May 2017

May was a month full of prep for the end of the school year.  May 1st I got to spend the entire day in the middle school library doing inventory.  A whole day playing is books is my idea of heaven.  

May 2nd Naomi tried out for the school talent show.  She chose to sing "Because of You" by Kelli Clarkson and practiced for weeks.  I was so proud of her for being so confident.  I would have beena nervous wreck.

May 4th was the senior march.  It is a tradition at Lake Norman Charter for the seniors, all dressed up in the caps and gowns, to parade through the middle school.  The middle schoolers line the hallways and clap.  The seniors love it and the middle school kids say it inspires them to do better in school.  I guess you could call that a win-win.  Jeremy loved it.  

Naomi also found out that day that she did not make the talent show.  She wasn't discouraged.  There were 50 acts that tried out and only 18 made it.  She said she will try out again next year.  

May 5th we went to see Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.  It was everything we expected and more.  So much fun!!!

After months of waiting the day finally arrived!!!

I love this picture.  Dianna posted it on Facebook and I just had to put it here as part of our family history.  This is Steve, Dianna holding Ginger and Melonie. 

I finished painting all the cabinets and shelves in the bonus room.  It turned out much better than I imagined it and I had imagined it as being amazing.  It is nice to have this room done.  The house feels complete now...after 15 years of living here.

The new storage cabinet.

My workstation.  It is finally complete.  

May 10th through the 12th I got to sub in the 8th grade with those that didn't go on the field trip.  We worked on make-up work in the morning and then played in the afternoon.  I brought all sorts of games.  We did a lock-box activity one day which worked brilliantly the first time but the second time the letters had gotten rubbed off the letter lock and we could not get it undone.  It ended up being okay though.  The kids learned about the different types of communication through the ages and they still got their candy.  Nick was thrilled because he got to use his dremel to cut the lock off for me.  

He is definitely his daddy's kid.  They both love their power tools. 

We also did some Minute to Win It games the last day.  I was a little frustrated because I was told to prepare a lesson for those days and had a travel through time project ready for them to do complete with green screen movie making and total creativity.  It would all be just for fun.  I even brought my popcorn popper and the Peabody and Sherman movie to watch in the afternoon.  We didn't get to any of it except for the lock box (which the kids really enjoyed).  Some of the kids really needed the time to get some make up work done, but there were a good number that were just bored.  We did manage a little fun here and there along the way. 

On the bright side, I finished my 30 days of antibiotic and the perioral dermatitis is GONE!!!  Also, when I got home that last day I just wanted to chill.  I turned on the television and the Ellen Degeneres show was on.  Her guest was Chris Pratt and they were playing his favorite game, "Speak Out".  Here is the link if you want a good laugh.    http://ellentube.com/videos/0-pmd0p6dc/

May 16th was Senior Awards Night.  We thought Jeremy had received an invitation because of his scholarship to SVU but were pleasantly surprised to find that he was the recipient of the Wilson-Beatty VFW Memorial Scholarship. It was a fun application to fill out because Jeremy learned so much about his Great-Grandpa Taylor and the service he provided in the military, most notably in WWII.  This scholarship is doubly cool because not only did Jeremy get money for college, but Great-Grandpa Taylor's picture is now displayed on the wall at the Wilson Beatty Post 9736 building.  

Jeremy receiving his scholarship from Commander William D. Abernathy

All of the scholarship recipients.  Together, the Lake Norman Charter seniors amassed over eight million dollars in scholarships.  

Jeremy is still a little stunned, but it is sooooo cool. 

May 17th Jeremy went to his CPCC orientation.  He said it made him more excited about going to CPCC instead of SVU.  There are more options and he gets to stay at home and have a car.  I am relieved he is being such a trooper about this because he was really looking forward to going away to school.

That night we had our last soccer practice.  This team has been so much fun for Naomi.  Coach Carissa is so supportive and the girls learned a lot and gelled as a team.

May 18th was the Knight of the Arts.  All the arts teachers were on showcase here.  Mrs. Mervine had art projects from throughout the year displayed all over the library.  Mr. Willets had his theater and dance kids perform.  Mr. Venable showcased some of his band students.  Naomi went to try outs and was selected to do a solo.

She really loves Mr. Venable.  He is a teacher, mentor and friend.

She loves playing the clarinet and it shows. 

After the band showcase we hurried into the Cafetorium for the choir performance.  Mrs. Connell had something prepared from each of her choir classes.

Naomi loves to sing as well!

The 5th grade choir

5th and 6th grade combined

 May 19th was the Concert on the Green.  The band set up on the track and the audience sat on the football field for the final concert of the season.  It was great.  Each grade performed.  The Knight Riders (the elite high school band) played a few and the drum line did a routine as well.  At the end, as a special treat, Irrashional gave a private concert.  This band is made up of several students from our school.  The lead guitarist, Patrick Dukes, has been invited to California the last two years to their Grammy school to study over the summer.  They are sooo soooo good.  It was a great night. The concert was a tribute to Mr. Venable who was retiring at the end of the this school year.

Naomi doing her thing in the clarinet section.

The whole 5th grade band.

May 20th, the final soccer game of the season.  It was great.  After a hard fought battle, we ended in a tie.  All the girls enjoyed this game the most out of any we have played the whole season.

Naomi and Ashley on defense.

Afterwards we had a party and handed out the awards.  These girls really enjoyed playing together this season.  Maybe we will see some of them next season.

Enjoying a snack and some shade.

Signing each others shirts.

Naomi's Spring 2017 soccer picture.

Team Pride
front row left to right:  Marion, Macey, Anna, Haylie, Kylie, Ava
back row left to right:  Coach Carissa, Naomi, Melody, Ashley, Emily and Kayla (Chicken Nugget)

Nick also started Driver's Ed on May 20th.  He went the 6 hours for 5 Saturdays route instead of every day after school for 5 weeks.  He said it wasn't as boring as he thought it would be.  That is a good sign. 

Naomi was so happy because the pools opened on the 20th as well.  You must understand that this is the first thing she puts on her new calendar every year.  It is her favorite day of the year next to Christmas and her birthday.  

May 21st all the graduating seniors were invited to attend the Single's Ward.  Jeremy said it was interesting, but had potential.  

May 25th, Jeremy finished up his last final.  He is officially done with high school.  That same day when we were dropping Clayton off at his house we found a huge turtle in his front yard.  The turtle had a star painted on it's back so Jeremy suggested Clayton name it Star.  Just to annoy Jeremy (they are like brothers and love to pick on each other) Clayton decided to name it Pentagon.  We all got a good laugh about that one.  

Naomi with Pentagon

May 25th the youth played broom hockey in the church parking lot.  This group of kids has a great time getting together and just playing.  I love being in the youth program.

Dividing up into teams.

May 26th Landon Stewart got married.  Landon was Naomi's FAVORITE babysitter ever.  They asked Naomi to come and help out with the water station making sure it was filled and ready for the guests.  She took her responsibility very seriously and loved every minute of helping.  I got to help serve the dessert which was fun because I got to say hello to everyone as they went through the line.  It was a beautiful and fun night.

May 27th we finally had some time to do some yard work as a family.  It goes so much faster when everyone is helping.  The front yard is now weeded and looks so much better.  After some lunch, Steve took Naomi and Nick to the pool and Jeremy and I went to Aldi (which is finally done with the remodeling.  It has been closed for two months!!!)  We also went to the ward Memorial Day weekend picnic at Frank Liske Park.

May 29th we went to the pool in the morning and BBQ'd in the afternoon.  Steve got to use his new barbecue, in the pouring rain, but it was worth it!!

Steve enjoying his Father's Day gift in the rain.

May 30th was the traditional end-of-year bowling party for the 5th grade.  Naomi had a blast bowling with her friends.  It has been an amazing first year at LNC for her.