What to do with a broken fence...

Our fence was past it's time--

it's about 14 years old

and Dad has done a lot to nurse it along.

One of our last storms did it in,

toppling part of it into our neighbor's yard.

Obviously, time for a new fence.

But whereas others would toss the old one,

Dad saw possibility...

Check out our new deck ceiling!!!

Different on each end

How cool is that?

 

Teeing up summer

Mom had to work this Memorial Day

but we weren't going to let that slow us down.

What could we do

on a sunny first Sunday of Summer Break?

We've got a few ideas...

Top Golf and donuts?

Yes please!

We're gonna enjoy these next few months!

 

End of the Year Shinanigans

Not only did we have Field Day,

the end of the school year had all sorts of other events.

There were dress up days

and parties

and yearbooks.

Dad came to eat lunch

at the school picnic

and walloped my friends and I

in the Parents/Teachers versus 6th graders

kickball game

It was a mud pit

which made it even more fun

My 6th grade class,

together one last time

Before we knew it,

it was the last day--

Jack's last bus ride to Campbell

(he's be the ONLY Mustang in our family!)

The last time the 3 of us are on a bus together

and the last day for our bus stop crew

to play tag as we wait

It's always bittersweet.

A Husky becomes a Bison

It's hard to believe my 7 years at Highland Park Elementary

are coming to a close.

My class is the last 6th grade class to graduate

from HPE.

How about that?

Tonight,

we had our graduation ceremony 

to mark the occasion.

It was complete with our names being read

and walking to accept our certificate

speeches by my classmates

and a poem from my teachers

(where they compared kids to dogs

and teenage to cats--

Mom and Dad thought that was pretty clever)

and a song from our class

(I'm behind the girl with the crossed arms,

she's clearly thrilled to be here)

Top it off with a huge class picture,

and that's a graduation wrap!

Everyone wanted a picture with the graduate

and then,

when we realized we didn't have Jackson's graduation

because of COVID

AND that he was ALSO a graduate this year

(hello, 8th grade??),

the grandparents definitely needed a picture with him too.

Our future's so bright...

we gotta wear shades.

Look out ETMS and LSN!

The Phantom's Final Hurrah

It's been an awesome ride.

I've been with this team a long time

(6 seasons!)

but today was our last game.

Coach Cortney had a do a fun, dramatic walk-out

before the game,

culminating in a hug with our families

and a dramatic walk back

Our final tournament game was rained out last weekend

and we played our hearts out today.

We needed to win by 3 AND keep it a shut out--

which we couldn't quite pull off.

We ultimately ended up in a tie with another team

and then all the tie-breaker metrics they use

were ALSO ties.

So our final season,

the 3-peat on our championship run,

ended with a coin toss...

that we lost.

Wow.  That's no way to go out!

Look at this team!!!

We'll just ignore that coin.

It's a winning run to me.

I'm gonna miss playing with this team.

A day in the nursing home?

While Mom and Dad searched for a new bedroom set

to go with their new master bedroom

to celebrate their past and future,

we went in search of something for our future...

Self-ejecting lounge chairs anyone?

A glimpse of all of us in 80 years.

 

Everyone's favorite day

Thanks to COVID,

I hadn't had field day before--

and boy did it live up to expectations!!

All the games, hanging with my friends,

Dad working the Gaga ball pit,

AND popsicles??

No WONDER this has been 

my brothers' favorite school memory every year!

 

All Jack's Accolades

As my middle school days come to a close,

today was our Awards Ceremony

to celebrate some of our accomplishments.

There weren't any department awards this year

(no one knew why)

and a few of my teachers

(Mrs. Smith from Social Studies

and Mr. Taylor for Broadcast)

 told me they would have recognized me if they could.

But I still pulled in a couple of awards

I got the Principal's Honor Roll

(the highest honor roll--all 8 quarters!)

and the Path to Biliteracy Award

(for my budding Spanish Skills)

Oh, and I (of course) ran the livestream feed too.

#killing8thgrade

Mom and Not-so-sunny San Diego

Mom went to her first post-COVID work conference

this week to rub elbows

with the other pediatric program directors

from around the country.

It was in San Diego,

which sometimes looked lovely like this:

(the view from Mom's room)

but was often cold and grey.

Apparently, this is San Diego's "winter months."

She went to lots of conferences,

had some dinners with her work friends 

and got to present a few posters from work:

She's on the far left--hard to tell with the masks.

She said it was a good trip,

but a long time to be away from us.

Awww.  She missed us!

 

The TCFC finale

It's soccer tournament weekend!

The Thunderchickens have had a great season.

I scored at least one, usually 3-4, goals every game.

This weekend held the same.

The competition was tight.

We were all really excited for our trophies

This will look good in my collection!

Our last game was called just after halftime 

due to weather--

which was a bummer because we were behind

(our side was tied, the other side was down).

We gathered for a final season picture of the

Thunderchickens Football Club

The sad news--

Coach Nick and my friend Breckin are moving back to Nebraska

so our team will look a bit different next year.

The happy news--

we took 3rd!

Picture of the medal coming soon...

A reason for cheesecake

Mom's 43rd birthday was today

which gave us a perfect reason

to have Dad's shrimp and grits

and our friend Katherine's cheesecake

Happy birthday to "our favorite mom"!

 

Spring Birthday Blowout

4 of the 6 of us

have birthdays within 46 days of each other,

ranging March 28th to May 15th.

It's just easier if we merge all of them together

into one big celebration--

like a big fish fry and pie-a-thon

at Mema's and Pappo's

After all that fish,

we ventured outside to enjoy the sunset

We did a little deck dancing too

We had to work up to all this PIE!

Lots of wishes...

and lots of chillin' with the fam!

 

Sound check 1...2...3...

I have loved broadcasting so much,

I decided to try out for the musical this spring

I was chosen for Sound Tech--

and did you see?

I have an ASSISTANT!

It was fun to be part of a team

I was really into it--

I went to every practice,

every extra work day,

every opportunity to help with the show.

I was really excited to have everyone come and watch.

Do you see the "RJM" clustered in the left corner there?

We may have snuck our initials onto the set.

It was a blast.

I was really self-critical

about missing cues,

but I was ultimately voted

"Most likely to nail their cue every time"

by my fellow cast and crew

so I guess I did a pretty good job.

So don't worry high school--

my "assistant" Brandon and I

have got you covered!

 

Celebrating Moms

We did Mother's Day up right this year!

We got Mom all sorts of homemade gifts

and poems and such

and some pampering things like soap,

nail polish and shower bombs

We also made the rounds and took flowers

and a key ring to Grandma

and flowers and a coozie

to Mema

(we just missed her for a picture)

Then Mom put us to work

because her favorite thing to do is

work in the yard.

Whatever makes her happy...

A great little pizza place

After all the events of the day,

we needed to unwind a bit.

We decided to check out the new 

Martin City Station 7

up the road from us

And look who came!??!

Kayla and Uncle Adam!

We played corn hole 

and tried out the hula hoops

and did a lot of chilling out and chit-chatting

Oh--and the pizza was delicious too!