School's Out For Summer

There have been a lot of goings on around here and I've got some pent up bragging to do. Sophie did awesome at her dance recital. She got a trophy for "leadership" which I suspect might be a nice way of saying she is bossy in class, but I'm still going to be proud because she just plain rocked her dance moves. She got it all from watching me.

Publish Post

Since the end of the world was miscalculated and did not happen on May 21st, Jake was able to play in his minor league championship game, which the Cubs won easily on a 10-run mercy rule. They now will continue on in the tournament of champions in which they will play the other minor league champs for the surrounding little leagues. The word on the street is that they got thumped last year, so this might be a humbling experience for Jake. Wes and I call him "ice" because he seems fairly unfazed by pressure, so I am anxious to see how they fare. The schedule is not out yet, but it will take place sometime the week of June 6 at the ball fields at Val Vista and Southern. I'll send a shout out when I know more, because I know everyone is dying to go! Maybe not, but you should be. These games are fun to watch and for once are not in North Tucson, so c'mon down!

Speaking of c'mon down, I can scratch "Spin the Price Is Right Wheel" off my bucket list. Wes took me on an anniversary trip (12 years now) to Las Vegas. We went to the Vegas version of Price is Right. It's basically the same except for crappy prizes and the host isn't exactly Bob Barker or Drew Carey. Anyway I didn't win anything except for 100 casino bonus points, which is the equivalent of a soda and candy bar in the casino lobby, and I had to pay 20 bucks for a picture of me spinning it, but I'm still counting it. I have a weird affection for game shows. I have no interest in soaps or most other daytime TV, but I've been known to watch Game Show Network on occasion. Sometimes an 70's episode of creepy Richard Dawson hosting Family Fued just hits the spot for me.  I can't really explain it.

Report cards came home the last day of school and I am the proud owner of two brand new "My student is honor student." bumper stickers to add to my collection. Both boys got straight A's and were on the Dean's List. Dylan got 100% in science, health, and social studies and improved his reading grade by a full ten percentage points from last quarter. In a way, I think the craziness of baseball season actually helped them in school because it forced us to be more disciplined in order to fit all those games and practices in... or the bar in QC schools is very low. It's hard to say for sure.

Memorial Day consisted of a lot of fun in the sun at Grandpa and Grandma's pool. The kids love being able to see them so frequently and really enjoy the pool time. I have a clean slate for the summer for the kids. I've been guilty of over scheduling summer in the past, and this year, I swung the other way and literally have nothing planned for them - no vacations, classes, teams, camps, etc.  I'm a little panicked about that but with Grandma's pool and a motivation to keep the academics fresh in their minds, I'm hoping I don't lose my mind. Wes has worked tirelessly on getting a sprinkler system and sod for the backyard so that we can at least have some options for them outside. I didn't really get indoor kids, so that should help.

We are getting excited about welcoming a couple new cousins to the family. We are anxiously awaiting the birth of Cory and Ashley's twin girls. Ashley is 35 weeks along and on best rest to try to squeeze out some more time to get their lungs fully ripe. I can't imagine carrying twins. Ashley has been a trooper and I'm sure is also anxious to be done and finally meet her girls as well. We can't wait!  (I would post a picture, but somehow I think full term pregnant women of twins don't always appreciate their picture being posted on line without their permission. You'll just have to trust me that she looks cute.)