Celebration Weekend

Our celebratory weekend continued today. Saturday Makinley graduated from her high school, and Evan joined her family for the ceremony. 

Today we celebrated her accomplishments with her family at her house. They had beautiful weather for a poolside party. Evan thought for sure he would be able to escape the never ending left overs from our own burrito bowl fixings, but the Baylors served a taco bar. 😂

Tomorrow is a holiday. After the gym, I plan to sit by the pool with a book and a diet Dr Pepper. I’ll eat black beans and rice again tomorrow. If I find the energy, I might sprinkle cheese on top. I can’t wait for the lazy day ahead. 

Let’s Celebrate!

We celebrated Evan’s graduation with a small family and friends gathering on Friday and Saturday. I cooked. Mom cooked even more. We ate. We ate even more. Then I collapsed on the couch Saturday night ready for sleep. 

Graduation

Today was the big day! Evan and 132 of his peers graduated from high school at Austin Peay. The class of 433 graduates was broken into groups, and Evan walked in the third wave this afternoon. 

While Wes, Keagan, Makinley, and I watched the ceremony in person, the extended family watched him walk across the stage from our living room. COVID protocols only allowed four guests per graduate. However, I will gladly accept that compromise to be able to have a ceremony this year. 

The ceremony was so well organized. We arrived early enough to catch the slideshow that included baby pics of the graduates. 

After the ceremony, we had beautiful weather for outdoor pics. 

We celebrated with dinner at our favorite local restaurant and then returned home for cake. 

Soccer Banquet

Tonight was our farewell to the 2021 soccer season. Evan and Keagan were honored for making the All District Team and for earning varsity letters. Even as a center back, Evan had a goal and two assists.

Keagan was also chosen by his teammates to be the MVP. He had six goals and six assists. 

Our season did not go as well as we had hoped, but we are so very thankful that we got to play. This year will always be more meaningful than the years we won district and regionals because I got to watch the boys play together. 

We are losing nine seniors. Nine! Next year will be rough as we try to rebuild, but maybe by Keagan’s senior year we will have the numbers and talent again to make it back to regionals. 

These two plan to spend their summer at ID camps. Summer vacation includes camps in TN, AL, and KY. 

Next week Keagan will attend travel team tryouts. We are crossing our fingers that his knee is healthy by Thursday.

Senior Walk

Today the seniors crossed the street to walk the halls of the elementary and middle schools for the annual Senior Walk. Each graduating senior wore his graduation gown and under it a shirt that announced his future plans. Evan wore a bright orange UTK shirt that clashed with the red gown something fierce. His gown was not ironed and it still needs to be hemmed, but hey, he got to school and walked. Right now that’s about all any of us is capable of doing. We are dog tired from Saturday night’s all nighter at After Prom and Monday’s late night drive back home from Memphis, and we are in survival mode trying to complete make up work, settle accounts, and complete projects around the house.

It always makes for an impressive sea of red as the students take the corner where the three schools meet. 

Evan only spent his fifth grade year at our local elementary school, and his favorite middle school teachers are no longer at the middle school. He didn’t find much worth in the tradition except it kept him out of class for the morning. 

The reality of graduation looming ahead of us still escapes me. I’ve got to plan a party and host 50 guests in less than a week. This is all I can process right now. 

The Last Dance

We lost tonight’s Regional game. I had such high hopes for the team after our performance on Thursday night. We lacked intensity tonight and we had very little attack. And we didn’t have Keagan in the mid-field. Tonight’s game marks the end of Evan’s hobby and passion. 

Here he is as the team captain before kickoff. 

Here is his signature arm position when passing the ball. 

I cannot say good-bye to something I have loved for the past fourteen years, even if Evan says I must. Maybe I can talk him into one more last dance when his travel team goes to Regionals in June. Or maybe he will agree to play college club ball. Until then, tonight’s game highlight, for me anyway, was Evan’s defensive slide tackle. 

He’s been given a yellow for this move more times than I can count. He tore his Achilles doing this three years ago. And yet, tonight’s tackle was perfectly timed.

After Prom

Evan was not thrilled with the idea of going to another prom. He wanted to work and make big money at a local tournament. He didn’t want to wear a tux (and I wasn’t thrilled about spending $300 for a tux that he would wear for three hours). So the kids didn’t go. Instead, they met some friends for late night takeout and a dip in the pool. At midnight they made their way to After Prom at the high school where they ate, played, and ate some more.

Evan surprised himself when he did a couple of flips on the bungee trampoline. 

At the raffle, Evan won a Yeti cooler. He put all of his raffle tickets in on this prize to increase his chances of winning. It worked. He says he plans to use it on fishing trips to store the fish he catches. 

At 3:30 in the morning we took one last picture from “The Last Tour.” Then we headed home and to bed. 

District Championship in Pictures