It's all about the Sixth Graders!

Today was Evan's last day of 6th grade and he and his classmates are all moving on to junior high at a new school next year. Thus, today was going to be an extra special last day of school. He was excited this morning as he caught the bus because no work was going to be done and it was going to be "all about the sixth graders."

To start the day off, his class was treated to a doughnut breakfast. After that was the awards ceremony where students were acknowledged for all of their accomplishments during the past year. Lunch was boiled crawfish and pizza and the day was ending with a DJ and dance. Chad and I went to the awards ceremony and are so proud of our soon to be 7th grader!

Chad's Senior Ring Ceremony

Last night Chad's high school had their ring ceremony for all of the Juniors who are now becoming seniors. I thought that I had avoided all clothes drama by having boys, but even they have their moments. First, we had problems buttoning the top button on Chad's dress shirt. We had gotten it several months ago and I swear that his neck must have grown an inch since then. After the buttoning process, Todd helped Chad with his tie and he looked great. A few minutes later, we are in the car and Chad decides that the tie is too tight and takes it off. We are then pulling out of the driveway and he realizes that he forgot to put his belt on. Running right on schedule, we just decided to to with it and not go back for the belt. The dress code wasn't strict, so it all worked out.

The stage is set up so that each Junior's name is called and he/she then walks out on the stage and is presented his/her ring by the principal. To make it interesting, many of the students add their own personality to the walking out process. Some wave, some do a little dance, some pretend to fall, etc. My favorites were a male student who did a back flip and a female student that threw up a handful of glitter and walked under it as it fell. Chad was low key and did a cool hand signal.

After all of the students are presented with their rings, they all put them on at the same time and are declared "Seniors." Chad had a great time and said that it was one of the happiest moments of his life. We loved being there with you and watching you shine!

The stage

Family photo

The ring! (Chad chose to get his birthstone color.)

Chad making his entrance on stage to get his ring.

The proud senior!

How Time Flies!

It is amazing how children seem to grow up overnight! Just a few years ago, Chad looked like this:

Tonight his his high school's home coming dance and he looked like this:

What a grown up young man you have become...wow! We are so proud of you and hope you have fun at the dance.

Here are a few more photos from the night:

Joan and Chad

Joan, Chad and Todd

And of course we had to get one with Gwen!

Honor Roll Breakfast

Evan made the honor roll this past reporting period, so we got an invite to a breakfast for the honorees. Todd had to work, so Wanda went with me to cheer Evan on. After munching down on doughnuts and milk, Evan was presented with a certificate and some coupons for free meals and discounts at local businesses. I'm sure that the one for Baskin-Robbins will be one of the first ones he uses. Way to go Evan!

 Evan and MeeMaw (who made his day and surprised him with her own little gift!)

Evan and his classmate, Sage. Two smart (and handsome) boys right there!

On the Brink of Summer

The weather is warm and sunny and we are all ready for school to be out. Chad's last day of school was on Thursday, so he was very happy. He is going to go to day camp next week, but had a free day at home on Friday. He kept busy reading, playing basketball and playing with Riku and Leon. He even gave them a bath and they really enjoyed the love.

Chad drying off his guinea pig.

Evan's friend from school invited him over for a sleepover on Friday. On Friday afternoon they went blackberry picking and built some Lego creations. He was tired on Saturday because he went to bed late and woke up about 5:00 in the morning. He promised his friend that he would wake him up when he got up and he kept his promise. Why is it so easy for kids to wake up early on the weekend and so difficult to get up during the week? Evan has a few more days of school, so the countdown is on!

Evan brought home some of the blackberries that he picked. He wouldn't eat any, but I have been putting them in my yogurt and they are sweet and delicious.

Evan got the Lego bug after playing with his friend. When he got home on Saturday he couldn't wait to build something!

Brothers Working Together

One of Evan's homework assignments yesterday was to invent a new compound word and then come up with a convincing argument of why it should be included in the dictionary. His word was shindell (shin + dell). The definition of shindell is the little bits of food that are left in your teeth after you eat. For example, "You may want to look in the mirror when you go to the bathroom because you have shindell."

I printed out some pictures of teeth and Evan made a poster to help convince the dictionary representative that his word really belongs in the dictionary. He ran into some problems with the glue that we have, so Chad pitched in right away and helped him complete his poster. I love it when the boys help each other out. Way to go! 

Chad trying to get the glue to come out.

"Maybe taking the cap off will help get this stuff out!"

"I love working on projects, especially when they involve glue!"

Homework Time

I have to praise Evan and Chad for being so responsible and putting forth so much effort in their studies this year. Here is a photo of Evan writing his spelling words after having the necessary after school snack. Note the cup of chocolate milk, doritos and candy wrapper. I'm not sure why the bottle of hot sauce is there as that would probably count as a vegetable, which Evan avoids like the plague.


Keep up the good work, boys!

"I'm glad I had that snack, this is hard work!"

Starting School and Dr. Todd

Evan started 3rd grade on Monday and just loves his teacher. He often can't remember what homework he has to do, but did come home and recite for me the three ways that he can win a prize.

On Tuesday, he came home with a project for us to do together. What, I have homework, too? He said that "we" were supposed to cover his books with brown paper bags. What grocery store uses brown paper bags anymore? Luckily, I had a roll of brown craft paper and that did the trick. I remembered covering my books in high school and the fun that I had doodling all over them through the year. Though not perfect, they all came out okay.

While I was working on the books, Evan got started on his homework. Apparently, doing homework made him very sleepy. When I went to take him his books, he was no longer doing homework, but was instead sleeping on the couch. Poor boy, two days of school and he is already worn out. Fortunately, he was refreshed after his nap and was able to finish the rest of his homework, eat dinner and take a bath with no problems.

Chad came to me yesterday and showed me a wart that has been growing on his thumb. We bought some wart remover that works by freezing the wart off. I don't like administering pain to my children, even when it is in their best interest, so I usually let Todd play doctor. Chad was a little apprehensive about the "freezing" part and wondering if it was going to hurt. He was able to tolerate it okay, so I am assuming it wasn't too bad. Now we just have to hope that one treatment was enough!

Book covering project.

All done!

Chad is hamming it up before his wart removal treatment.

Todd almost looks like he enjoys "doctoring" Chad!