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!

Christmas 2012

Better Late than Never....they say. We had an awesome holiday season. Here are some photos...many thanks to Renee for letting me borrow the photos taken at Monique's!

 

This was actually taken mid December...me and my baby boy!

 Chad and I...blurry iPhone Xmas photo.

 Todd and Joan...Xmas eve.

 Todd's masterpiece...a traditional Lebanese raw Kibbee.

 Me and my boys!

 Joan and Todd!

 Todd and his siblings!

Chowing down...Mrs. Ann, Wanda and Joan.

Transitions

My blog posts have been few and far between this past year. My boys are getting older and like having more say over how much I "share" on the internet. Nonetheless, we can be found all over the place. So, if you want to catch up on what we are doing, you can use the following links:

Facebook pages:
Joan
Todd
Chad
Evan

If you want to see my photo albums, head over to Picasa.

If you want to see articles that I find interesting and want to share, follow me on Twitter.

We can talk books on GoodReads.

And if that isn't enough, I post more photos, quotes, drawings, etc on Tumblr.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013 New Year!

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!

Happy Birthday, Chad

Wow, I can't believe that you are sixteen years old today. How awesome is that! They say that the teenage years are the roughest and that may be true, but I do love watching you grow and change from the little boy that you into the man that you are becoming. Hope you have a super, wonderful, awesome birthday!

Since today is a school day, we had some pre-birthday cookie cake last night. Here are some pics of that:

 My two loves!

 Here is a photo of you from xmas 2007. Look how much you have changed since then!

Visit to the Farm

We recently spent a few days at my parent's house in Texas when we took the boys there for their annual summer visit. While we were there we made a trip to their farm and had a nice afternoon cookout. It was hot, but we all enjoyed being outdoors and poking around to see what was new since our last visit.

I have many fond memories of the farm as that is where my paternal grandparents lived when I was growing up. I used to stay with them for a week in the summer and as a "city kid," had a blast being outside in the country, exploring and spending time with my cousins. There is a wonderful sense of freedom being away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The pace is slow and there is time to enjoy the sweetness of just being.

Chillin' Chad

Some juicy grapes. My parents don't eat these, but use them to make wine.

Todd putting a new picnic table together.

One of the great things about being in the country is the freedom to have target practice without the fear of hitting your neighbor's house. Evan couldn't wait to shoot his guns!

Todd taking his turn. Is it cheating to use a stepladder to steady the gun?

My dad trying out his aim.

Evan helping season the burgers on the pit.

"This one needs a bit more pepper."