GRADUATION

This post is to celebrate Matthew's "graduation" from 6th grade! I think it's kind of weird to have a graduation ceremony for anything other than high school and college, but whatever. I think a celebration party would be more appropriate. It was very nice, though. The parents were gathered in the gym/lunchroom. The graduates marched in - they were dressed in Sunday best and had made graduation caps with tassels to wear. They were seated and then we watched a slide show of all of their pictures, taken throughout the year. I took a picture of Matthew's picture. Then, the graduation music started and the teachers called each kid's name and they went up to receive their "diploma" (which was just a piece of white paper rolled up and tied). They walked pass a huge gold letter H (for Highland Elementary School). Afterward, the kids exchanged their scrolls for the real certificate. There was cake to eat. On each piece of cake was a little paper person in a graduation cap and gown - the faces were pictures of each kid. That was my favorite part! Hee, hee! We took lots of pictures (which I'll include here) and it was over.

I took Matthew out to lunch afterward - we went to Chilis. To say that Matthew is happy to be done with elementary school would be an understatement. He is thrilled! And I'm happy too. He's my last one in elementary school. Next year I'll have one in jr. high, one in high school, one in college, and one getting ready for a mission. I love my older kids - it's fun to watch as each child grows up - I love hanging out with all of them. I think you grow up with your kids. I use to be a mom who loved little kids, but now I would way rather have older kids.

Congratulations Matthew!

A word about the following pictures... I used a lens ( a 70-300mm) that I normally reserve for outdoor pics. I wanted to get closer than my normal lens (28-80mm) would allow, but I forgot that using this lens would make my pics blurry if I didn't hold perfectly still. Dang it! So, many of these pics are blurry. Bummer.

This first pic is Matthew walking in to the ceremony (he's at the back).

There is Matthew sitting between two girls.

Matthew is already bored (he's yawning!)- he is in the front row on the left side of the picture. One of his friends, Tanner, is at the right (the red head playing with his hat in the second row back).

This is the picture of Matthew on the slideshow.

Matthew receiving his diploma and walking away - these are sooooo blurry!



Matthew in front of the "H". He's so cute! And, Matthew with a group of his friends. Front row (L to R): Jonathon Thain, Seth Glancy, Conner Miles, Kent Adams. Back row (L to R): Joseph Larson, Soloman, and Matthew.

Happy Birthday, Alexmeister!

Sorry about the last 2 weeks of nothing. I'm reading the Twilight series again and I've been sucked (no pun intended) into the world of vampires and werewolves for awhile. Good news, though... I'm almost done with the last book. So, I thought I'd better get this posted before the end of May. I forgot to do a little birthday tribute to my son Alex. He turned 15 on the 10th of this month. He is such a fun kid. I've been watching him grow (quite literally) right before my eyes - he is shooting up so fast, I can't keep up with it. He is now the tallest (I think) in the family and doesn't show signs of stopping. He plays football and loves it. He plays the trombone in the Jr. High Jazz Band and will be playing in the Jazz Band at the high school next year. He just started to play the guitar and is doing well. He's finally done with all the homework for this year and is going to be finishing up 9th grade this week. He was my cuddliest baby and he is a hilarious kid. Sooooo funny! Here are some pictures of Alex....
Isn't he adorable?! Happy birthday, Alexmeister! Love You!

A Day Late... Happy Mother's Day

All week long last week I had planned on writing about my mom on Mother's Day. Mother's Day came and went without me thinking about it. Geez! (Sorry Mom). So, here's it is - a day late. :-)

My mom has been a great strength to me this last year. She was my Chemo partner. She got off of work every Wednesday and came to pick me up. She took me to the chemo place and sat there with me all day long. Then she loaded me back up into the car and brought me home. She helped me into the house and tucked me into bed. She is the reason I got through chemo. I want her to know that there is no way it would have been as pleasant without her. Sometimes, when you're sick, you just simply NEED your mom. Thanks for being there for me, Mom! I love you. Mmmmmwwwwwaaaaaaaaa!

Here are some pics of my gorgeous mom...

A Fun Mother's Day list

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Becca, for sending me this funny list. I just wanted to share it with all of you. This sounds just like the stuff my mom used to say to me, and I know I've said a bunch of this stuff to my kids. Enjoy....

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION .
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC .
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC ..
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT .
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA .
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY .
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION .
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. M y mother taught me about ENVY .
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION .
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE .
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP .
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR .
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS .
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM .
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you

A Full House

Well, with my returned missionary and my returned college student, we have a full house again. It's kind of weird to have 6 people in the house again, after getting used to 4. Why? Well, try 6 people taking showers in the morning without running out of hot water (or even 4 people for that matter)! We now have to buy way more food - I've kind of forgotten how to cook for this many people (I don't cook that often any, though). We have 4 drivers and only 3 cars that work. Three of the four people have jobs - or are trying to get jobs - so guess who is going to be stuck home for the summer without a car? Yep, you guessed it - me! On the up side... there are now 3 big boys to share the lawn mowing. Rick: "Sweet!" (Well, he didn't really say that, but I know for a fact that's how he feels.) Cocoa now gets way more attention. There's tons of laundry, but since most of the people in the house do their own laundry, that's ok with me. There are more people sharing the trampoline, more playing computers. In fact, speaking of computers, Michael (college student) had to give the laptop to Grant (RM) when he finished school. So, now, Michael is trying to figure out which computer he can use. Not that we don't have enough of those! One of the hardest things about having this many older people in the house, is that everyone has to have an opinion about everything! One of the best things about returning kids is that I get to see their friends again - just like the old (school) days. I love it when all the boys are together, because they are all so funny and they just feed off of each others' humor. I crack up all day long. Oh, and it's wwwwaaaaaaayyyyyy more noisy in the house. But, that just makes me happy!