Basketball Season

The JV team leaves the season with a 13-3 record. Evan had 19 points in last night’s game. In the varsity game, he went 1 for 1 on the foul line and had two steals. Next week the district tournament begins for the varsity team. 

Hoco 2019

Hoco 2019 was a great night, but it didn’t go off as planned. First, Evan called Wes from work, just as Wes and Keagan were headed out the door for a soccer game, that he needed his bowtie tied. Wes couldn’t locate it, and after 30 min found it hanging on the hangar where I so neatly organized the boys’ formal wear the week before. The long search made Keagan late for warmups. Evan got home from reffing and decided to take a nap. He overslept and then had to rush to make it in time for pics. The AR for Keagan’s game was 45 min late arriving to the field, and that meant Keagan was missing now pics and dinner with his Hoco date and friends. Evan got to pics with a crooked tie and in every pic it is cock-eyed! He grabbed both corsages in his rush out the door, and when Keagan got home, he couldn’t find the one for his date. Keagan finally got to pics after sunset, and every pic was taken in the dark. So this is what I got! 

Next year I will be sure to avoid calendar conflicts and be home!

First Day of School

It’s the first day of school for the boys and the third day in third grade for me. Both boys are in high school and I’m only 29 years old. 😂 Really, I can’t believe I’m this old. In my mind they are still this age. 

The students were released at 11:00 today after a short meet and greet with each teacher. After school, the boys met Evan’s friends (the varsity basketball team) at Waffle House for breakfast. They had quite the experience. Evan became upset when his biscuts and gravy were delayed getting out of the kitchen. Evan had to say something to the waitress, and Keagan got super embarrassed. The waitress got attitude and Evan left stomping mad mumbling, “It doesn’t matter if you have the job of the president or a waitressing job at Waffle House, you should put your best effort into your work. She wasn’t even trying.” He decided to leave, walked to the front cashier to pay, and the waitress asked for his ticket. Unfamiliar with “tickets” and procedures for paying for food at a diner, he had thrown it away. She made him dig it out of the trash. He dug it out, paid. and left. He wasn’t even on 24 yet when his friends called and told him the waitress was demanding an apology for attempting to steal food. She even threatened to email the highschool basketball coach! 

Evan said to me later tonight, “I knew we should have gone to Huddle House!”

First Day of School

Last night Evan asked me to take him to the mall so he could look for a yellow shirt. He said sophomores had to wear yellow on the first day of school for color wars. The mall was closed. I pulled out his bright yellow soccer jersey, but Evan said that was too yellow. I pulled out a Gap shirt with yellow stripes, but that was not bright enough. Evan pulled out a basketball T-shirt that was thrown into the stands during halftime. I reminded him he doesn’t play basketball, but that didn’t matter because it was just the right amount of yellow. 

I guess it could have been worse. Evan could have decided to wear this to school instead of the aisles at WalMart. 

Keagan had to wear an outfit that matched his new black shoes. I picked out black shorts and a gray polo. Keagan told me he doesn’t wear polos. So why did I buy you two new polos last week just for school? He picked out a soccer camp T-shirt that he got for free two summers ago. That was a no-go for sure! Then he changed into this Thrasher shirt (only mildly better, in my opinion.)

What he might lack in fashion sense, he totally makes up for with his sense of humor. On our way outside for the traditional first day photo, he stopped off at the telescope and said, “Lookin’ into my bright future, right here.” 

First Day of School

Look at these handsome guys! It's the first day of ninth and seventh grades. Middle school AND high school! Clearly I'm not old enough for this to be possible. 

I remember when the were ages 5 and 3, and I thought that this was surely the best time to be a mother. I really thought it just couldn't be a more fun time and age. But I'm loving the teenage years just as much. Keagan is still funny and Evan still surprises me! Every. Day.

Keagan has been waiting for the new school year to begin for weeks; he was ready to see his friends again. Now that he has caught up with them, he's ready for summer to resume. 

Evan was not thrilled about returning to school, and to make matters worse, day one included a pep-rally. He was ready to crawl right back into bed.

His hair was lit, though, y'all!

I pray they have a wonderful year filled with lasting memories!

End of School Year Celebration

The last full day of school - Evan's last day of middle school - has come and gone. We spent the morning at honor roll assemblies, 

 

 

In keeping with tradition, we started summer vacation at Dairy Queen. As a gift for making honor roll, the principal excused the boys from the last half day. 

 

It's my favorite time of the year! The first few days of summer bring no alarms, late nights, warm days, and relaxed schedules. It is everything we have waited for and wanted for months! Then today we wake up to heavy rains, temps in the 50s, an appointment to have two toenails removed, and a failed attempt at making state in soccer. To top it off, the boys are at home, and I must return to work for three more weeks! Come on, June 14th (and warm weather)! I can't wait to see you!

Last Day for Everything

Today was Evan's last Field Day. He was not pleased with the events announced for this year's races, and he told me he had no intention of running a race with pool noodles in between his legs or running in a sack. So today when I asked how it went, he told me the day was just "ok". His pictures prove otherwise.

 

He must have been doing something to get so hot, he had to do this! His math teacher sent me this picture with the caption "you're kid." I couldn't admit he has done this previously, so I replied "what in the world?" I tried to persuade her I was just as shocked, but I really wasn't. 

 

And in this picture he's with his girl, his friends, and he has a smile bigger than Texas. I think he had fun - real fun - even if the hotdogs were "fake." Aren't they all fake meat?

Keagan, on the other hand, reported it was a great day. His team won the 4-100 relay and he won first in the 50 yard dash. He even has the plastic first place medals to prove it! His shorts were stained with red mud, his face was lined with war paint, and he had dirt slung up the back of his shirt. This kid must have been running hard!

 

 

So why does he look like he's taking a mug shot? I don't even understand?!?!

He told me tonight he is rethinking that decision he made four years ago to stop running. He thinks he might need to take a season to explore track and field.

Ohh, Lightning! Please do!

One Day Away From Summer

Today was the last full day of the school year. Evan had field day, and normally I would be sure that he spent the day persuading everyone the importance of winning. But since I'm not sure I really know my 13 year old any more, this may not be accurate.

Here's a picture I lifted from his IG account. Outside my own classroom filled with exclusively military dependents, I promise I've never seen a more diverse group of friends. This is the absolute best reason to love our middle school.

Keagan celebrated the last full day with fourth quarter awards. He met his reading goal this quarter, made honor roll, and got the music award for his fingering skills with the recorder. 

After school was the fifth grade celebration and party. Keagan can make friends with anyone and always seems to be meeting someone new. Today I met two of his new friends.

Last week he told me his lunch account was low because he was buying icecream every Wednesday for himself and a friend. He said he felt badly for the kid because on Fridays the school counselor always brought him a bag of food to eat on the weekends. He said, "It's not fair when everyone gets Hostess cupcakes and he doesn't, so I decided to make sure he got a dessert, too." He has a heart of gold, People.

I can almost see the day where I get to sleep in past 0500. Oh, how I've missed you, Summer!

Back to School

I was teaching seventh grade math when Evan was born. I took him to school with me when he was an infant. I had him on my hip while solving examples of fraction word problems on the whiteboard. I can't even believe that Evan started seventh grade today. In my mind he should still be that infant, or at the very least a toddler, not a teen in middle school!

He reported today that his teachers are great. This is BIG for Evan. I mean BIG. He has never come home after the first day of school with such a positive report. 

This guy started fifth grade. This is the first year that Keagan has attended the same school and same grade as his big brother. As luck would have it, he also got Evan's former teachers. Keagan wasn't phased one bit when the teacher told him he had big shoes to fill. He is ready to prove he is as smart as his big brother!

Keagan reported that school was just okay, lunch couldn't come fast enough, and he's still the best baller in before school care. 

First Day of School

It's back to school time for all of us....starting today. Evan began middle school

and Keagan began fourth grade.

I don't think any of us were quite ready for what the day held. I was not prepared to send my boy to middle school. Evan was depressed thinking of making new friends in what is now his fourth school in seven years, and Keagan still hates school. He began tearing up when it came time to walk to the door of the school. I think we all three shed a tear this morning. 

A first day wouldn't be complete without the afternoon recap. You might remember that last year the boys were most impressed with the cleanliness of the bathrooms. However, this is the first year that neither boy's best memory of the first day of school included food. Here it goes anyway. After school, Evan rode the bus to the high school, and within those short five minutes sitting in the bus lot loading a few students, he decided that the "high school student population is more diverse than the city of DC" with "goths, gays, jocks, and girls dressed as three time Oscar winners" all in one place. It was not lost to me that his most memorable moment of his first day of middle school was actually about high school. It was as if we skipped those middle school years and entered high school. 

Keagan's first day of school report included an explanation for his bleached shorts. He sat on the bleachers just after the janitor finished cleaning, and when he stood up, his blue shorts were white. 

I would like to think summer is just around the corner, but I can't ignore the 179 days of school that separate us from next Memorial Day.

Art Fair

Tonight was the school art fair. Just like last year, the boys pleaded with me to skip the event; they tried their best to persuade me that soccer practice was more important. Just like last year, I was adamant about seeing their work. I yelled until they got in the car. You might be concerned with my mention of yelling, but I actually consider a few screams a success because last year I had to threaten spending soccer games on the bench to get the boys in the car. 

There were hundreds of people at the school when we arrived. Keagan commented, "I don't get it! Why are there so many people who want to look at art?"

Evan's class created power points in technology class and made hot air balloons as part of their WW2 unit. Supposedly hot air balloons were used to block air space so that enemy attacks were more difficult. Only one side of Evan's balloon actually got painted, and I am still trying to figure out why he came home with red paint all over his shirt on Tuesday when his balloon is blue. It will remain a mystery because I'm afraid of the truth. Evan's class also painted landscapes and flowers. Evan's flower was beautiful. I was so impressed and said as much. Evan responded, "Don't get excited, Mom! I had someone else do it for me. They owed me a favor."

 Keagan's class created super heroes, made mixed media owls, and wrote I Am poems in technology class. Should I be concerned that he sees cats and dogs fighting at school? I actually laughed when I saw his super hero. I laughed so hard, I cried. His teacher laughed along with us and commented that Keagan might not excel at art, but he can excel in the academics. She led us to the classroom to the book fair projects.

He earned a 100 on this project. My OCD couldn't keep me calm enough to actually read the board. I wanted to rip off those crooked pieces of paper on orange construction paper and so badly that I finally just walked away. God forbid, if a student tried to turn that in to me! 

So we survived another art fair, and I have several more pieces of art to add to my collection. The school was absolutely stunning with the walls covered in beautiful works of art. 

But to see the boys surrounded by friends was definitely the most heart warming. 

Parachutes and Guitars

The boys are required to complete a STEM challenge each quarter. The third quarter challenge is the most popular, though, because each class chooses a winning team to advance to a school-wide challenge. Keagan and his team constructed a musical instrument that could make low and high pitch sounds.

With a Kleenex box, rubber bands, and a toilet paper roll they created a guitar - complete with zebra stripes and fluorescent green tape.

Keagan's team completed the interview process quite well, but they were not deemed the school wide winners.

Evan's class was tasked with creating a parachute that would allow a Dixie cup fall to the ground right side up. Evan's team won the class level challenge and also advanced to the school wide event.

The boys refused to take a picture with the girl in the group, but when I casually mentioned that she step out of the shadows and into the picture, she looked at me with fright in her eyes. I guess she was as opposed to the idea as the boys were.

Evan dominated the interview process, but I think the "team" effort was lost when no one else could answer the questions about the chosen design. His team didn't win the school challenge either.

So we left the school for soccer practice. We can win all kinds of challenges on the soccer fields.

First Day of School

It was the first day of first grade, and Keagan said school was just okay. The highlight of the day, he reported, was the bus ride because they have a new stop this year and he couldn't believe his ears when "that country boy" got on the bus and told the bus driver, "Hiiii, my name is Bubba. What's yours?" Keagan relayed the story in perfect Georgian twang.

Today Evan started third grade and as usual, he had very little to report. He didn't even mention what he had for lunch.

In only nine hours we will be right back here: the neighborhood bus stop. I don't expect the same level of excitement or smiles.