My Valentine

Just look at this picture.  

How could he not be perfect for me?

Coming Back From Cali

I didn't hear from JR all weekend while he was in California. 

(The first I heard from him was when he texted me to let me know his plane had landed in Houston.)

I was able to keep up with him from the few things I could find on Facebook.

There were thousands of kids there, but leave it to JR to wind up on the Junior Theater Festival page. (left back)

I also got a few pictures from his chaperone.

JR and his roommates

His group before the Radio Disney dance with one of their trophies.

JR is top left in the Hawaiian shirt.

Their group won best ensemble for their Little Mermaid, and out of 50 groups they were 1 of 3 asked to perform on the main stage (where they did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).

JR said he had a great time and was very happy he was picked to go.

You Still Have Time

Kyle and Reed had to bring their Valentine boxes and "cards" to school today, so you still have time to make yours as awesome as mine if you want to copy me.

We are sticking with what works, so all the girls in both of their classes are getting a (fake) rose.

Reed said all the girls loved them last year. 

 The boys in Kyle's class are getting a squishy basketball

And the boys in Reed's class are getting a baseball key chain.

Tooting my own horn here, but I outdid myself on their boxes.

You are supposed to be able to put their valentines in their mouths, but my pictures should have been bigger.  If the valentines are small you could get them in there, but I left one side open so you could put them in there too.

It wasn't sure what Reed would want for his.  I was glad he chose tennis (that was easy).

Kyle's was a no-brainer. I'm not sure we even discussed any other options.

Diving Progress

Kyle is continuing to dive twice a week, here are some of the dives that I've captured lately.

JTF

I dropped JR off at the airport this afternoon and he is in the air now headed to California.

Back in May he auditioned with one of the theater groups he performs with to go with them and compete at the Junior Theater Festival.

We didn't find out until July that he was one of the 33 chosen. (They took so long to announce it that I  just assumed he didn't get picked and that we just didn't hear back from them.)

They have been practicing since September, and they will perform on Saturday and Sunday.

(The other days they are in workshops/classes/auditions.)

He doesn't have any big parts, but as I like to say "Who cares? You got a seat on the plane!"  

They are doing songs from The Little Mermaid where he is Prince Eric in 1 song and seaweed in another. 

And they are also performing "Me 'Old Bamboo" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where he's Sid and gets his hair all cut off in the hair cutting machine.

They had a mini performance on Sunday that Sherry, the boys, and I went to.

Here is JR as Prince Eric

Kyle wasn't nearly as impressed with JR as we were.

(No, I'm not really sure how he got himself in that position, 

and yes, his head is on the floor under the seat.)

We are very proud of JR and so excited for him to have this opportunity.

Here he is with his group, he's in the left hand corner with the Texas hat.

He'll be home on Monday night, hopefully with lots of exciting stories to tell. 

Nice Swings

I was really impressed with how Reed played at his first "real" tennis tournament on Saturday. 

Reed's opponent showed up dressed to play at Wimbledon and Reed was wearing this.

Everyone had at least 3 tennis rackets in their fancy bags, and Reed walked in with his 1 racket and no bag.

  Reed didn't look outmatched at all, even though his opponent has been playing tournaments for a year...and Reed learned how to play this summer.

I've never been a tennis fan, and had no idea what was going on (I even had to ask the other kid's dad if Reed had just won), but I so enjoyed watching him play!

And the only advice Reed's tennis coach had wasn't even for him, but for me...to get him a "proper pair of tennis shoes". 

He Lost

JR's dislike (to put it nicely) of Tom Brady runs deep and wide.

I thought he was going to die when the Vikings lost and the Patriots won two weekends ago. 

(Not to mention he lost 10 bucks in a bet that the Vikings were going all the way to the Super Bowl.)

I was bracing for the worst all day yesterday. And Reed was so nervous JR was going to lose his mind, he made him a cake to try and make him feel better.

But thankfully the cake turned in to a celebration cake instead of a "please don't carry on like a crazy person" cake.

Just listen to him.  He doesn't care that the Eagles won, just that Brady lost.