Current Obsessions: September Light
29 minutes ago
Thursday, June 18, 2009
May 29th was a busy day at our house! First we started with Brandt's 5th grade Graduation. Only James and I attended because Emma and Chelsea both had their graduation practice that morning. (Jordan decided that since it was his first day to sleep in he was NOT going to get up at 8 am.) It was all going well until they started showing the video of the 5th graders over all their school years. Brandt looked so little in all the pictures! He has been attending Cedar Creek since 1st grade and it was very touching to see him with all his buddies growing up together. Suddenly he was looking way to grown up for his mom who ended up having to leave the ceremony so as not to embarrass her son with her crying!
Brandt receiving his diploma.
Brandt using his diploma as a gun to shoot his dad.
Brandt and Mrs. Browning (his 4th and 5th grade teacher) ~ she is truly the perfect teacher for Brandt. We will miss her!!
Brandt enjoying his favorite part of the whole ceremony ~ Chocolate Cake!!
Next was Emma's 8th Grade Graduation. Hers started after lunch so everyone was forced to attend. Being 13 we got one picture chance! (good job James for capturing this). They had speakers, performers, awards, diplomas and even Dr. Wellman (the principle from WHS) came to welcome them into high school. Where have all my babies gone??
Emma walking in blissfully unaware of the camera.
And then it was on to dinner and Chelsea's graduation. First we went to her favorite restaurant The Melting Pot. Unfortunately she was so nervous that she hardly ate and really seemed stressed. Finally James left dinner early to just go ahead and take her to the Austin Convention Center where graduation was going to be held. Can you spot the 13 year old in this picture??!!
(that is steam obscuring James and I ~ we look a little magical!)
Chelsea getting a hug from Al Bennett the girls athletic director.
He genuinely seemed to appreciate Chelsea despite the fact that he could not convince her to tryout for volleyball!
Finally all her hard work paid off and she has that diploma in her hand!
We are so proud of her.
Brandt's opinion on the length of the ceremony.
There was over 500 kids graduating, several speakers from the school board and the high school, the usual valedictorian and salutatorian, plus the class president and the school president and then a few kid favorites. They would break up the actual walks across the stage ~ do a hundred then have a speaker.
The end. (yes mom is crying again by this time!)
And then they loaded into buses (we weren't even allowed to approach them. They had them cordoned off with ropes and guards; we could just cheer from afar. One boy tried to run over and hug his mom and was almost thrown to the ground!). They were taken back to the high school for Project Graduation. They had to drop all their things off before graduation to be searched and then when they returned they were once again walked straight into the school, through ropes, and sent straight into the locker rooms to change. Chelsea forgot extra shoes and had to go barefoot all night as they were not allowed to go to their cars or receive anything from us! But it is really a great time that they look forward to all year. They are gambling tables set up and they are all given chips that they play with and can win money. There is also a money machine ~ it is a booth that blows money into the air and you try and grab all that you can in a 60 second time period. There was at least a 45 minute wait! There were also carnival games set up outside, a basketball game going on in the gym, lots of dancing, food, rock climbing, bungee jumping, and raffles all night (they gave you 5 tickets at the door to do with what you will). To claim your winnings you had to stay all night and if anyone left early they called your parents and told them you were on your way home. It ended at 5:30 am. Chelsea was exhausted and slept until 3 in the afternoon but came home with winnings! She got $60 for staying all night, won a gift card at the blackjack table and $500 in a raffle. Some kids won cameras, jewelry, purses, bikes and diamond earrings. She was pretty excited with her winnings since she only put 3 of her tickets in. Needless to say if we ever start playing the lottery she is buying all our tickets!!We are so proud of each of our graduates ~
Friday, May 29, 2009
Last week (or so) was Chelsea's final prom. I was so proud of her this year as she actually made an effort to find her dress a month in advance! This was a huge improvement over last year, when she refused to look until two weeks before (fyi ~ Sax Department Store will not taylor a dress two weeks before prom). So off we went to look in all of Austin's vintage stores. The third store, Bitchin' Threads, we came to she saw the dress meant for her! It was a silk strapless short dress that started out a fushia color and faded into a softer pink and most importantly didn't even need altering. It showed off her very long legs beautifully.
Incase y'all were worried that Chelsea had turned a new leaf, true to form, two days before the dance she decided that it was time to look for shoes. We ladies at this house do not have small feet, so finding shoes at the last minute usually proves to be very challenging. But surprisingly we found the perfect pair at the first shoe store we went to (if any of you would like to take advantage of our incredible luck wave that we are on, Chelsea and I are available for all trips to Vegas now!). They were a chocolate brown closed toe high heel Mary Jane pumps with double ankle straps. Very sassy and classy.
Chelsea's date this year had several things going for him ~ he was a friend, he was taller then she was, and he likes her mom (always a plus in my book!!). He also is a Texan to his core and showed his Texas pride by wearing a vest with the Texas flag on it. Even the bow tie had the flag on it! Although they didn't match, he got points for originality.
(Hook-um! 3 of the future UT Longhorns)
Prom in Austin is always an event! They all met at one house to drop off a change of clothes for after prom, and to have drinks, appetizers and take pictures. I like this part because all the parents are there too; getting to visit, take the pictures, pin on the boutonnières, and make sure that all the boys know the parents expectations for them for the night (grrrr!!!). Then they load into the limos or party bus and head out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. This year they went to a mansion here in town that has peacocks roaming around the grounds. Chelsea tried veal for the first time (I do not condone this action!!). After dinner it is off to prom, which every year at Westlake is held at the Austin Convention Center. They had a dj and casino games to play. Each student is given chips at the door that they get to play and win prizes.
When the dance is over, at 1 am, they all head to various kinds of parties. Chelsea's group went back to the pre-prom house for an all night party. They could swim, hot tub, play games and eat all night; what they couldn't do was leave. There was lots of parents there who stayed up all night with them and then very sweetly made them all breakfast tacos in the morning. She had such a great time and looked beautiful too.
(headed to dinner ~ you can dance on this ride, it comes equipped with a disco ball!!)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Technically Chelsea's high school soccer season is still going on, but we try to just ignore that. This poor kid has sat the bench her whole senior season because of her new crazy coach thinking that she is lazy and a quitter (not to be confused with the last crazy coach that she endured for the last 3 years)! Unfortunately, soccer season starts first but then overlaps track season. Because the high school has endowed all power to the coaches they get to decide if, and when, she can attend track. If she quits soccer UIL rules will not allow her to compete in track. Poor Chelsea has had many a sleepless night (and even more days of being so sick to her stomach that she can't eat) worrying about having to talk to the coach. After Chelsea talked to the coach, the girls athletic director and then the two of them together she was able to broker a deal that allows her to attend track practice half of every practice time. Sadly, this is at the cost of any remaining goodwill her soccer coach might have had.
So we have already had two very cold, for Austin (55-60 but it's been windy!) track meets. So far these have coordinated perfectly with Emma's volleyball. The first was in a town just a few minutes from where Emma was and the second was when Emma's team had a bye. That is just how lucky we are!
Here's to hoping that Westlake Girls Soccer loses in the first round of playoffs and Chelsea can then go on to a wonderful last year of track!! (Just incase you are thinking that we hate sports and/or coaches ~ we love track and our wonderful, wonderful track coach.)
pic 1 - Chelsea (red and blue) running in the open 200
pic 2 - Chelsea just clearing the high jump bar
pic 3 - Chelsea actually cleared this time too it just looks bad from this angle
pic 4 - running up to the bar
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Can't believe that it's a new month and a new year already! Where does all our time go???
The kids are back in school and are grinding hard at the mill.
Nicole has another new job. She is now a hostess at The Grove (a local restaurant). She says it's super boring but they pay $8 an hour so she is toughing it out. She has also been working out like a fiend, is back with her old boyfriend (Ken) and trying to work out a 12 week class schedule at our community college.
Chelsea has been busy trying to get all her college applications done. This is a tricky thing for her as she likes to do everything at the last minute. And I mean the very last minute!! Unfortunately because of her propensity for procrastination she missed the A & M deadline by mere minutes. It wasn't in her top three but it was a backup school that she wouldn't have minded attending. Live and learn...
Chelsea has also been busy with high school soccer this month. Every weekend she has had a soccer tournament. They leave school, usually, Thursday morning and get back Saturday night. This definitely makes school a challenge! But they have so much fun all staying in a hotel together that it is worth the makeup work she has to do for school.
Jordan hasn't played WOW in three weeks. This is a huge thing!! And because of all this extra free time he has now, he has been able to actually go do things with his friends ~ like in person and everything. They have been to movies, out to eat and to Bob Schneider concerts. It is hard for other non-kid-WOW-playing-parents to understand the joy this fills our hearts with! Of course it helps that all his friends now have their driver's license.
Emma's club volleyball, her homework and a love of reading has been taking up all her time. She really enjoys her club team and her coach says that he can really rely on her lively happy personality to lighten the mood and make everyone feel welcome. Since she is the silliest girl I know, this works out perfectly for both of them!
Somehow Emma has managed to read 6 books this last week and a half while still keeping up with her homework. I go to sleep before her and wake up after her. I have no idea how she functions all day!
Brandt's basketball has started up again. He is on a different team this year that doesn't seem nearly as intense. We only practice once a week with games every Saturday. Last year we practiced twice a week with an "optional" third practice. The difference in practicing time really shows in his games but it is nice for him to have more free time. Almost everyday Brandt and all his buddies are outside having air soft gun wars in the neighborhood or in our park (we have a park literally right behind our house). He comes wandering in at dark exhausted with everything he took with him either lost or broken, but as happy as a clam. If he's happy then we are too.
James has been working like a mad man trying to get our media room finished. The poor guy started two years ago but had to put it on hold for various reasons but now works like a man possessed on it. He has torn into walls and floors; taped, mudded, textured; installed double doors; prep the sub floor for carpet; chosen carpet and wood; and primed walls for painting. Next is the cabinetry. I'm a construction widow...
And last but not least, classes have started back up for me too. This semester I have an Art History class that starts at 7:45 in the morning ~ ugh! I also have 3 other photography classes that are all 4 hours each twice a week. Only one of those am I doing any shooting in though, so that's kind of a bummer. One of my pictures that made it into the print show (the flower) the school kept for their permanent collection. Kind of exciting!
Fandango still has giardia. So far none of us has caught it but the vet trips are never ending!!! And it is hard for him to gain weight with constant diarrhea. But he is so sweet and loves to give kisses, not the greatest idea with giardia!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Guess who is turning 20 Friday? Good guess, but it isn't me.
Nicole has been planning, talking about and making lists for a month. She has bought birthday dresses, had her hair done and made guests lists. She has not outgrown the daily trip to the mailbox to see if she has received any cards. This girl makes me laugh. Imagine the lists that are going to be involved when she is anticipating her wedding?!
Jordan has been sick for a week now. I think it started out as allergies but has since moved into a sore throat and constant cough. All he can manage to do is play video games and WOW. Think the doctor can cure him of that?
Chelsea is for sale this week if anyone needs a tall, too smart for her own good, independant 18 year old. She has been grounded for a month and that got her cell phone and car taken away on top of that. She out maneuvers me and out thinks me in a blink of an eye. Ugh!!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Chelsea and I flew to New York August 16th to check out Colleges. We saw two musicals while there, "Avenue Q" and "Gypsy" with Patti LuPone. Both wondeful!! We slept late, shopped, rode the subway, stayed out late and saw the sites all before James showed up. James immediately got us on a schedule, read the map and planned our days! He even had us walk 26 blocks to climb the Empire State Building at midnight. This was really a college trip...so off to Penn, Temple, Leigh, Lafayette, Arcadia, Princeton and NYU. Some were too scary to even get out of car and some were so beautiful that I wanted to move right in. Poor Chelsea is such a Texas Girl that she was "freezing" the whole time in the 75 degree weather.
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