2 Days To Go

I can't wait until school is out...the sleeping in will start in 2 days! 

Until then, the teachers are just babysitting and coming up with anything to pass the time.

Case and point, Kyle and Reed wrapped up their study of Ancient Greece today.

They made togas and were different Greek gods.

Reed was Hermes (of course he was)

and Kyle was Cyclopes. 

And, just the same as last year, Jason is still upset none of his teachers were ever this pretty.

I Live with a Teenager

JR turned 13 yesterday.

(But he might as well have been turning 45 since he's never seemed like a kid to me.)

We celebrated at Taste of Texas.

JR ate an entire adult steak. And most of the giant cheesecake you see in front of him. 

School Isn't Even Out

School isn't even out for summer and Kyle is already trying to find ways to really hurt himself.

I keep telling him summer will be no fun with a cast! 

End of the Year Party

JR's end of the year choir party was this week.

I didn't tell him I was a chaperon until the day of. 

(I'm very uncool.)

He did make me promise I wouldn't get up all in his business.

(I could so care less about his 6th grade choir "business".)

They ate pizza and had a few awards.

JR was voted "best singer" by his 3rd period class.  

(He was on a field trip the day they voted so he didn't even get to vote for himself!) 

Then our neighbor, Mary, and our across the street neighbor, Peyton, were awarded best 6th grade choir student and best overall choir student by the teacher.

We're thinking we might need to rename our street "Broadway".

Pictures- Professional and Not

I stopped buying sports pictures (especially team ones) quite awhile back.

There's only so many you can have before you realize you have no need for any of them.

But I bought this one since 3/5 of the family is in it.

Jason is the star in the center and Kyle and Reed are on the bottom with all the 1st graders.

(I can't believe we pay money for this.  I could take a better one and I have no idea what I'm doing.) 

I took their individual pictures myself. 

Because professional ones don't have the option of holding your dog instead of a bat. 

JR of all Trades

JR has added another job to his repertoire of paid gigs.  

So besides voice over work and dog sitting, he's now DJing on the elementary birthday party circuit.

One of the moms at the baseball field liked his commentating and asked JR if he could DJ her daughter's 6th birthday. 

He was excited to do it, and he did a great job. (He now even has business cards that say DJ JR.)

 He lead them in all kinds of dances (like the Chicken Dance), took requests, and played party games.

I snapped this one as the kids were lining up for cake. 

Kyle and Reed were there too (they're friends with the older brother) and I never dreamed the boys would love JR's "glamour girl" relay as much as they did.  I think they loved it more than the girls! 

On a side note, this was 1 of 3 birthday parties Kyle and Reed attended this week.

Chloe the Cute

Chloe sits on the back of the couch and keeps tabs on every bird, squirrel, and Kyle that walks by. 

She also likes french fries from Sonic.  While sitting at the table, of course.

She has to move away from the window for naptime...so she won't get distracted.

I love having a little girl.

This is every morning on the way to school. 

Smiles, a wagon, and unicorn bicycle helmet!

Smarty Pants

We were invited to the middle school awards night to see JR get his distinguished honor roll certificate.

He made all A's for the whole year. There were 50 sixth graders that got all A's for the year. 

 (I think there are about 350 in his class.)

Kyle does love a photo bomb.

I'd say this award is due to all his hard work, but besides doing his math homework (that takes him 5 minutes)  I've never actually seen him study or do any work.

So GREAT!

I guess the city of Houston found some extra money lying around and decided they'd use it to tear up my street.

And I'm not exaggerating when I say "tear up my street"

Chloe barks at the workers all day...which is awesome, but not as awesome as being blocked in on both sides of your circle driveway.

And waking up to machinery parked in front of the house is a beautiful sunrise view.

Very similar to the Colorado mountains we grew so fond of.

And then it's rained nonstop, so all the mud and muck has been super fun! 

Cannonballs!

The calendar might say May, but it is feels like full blown summer here.

Which makes after school playdates so easy peasy.

I don't have to worry about entertainment again until October.

A New Model

Last year JR was on the cover of the brochure for Camp Olympia.

And though being featured in the packing guide newsletter certainly isn't as glamorous as the brochure, it's always exiting to see yourself with a giant ladle of honey mustard.

I See Your Future

Saturday night Jason and I went to Child Advocates annual fundraiser.  Last year it was a Kentucky Derby theme, and I had the best (homemade) hat there. (Obviously.)

Jason told me (2 days before) that this year's theme was "Bollywood", but I think it was really something about elephants and monsoons.  None the less, I was trying to come up with something that looked Indian, but I think I wound up looking like a fortune teller.

Which is fine because I think Jason's shirt is more Bali than Bollywood, but hey they're on the same side of the world, right? 

I pulled everything for my outfit out of my closet except the head chain thing which I bought because now I'll be better prepared for this kind of theme if it comes up again somewhere!  

Little Slash

JR's school choir had their pop show on Friday night.

It was an 80's themed show, so I was trilled at the costume and song choices.

JR wanted to audition for a solo, so I had him listen to quite a few songs: Kenny Logins, REM, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, Run DMC.  

But he decided that "Sweet Child O' Mine" was the song for him.  Turns out one of his friends, Aiden, thought the same thing, so they got together for a duet.

JR's costume came entirely from my closet and prop closet, he's actually wearing 2 wigs to get the right look for Slash's hair.  I also supplied "Axl's" wig.

I think they nailed it. (Who am I kidding? I'm totally taking credit for the costuming...I nailed it!)

Aiden has a "choir" voice where as JR has a "musical theater" voice, but I thought they sounded great together.  

For those of us who grew up in the 80's, this was a great show.

(The videos are just snippets, I know nobody wants to hear the whole song!)

"Time of my Life"

"Sweet Dreams"

"Our Lips are Sealed"

"Walk Like an Egyptian"

I also figured out that middle school girls don't know how we really dressed in the 80's. 

The boys did a little better of  a job at being authentic.  I mean, who can deny a Miami Vice suit or a Tom Cruise Top Gun Flight Suit?!

JR had a big fan club turn out for the night.

Although Kyle and Reed said they were there to watch Mary, not JR!

Me Day

It's Mother's Day! 

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite moms:

Granny Buffie

Granny Sherry

And my mama that I told "I love you so much I didn't call you until 6:00 tonight because if I had called you earlier and woke you up from an after church nap that would have totally ruined Mother's Day!"

And, of course, I'll wish myself a happy day too! 

Season Finale

We are finished with the regular season of baseball.

They played their final game Wednesday night, and 3 of their best friends were on the other team, so that was hard and fun all at the same time. 

They lost, but Kyle and Reed were happy with how they played, so that's all that matters.

Kyle had 9 outs at 1st base for the last game and Reed was the only player on his team with no strikeouts for the season.

Kyle's batting average for the season was .685 and Reed's was .806, which I think are pretty good.

I videoed them hitting this last game. 

(Reed)

(Kyle)

I think they finished the season 5-6, and will start playoffs soon.

Here are some pictures from the last few games.

Reed got the game ball again a few games back. 

He had a great game, then caught a pop fly with 2 outs to end and win the game.

Jason was the 3rd base coach (you can hear him telling the kids to run in the videos) and JR always made himself useful.

I Don't Know Her

Chloe finally had her 1st grooming.

It was very exciting for everyone, including the neighborhood kids.

(Yes, that's 6 kids anxiously awaiting Chloe to emerge.)

When she did emerge, we didn't recognize her!

I'm not sure she's too happy with her new do.

Here's some before and afters.