Summer

The end of the school year is so much fun and so much stress.  I want to make sure that the graduation is perfect for my 8th graders and their parents.  I sometimes forget myself and my family in the process.  It's a tough, but fun time of year.

We had two sets of awards this week.  Tuesday's awards were the third trimester and sports honors.  Both boys got gold honor roll and Hudson earned a top Accelerated Reader point earner for his class!  This made me quite proud!

The 8th graders had a week full of graduation practice and field trips.  We went to John's Incredible Pizza for food and games.  They seemed to enjoy the afternoon.

Car full of kids.  I snicker whenever any student tells me they like riding in my van.  I usually tell them, "It's my dream car!"  I can barely believe I've been driving my mini van for over 8 years.  We got it when I was pregnant with Hudson.

It wouldn't be a typical post without some selfies of me.  I had a few good hair days. 

I once saw someone post on Instagram that they love taking selfies because there was a lot to be said for feeling good about yourself and thinking you look pretty.  I agree.

I have no pictures for the following things, but here's what happened the last few days of school:

-Saw Hello Dolly with the 8th graders at Roger Rockas.

-Evan and Hudson both got Principal's Honor Roll and various other awards.

-Graduation was fantastic.

-I came home and collapsed from exhaustion.

The drought conditions and penalties for over watering last summer made us choose to just turn off the water and let the grass die.  The yard is in need of attention, so we decided to start with a full covering of bark.

We didn't get enough, but that's okay because we'll do some plants and rocks in the open spaces.

The development of the field across the street into neighborhood houses is well under way.  I am really surprised that the grapevine says we will have houses on the cul de sac facing us.  I thought for sure we'd be facing a back complex wall.  It doesn't look that way.

Looking tidy.

Evan and I helped Eric and we finished the project this morning.

I got a very generous gift card from a student last night, so we went to enjoy lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  Yum!

I plan to rest, clean, rest, and plan for summer school.  It's a good time.

The Week Before the Last Week of School

We are getting out of school super early this year.  Our last day is May 27.  We were supposed to have two more weeks of school, but due to a long, boring, and irritating story having to do with minimum wage and teacher salaries, we now are contractually obligated to end school in May.

Needless to say, everything feels completely crammed together and hectic.

It was really hot this week.  Next week is supposed to be nice and cool back in the 70s and 80s.  I got a call from the office on Wednesday that Hudson was in the office complaining of being hot and dizzy.  He is really susceptible to heat and gets sick if he gets too hot.  It was an easy day for me because the 8th graders were hanging out in the convent garden with Father Robert for their Spring Retreat.  That's why my classroom is empty.

I let Hudson come over to my nice cool classroom (I firmly believe in running the air conditioner!) to relax and cool down.  He ate lunch and watched part of a movie.  It was like he was in his own theater!

Hudson's class had another field trip on Thursday.  This time they walked to the Clovis Museum and to get ice cream.  I was an obnoxious parent and drove the two of us the few blocks to the trip.  (I wasn't planning to attend, but did so at the last minute and DID NOT want to walk in the heat.)

I've lived in Clovis for over 14 years and have never been in the museum.  It was fun to walk around and look at artifacts like this hair dryer.

The day isn't complete without a selfie.

And another selfie with my future daughter-in-law.  I love this little sweet girl.  Hudson hates it when I call her his girlfriend.

We all got a mint and a pen for touring through the museum.  And as you can see from my nasty thumb nail, I managed to peel off all of my acrylic nails.  Stress.

We had to walk a half a block to the ice cream shop.  The day was actually cooler than expected and it was nice to sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze while Huddy ate ice cream.

Hudson didn't share any of his sherbet with me.  Rude.

I HATE it when he makes this weird face.

Just hanging on a fence in our sassy purple hat.

Love these two!

This kid walks with such a swagger.  It's funny to watch, and I love it!

 Once we got back from the field trip, we joined the rest of the school for the Spring Concert practice.  My two boys were obviously thrilled!

The kids did a tremendous job on all of their songs.  I really enjoyed the concert.  I was even in it with my piano playing!  So much fun!

And I love Melita's choir conducting dress.  So fancy!

Eric took the boys to see a movie this afternoon, so I went and got my scratchy nails cleaned up.  Much shorter than what I've had for a year, but pretty.

Two more selfies to round out the night.  I was impressed with my hair because I'm on day three of not washing it.  I wore it in a bun today, and when I pulled it down, it had these fun waves going on!

And finally, Hudson is helping Eric get through his next levels on his game.  It's good to have an 8-year-old around to get you through difficult spots!

Field Trip to the Library

End of the year field trips are upon us.  I walked with Hudson's class to the town library yesterday.  It was fun, I guess.  I mean, it's the library.  I enjoyed being with Hudson.  I like being able to be with my kids on their trips.  It was a pleasant trip.  But we've been to the library quite a few times in his lifetime.  That's okay, though.  We enjoyed the jaunt away from school.

Shortly into the walk, Hudson started complaining that his tie was choking him.  Rather than fight it, I told him to take it off.  I'm surprised he left his vest on the whole time.  It was warm, but not to the point of dripping sweat. 

The librarian read the kids a story, gave them a tour, gave them a scavenger hunt to complete, and gave them prizes.  Both Hudson and I checked out a book.  He got some weird boy book and I checked out Night Circus.  (I counted up my books that I've read so far this year, and I'm already over 35 books!  I am quite pleased with myself in this regard.)

Then we walked back to school.

I am bummed that the third graders didn't get to go to Sacramento on the train to visit the Train Museum, but things didn't work out that way this year. :( Eric and Evan have been to the train museum, but Hudson and I haven't gotten to see it.  I think we need to plan a summer day trip.

We were told to wear hats on the trip.

This picture makes me laugh for a few reasons.  First, Hudson has this shifty-eyed look going on like he's afraid of me and he's begging someone to notice his distress!  Second, I always marvel at how different our coloring is from each other.  I swear he's mine!  Forcey genes are strong in this one.

Hudson sat on my lap and as I was taking more selfies of us, he was waving that bookmark in front of my face.  The picture snapped right as my eyes were centered in the cutout making me look like a ninja (according to Hudson!).

Like I said, we had a nice walk back to school.  I am always happy when I get to spend time with my people on their school functions.

California Classic

Eric and I participated in the California Classic during a weekend in April which consisted of riding our bikes for 35 miles on Saturday and walking a 5K on Sunday.

We only got a few photos of the actual bike ride, and I think they are all on Eric's phone.  So, sorry.  No "action" photos.  You'll have to use your imagination!

The ride was long (35 miles), and I was pretty exhausted.  Four-ish hours of riding left me a bit wobbly.  Eric went to the car for our flip flops and I tried to find a parking spot for my bike.

Even though I don't look it, I was pretty happy and proud of the ride we had just done.

There's a little bit more enthusiasm.

Love that smile!

It's hard to see, but his shorts are gappy around his knee.  They are supposed to be snug, but when you lose 130 pounds, things fit differently!

He has worked so hard to get healthy.  I'm so proud of him.

Feeling pretty happy to be sporting our new medals.

Lunch!

Apparently, a 35-mile bike ride did me in.  Nap time.

We were up early the next day to "race" in the 5K.  And by race, I mean walk the whole way, laugh a lot, and enjoy each other.

Lots of people ready to run.

I really liked the hat we got.

Skinny!

He just loves it when I take a bunch of pictures of him!

We call this artistic lighting.

Just like the bike ride, I didn't take any photos during the actual event.  I started taking them at the end.  Eric is not a runner, and I had biked 35 miles the day before, so we walked the 5K, and I am happy to say we did not come in last.  We actually had a lot of fun walking, talking, and laughing.  Every time I would reach for Eric's hand or try to touch him, he'd scream, "Get away from me lady!  I don't know you!"  And then I'd laugh like a lunatic!

After 50 minutes or so, we entered the baseball stadium at the back.  I always think it is fun to walk down this ramp into the outfield.

I was pretty happy.  A long walk is good for me!

One of my new absolute favorite pictures of Eric.  He just looks so happy and I love it!

Getting closer to the finish line.

Almost there!

We did it!  A 35 mile bike ride on Saturday and a 5K on Sunday!

I enjoyed free ice cream.

Eric being his usual snarky self.

Here's the real reason we did this...interlocking medals!

You lay one medal over the top of the other medal and you can see the one behind it.  Pretty cool.  I can't decide which one I like better.

I think I appreciate the cycling medal the most because of the effort it took for me to get on the bike after a few years of NO RIDING whatsoever and riding up a freeway for 35 miles.  I was a little scared!

The best thing about all this?  Completing it with my best friend.