Hey now, you're an All-Star!

Andrew was selected to play on the All-Star team in his league this year. They had a home run derby, and Andrew tied for 2nd place with two home runs! Here is some video of the second one...

It was a very official event, with bunting decorating the backstops, calling the players out onto the field, and the national anthem.  Andrew made a great showing, with a walk, an out that advanced the runner, and a double, and in the end, his team won!

Ready at shortstop--his favorite position!

Notice where the ball is?  In the glove for a strike!

About to score!

Our vote for MVP

The winning team

This time last week...

...I was less than a week into my 37th year. (Late 30's! Yikes!)

...I had embarked on a family history trip to Kansas and Missouri with my mom.

...I had visited the courthouse where my grandparents were married.

...I had seen the houses where my grandpa grew up in Sedalia, Missouri, and the houses he had lived in with my grandma as newlyweds and young parents.

...I had traveled many unpaved back roads in the middle of nowhere.

...I had met this guy trying to cross the road.  Twice.

...I had seen many windy Kansas wheat fields (only the most die-hard John Denver fans will get that reference).

...I had gotten a text that Leah had been hit by a car that was backing out of the driveway while she was riding her bike to band practice.  A frantic phone call home reassured me both that she was all right and that the guilty party had been appropriately freaked out by what she had done.

...I had been reassured by my mother that the lady who gave us directions to get back on the freeway we had detoured off of had crossed this bridge many times and found it to be perfectly safe.

...I had spend a long time watching the threatening Missouri skies waiting to get a picture of lightning.

...I had just found out that I would come home to a husband with a broken foot.

...I had tromped through countless cemeteries looking for headstones with familiar names in the scorching heat and humidity.

...I had learned that Brooke had been cast for multiple parts in a play she auditioned for.

...I had eaten the same delicious Midwest BBQ that Guy Fieri had eaten.

...I had spent a lovely Sunday with my mom's aunts and uncles, touring the town they all grew up in, listening to their memories, and trying to make up for the last time I saw them at the age of 16 and probably didn't speak more than a couple of sentences to them.

...I was about to learn more about our church's history at the Independence Visitor's Center.

...I was about to see a beautiful temple under construction.

...I would navigate and be navigated, would drive and be driven, would set out with no map, and would stop in a McDonald's parking lot to figure out where we were, would traverse back and forth across the greater Kansas City area.

...I stood with my mom as she fought with rental car companies and Priceline, as she stood on the site where her grandmother was murdered in 1923, as she decided that we needed a Brownie Batter Blizzard from Dairy Queen, as we searched through endless records looking for those who are wanting to be found, as we listened to her uncle explain to me the difference between English and black walnuts, as we learned more about what happened in Liberty Jail, as she fought back tears while saying goodbye to the few family members she has left.

This time last week, as always, when the past and present were so very close, I was so grateful to know that families can be together forever.

The end.

We have closed the books on yet another school year.  The last few weeks came fast and furious.

Brooke had a presentation on wind energy that she gave in front of half the 5th grade.

She also graduated from the DARE program.

Emma and Leah had a major social studies project that created some major drama.  Behold, the final result.

A medieval castle.

And an abacus.

Do not let the smiles fool you.

The actual day itself could not have been any more crazy.  First off, it was 90+ degrees.  Which is not going to make anything any easier.  After some meltdowns (by both children and adults) as people were on their way out the door, I headed up to Brooke's school to get field day set up, stopping in her classroom first to drop off presents and take pictures. 

I left there at noon to grab some lunch on my way to sub at another school for a friend.  When I got home, our contractor was here to inform me that they would start installing our new windows that afternoon.  OK, I'm really happy that it is FINALLY happening (that post is coming...), but now I have to scramble around trying to get window treatments down, pictures off the walls, and a little straightening done so that the workers don't think we are complete slobs.   After some bent brackets, a splash of salsa on my white shirt as I chowed my burrito, and realizing that my window treatments are in need of a serious cleaning, I made it out the door in time.

I had to rush home from the sub job to be here when Andrew got off the bus.  There I was, waiting eagerly on the front porch, camera in hand, and here is what I got:

Nice tongue.

Brooke got home, a half hour later, but I was tied up on the phone dealing with some church business, so I missed getting her picture. Emma and Leah had ridden their bikes from school straight to swim practice. They texted that there were a lot of "other" kids at the pool, which got me thinking--is the pool already open? I didn't think it was because of swim team, but lo and behold. So on the fly, I decided to take Andrew and Brooke to the pool and surprise the girls.

A perfect way to spend a blistering afternoon.

The evening was crazy because we had to get the upstairs ready for windows the next day.  The workers would have to be able to actually cross a room to get to a window.  That meant that the floor needed to be clear.  And, of course, there's no way anyone (workers or otherwise) would be coming upstairs without a little light cleaning first.

Oh, and we had to run to Lowe's to pick out a new front door.

Since Andrew's room was (miraculously) already clean, he came with Glenn and me, and the girls stayed back to get their rooms under control.  Not the way a kid wants to spend their first evening of no responsibility, so I promised I'd make it up to them.

Mitchell's will make any day great.

The day ended with the kids crashing in the basement to escape the heat and the impending demolition that would begin early the next morning.

And today, on the first day of summer, we closed the school year with one last trip to the school to say good bye to a teacher that has made a deep and lasting impression on all my girls--and me.  Believe me when I tell you that this teacher is the epitome of perfection in education.

I am so grateful that my girls all got to have her.  And thanking her for all that she's done was the perfect cap to our year.

   2 good

+  2 be___

    4 gotten

The rains came down, and the games got cancelled.

Just when we thought we'd be washed away in the floods, Tuesday night Andrew finally got to play a baseball game. And my camera batteries were dead. Thank goodness for cell phones.

Here's hoping we'll be able to get the rest of the games in.  There's no rain check in baseball.

In Memoriam (and out of memoriam)

What I would like to remember about Memorial Day:

• Those who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms.
• A fun ward activity with a yummy breakfast.
• The opportunity to do some service at the church building.
• A nap.
• My mom's birthday.

What I am trying to forget about Memorial Day:

• Those super annoying birds who woke us up at 5:30am.
• Being slammed hard by summer heat.
• Dripping sweat and soaking through my shirt while participating in the service project.
• Losing my cool over a ridiculous social studies project.
• Recording a show called "World's Worst Teenagers" just to make myself feel better.

Hope your holiday was a memorable one!

Music a la All Day Long

We finished up the musical school year with the annual Music a la Mode event.  This year we added Brooke to the mix, so with Emma being in jazz band this year, we had five performances to watch.  Throw in my volunteering shift that started at 10:00am, and stick in three performances from Sydney there in the middle, and you realize you'll be at the performing arts center until about 4:00 that afternoon.  It's a lovely event, and a lot of fun to see all the groups perform, but it makes for a long day.  And I have to admit that I skipped out on a couple of Sydney's performances to take Brooke home and grab some lunch.  (Unlike my children, I wasn't thrilled about my lunch consisting of the two servings of cake and ice cream that is the real attraction of the day.)

Mackenzie, I was hoping for a picture with some tongue sticking out, but no luck!  She was still able to play just fine.

This picture was taken after searching and searching for Brooke in the group, not spotting her, worrying that she had missed her time to get to the stage and envisioning her freaking out somewhere because she wasn't where she was supposed to be.  We found her.  Glenn has instructed me to put something big and bright in her hair next time.

Emma thrilled as ever to be singing in the choir.

Leah with a surprise turn on the slide whistle.  She is an amazing slide whistler.  Who knew.

A lovely song by the 7th grade choir. Inside scoop: most of the boy's singing that you hear is actually the choir director singing really loud.

And that's a wrap!

Do ya hear that, New York? The frog is STAYin'!

(and if you don't get the obscure Kermit the Frog reference above, 
you need to brush up on your Muppets Take Manhattan quotes!)

When it was announced last year that American Greetings was looking to move its world headquarters out of Brooklyn, Ohio, there were several cities on the list of possibilities.  On one extreme we had Chicago, and on the other, Westlake.  I could neither fathom nor stomach the thought of moving away from Cleveland, but I dare not hope that AG would move into our own backyard.  Literally.

Earlier this year we got word that, due to our fine governor and his tax breaks for big business (never mind his total disregard for public schools, that's a whole different topic), American Greetings would indeed be staying in Ohio.  What a relief.  Still, the question remained as to where AG would eventually end up.

Until today.  Yesiree, my friends, the news broke this morning at 10:00 EST that American Greetings is moving to Westlake!  Can you believe it?  We are incredibly happy.  And you know what this really means, don't you...

Glenn doesn't need a new car after all!  Get your bike tuned up, honey!