautiful?!?
 
So summer has officially begun! School is out and the kids and I are ready to check things off our summer bucket list. First thing we're planning? We thought about an adventure to the Remlinger's Farm store and maybe a trek to the river. Then, Matt has next weekend off and we're going to rework the kids' room so that they have more of their own private spaces.
 
Can you believe this is my 200th post? I started this blog as a way to participate in a photo a day challenge, share scrapbook layouts with magazines and other online resources, and mainly so that I could share the going-ons of our little family with the rest of our extended family scattered near and far. Even though I slowed down posting while I was in school, I'm liking the fact that I have this here so I can keep sharing. Like I mentioned in my last post, I love writing, and this gives me a way to do just that. I really hope I've been able to be a bright spot when you need it, just like knowing that I'm able to share with all of you has been a bright spot for me. Here's to 200+ more posts!!
 
 
SMOOCHIES YA'LL!!!!

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