She’s on to High School!

Abigail’s middle school graduation ceremony was held on Wednesday, June 15.  Each family was allotted only three tickets so only Justin and I went while Carly stayed home with the youngers.  Apparently, it’s customary for girls to get a new dress for graduation.  Finding modest dresses for a 5’ 10” girl isn’t easy, but thankfully we were able to find a winner out of the six dresses I ordered online.

There were a few short speeches and then the presentations of the graduation certificates.

Lots of pictures with friends after the ceremony

The kids stayed at the school for a graduation party afterward.

Two days later she completed middle school and is ready for high school.  Thankfully, we currently have a ninth grade campus so she won’t be thrown into the full-on lions den right away.  She’s excited and will do awesome.  She rounded out her middle school career with a perfect 4.0 GPA – not a single A- in all three years.  All incoming sixth graders paint a picture of themselves to display in the commons during their three years at the school.  She sure has changed a lot in those three years.

Wasn’t she just this little graduate?

These kids are growing up too fast!

Another Kindergarten Graduate

Tuesday, June 7 was Katie’s kindergarten concert.  They of course sang a few songs.  

Each student in the five kindergarten classes shared either their favorite part about kindergarten or what they wanted to be when they grow up.  Katie said she wanted to be a teacher.

The following day Katie lost her second front tooth – technically it isn’t lost, I popped that bugger out when she was trying to eat apples – and then later that same afternoon she officially graduated from kindergarten.

They sang some songs and then Ms. Danberg presented each of them with their graduation certificates.  These were the only pictures I was able to take with all the bodies in her classroom.

I took this photo today with her certificate and kindergarten scrapbook.

Katie had a great year.  I ended up not being the biggest fan of her teacher, but Katie really enjoyed going to school and she learned a lot.  This paper came home during the last week of school…

Katie’s Summer Bucket List:

Run through sprinklers

Go on walks

Play on my DS

Go bowling

Go out to dinner

The girls got big dreams :)

Brace Yourself

Abigail had her braces taken off in November 2015 after having them on for two years.  When we visited our dentist in February 2016 he pointed out some areas where he felt her bite could be improved.  Abigail’s great about wearing her retainers so her teeth were still right where the orthodontist set them and they were perfectly straight.  I like to be a happy customer (and get full value for our money) so I spoke to the orthodontist about my concerns and he agreed to put braces back on and get things lined up – free of charge.

So on Friday, June 3rd Abigail went back into the orthodontist for an unexpected round two.  I suppose that’s what she gets for having a perfectionist for a mother.  Thankfully, Abigail was fully supportive of getting them back on and was bothered by the small gaps after having it pointed out by the dentist.

We had to take a "before" picture on our way to the office. 

I can’t believe this amazing young woman is my baby girl!

We’re not quite sure how long she’ll have braces this time around, but it hopefully won’t be more than a year.

Jason – Spring Basketball

Jason enjoyed playing in his first basketball season this winter.  We opted to skip baseball this spring – Jason wasn’t super interested in playing this year and to be honest it’s a difficult spectator sport {in my humble opinion} so there wasn’t any remorse on my end.  Mike Gibbs was coaching spring basketball and asked if Jason would like to play on Aubrey’s team (the teams are co-ed in the spring due to smaller participation).  The Gibbs live just around the corner so the ease of carpooling made it a no brainer.  Jason had a great season!

Jason’s season ended with a double header on Saturday, June 4 – after the final game we took the kids outside and Mike spotlighted each player – he had fun nicknames for each of them and then they each got to choose a box of candy {yeah for no trophies!}.  Mike saved Jason for the last because the nickname he’d chosen for Jason was his favorite. 

It truly was perfectly suited for the way Jason plays sports – Angry Bird.  Jason has a super intense game face.

Not the best Angry Bird face but if you look back in prior sports posts you can see he plays with intensity

Mike continued by explaining that Jason not only looks intense but he “propels into action” and is a strong player and teammate.

I have no doubt that in a few years this little baller will be joining his big brother on the court.

May Miscellany

May 3:  I found these cute treats on our porch this morning.  I’d assumed they were for the girls.  Being moved into a different ward has been an adjustment so this was a super sweet gesture.

May 6:  I bribed the kids with frappuccinos from Starbucks if they would get the van cleaned out and vacuumed.  Can’t miss Starbucks annual half-price frapps promo!

May 7:  Jason and I attended our community Mother/Son activity this afternoon.  It was Star Wars themed.

He got to design a frisbee (which unfortunately we left at the activity)

He also enjoyed playing in the videomobile and flinging angry birds.

Not a lot of activities that encouraged Mother-Son interaction, but he had a great time and I ate plenty of candy and cupcakes to keep me happy.

May 13:  While Justin and I were in Oregon, Katie had a Poetry and Punch event at school.  Katie was so excited to have my Mom and Val come and watch her.  They reported that she did a great job!

May 24:  The girls had their final band concert of the year.  It’s been fun to have them at the same school again.  If Abigail does running start this won’t happen again until maybe college.

Justin went to the concert while I took Jason to scouts.  I was bummed not to be there as Abigail was awarded the Director’s Award.  This girl ROCKS at pretty much everything.

May 27:  Carly’s been excited to get her ear pierced for years.  We’ve had the girls wait until they were twelve to get them pierced but she also needed to wait until sports were over since they wouldn’t be able to be removed for games.  Big day!

May 28:  Abigail wanted to go to the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila with friends.  Since it’s a bit of a drive (and the scene a little sketchy) I offered to stay in the mall while the girls shopped.  Justin also came along, but did a Winco run while me and the girls were at the mall.  Carly was surprisingly more than willing to stay home with the kiddos where I’m sure they enjoyed a movie or two. 

I’m grateful Abigail has so many good friends.