May 2018

We hit the ground running in May.  On the 1st Naomi and Ashley tried out for the talent show.  That evening Naomi had her first temple recommend interview in preparation for going to the temple with Grandma and Grandpa when we are in Utah in June.  Jeremy met with the bishop to be interviewed for his advancement to the Melchizedek priesthood.  Everyone is growing up way too fast.

May 2nd was bottle rocket day at the middle school and I got to be there.  The entire 7th grade spent the day on the football field while each of the science classes got a chance to try out their bottle rocket designs.  It was so much fun to cheer on all the groups.

May 3rd Naomi and Ashley found out they had made it into the talent show.  They were both really excited and surprised.

May 4th Mrs Tilley and I got to substitute for the 8th graders that stayed behind on the field trip.  It was a small day - there were only 18 kids.  We played games and watched "Second Hand Lions".  It was a good day.  Steve picked Nick up early from school in order to go to a Priesthood Commemoration Campout so Naomi and I stayed after for the movie club.

May 5th Steve and Nick worked on Nick's Eagle project and I took Naomi to her soccer game.  They WON!!!  It was really cool to watch because this team has grown so much since the beginning of the season.

Naomi and Naomi.  They were both playing the same position and it got a little confusing, but they loved it.  

Chilling during half-time. 

Naomi is playing goalie.  She is really good, but it still makes me nervous.  I stand and yell, "DEFENSE!" anytime the ball gets anywhere near the goal.  

The young man in the middle of the picture is named Jake.  He and Naomi had a good time playing together.  He was my favorite because whenever she was in the goalie box he would play an extra-intense level of defense.  

Good- Game line

Finishing up with the staining. 

Nick was being silly!  When I tried to take his picture while staining he grabbed a hammer and posed with that instead.  

The signs are finally all ready to install 

That night, for Cinco de Mayo, we had the Ball and Arias families over for a Cafe Rio dinner.  It was a fun night of great friends, good food and relaxing in some hammocks Steve got while on his mission in Mexico.  These are the moments that make life so much fun and worth all the other stuff.  

May 8th I was fitted for my crown.  It wasn't terrible but I don't want to do it anytime soon.  The grinding down of the tooth was the worst part.  I wasn't too fond of the temporary crown either. 

May 11th we all went to Hind's Feet to install the last of the signs.  We worked fast and furious to get all the signs in place before it got dark.  As we were placing the last sign it really started to rain, but we did get it all done!!!  It was so much fun to get everything done.  Now all they have to do it write up the final paperwork.  Nick is almost officially an Eagle.  

Putting the sign on the "Founder's Cottage"  

We needed one more pole.  

Nick is getting to be a pro at this stuff.  

Hanging signs on the buildings.  

Finishing up the directional signs.  

"The Forge" was one of the coolest signs they made.  

Finishing up in the dark and it is about to...

...pour down rain!!!

One of Nick's favorite signs.  It welcomed you on one side and...

...said goodbye on the other.  

May 12th I had to miss Naomi's soccer game to go to seminary in-service.  I had missed in April because of Nick's party and didn't feel I could miss again.  Because if this I missed Naomi's only goal of the season.  She usually plays defense and so in not in the position to score.  I was sad, but Steve was there to cheer her on.   After the game, Steve and Naomi went to mow one lawn while Nick mowed our neighbor's lawn.  We had double booked Nick on accident so Naomi stepped in to help out.  After everyone was back home we went to see "Infinity Wars" as a family.  For the first time ever I was grateful for spoilers.  I don't know how I would have processed that ending without a little bit of a warning.  WHAT??!!!????!!!?!??!??!??!?

These are Eastern Bluebirds and they are nesting in the box just outside our front window!!  Sorry for the blurry picture.  I had to take it through the slats of the blinds since these birds are easily spooked.  

May 14th we got a new mailbox because ours got backed into by a guest at the neighbors house.  No big deal, it needed to be replaced anyway.

Mother's Day flowers from Steve and the kids.  

May 16th I got my official crown.  Funny, I don't feel like royalty like I thought I would (eye-roll from the kids).  

May 17th was a really fun day.  I got to chaperone on the 6th grade zoo trip.  Once we were divided into groups (mine was the easiest group ever - Naomi, Ashley and Nakitha) we loaded onto the buses and headed to Asheboro.  We played Apples to Apples the whole way there.  It was so much fun.  Naomi and Ashley were laughing about the cards they won.  

These are the cards Ashley won.  They tell a lot about her personality.  

Same with Naomi.  

It was raining when we arrived but cleared up quickly.   Most of the animals the girls wanted to see were in North America so we spent the whole day on that half of the zoo.  Maybe next time we will get to see Africa.  By the time we got to the middle of the zoo and had lunch it was time to head back to the buses.  I suggested we hoof it back to the front but the girls vetoed me and we ended up taking the zoo bus back to the top.  It was a fun ride because the boys in the car in front of us kept making silly faces.  This group of kids in the 6th grade is really close.  I love that Naomi knows all the kids in her grade.

Our entertainment while on the zoo bus  

Back at home Naomi and I cleaned up a little bit and then headed out with Steve to the Knight of the Arts.  It is the one night of the year where the arts teachers get to let their students show off.  The dance, drama, band and chorus kids perform and the art teacher displays the various projects from throughout the year.  It is a really fun night and Naomi wanted to us to see her stuff.  I also got to help out a little at the book fair so Mrs. Rogowski could take a little break.  We were all exhausted at the end of the day, but it was a good kind of exhaustion.

Friday, May 18th was the last day of seminary.  The kids all showed up and we had a breakfast and awards ceremony for the two graduates.  As hard as it was during parts of the year to have a lesson planned for every morning and to get up at 5 to teach that lesson, these kids are worth it.

My amazing seminary students.
Front row (l to r): Celeste, Journey, Nick, Mary
Back row (l to r): Joshua, Garrison, Autumn, Kaylee, Hunter, Josh, Michael, Naloni

May 18th was also the final band concert for the year.  It had been raining all day long so the concert was moved into the high school gymnasium.  That didn't decrease the fun of the night one bit.  The kids have improved so much and I think Mr. Scarengelli can count his first year at LNC a success.  Our kids loved it because we had dinner at the food trucks that were waiting outside.

The last band concert of the year.  

Naomi is in the second row on the left hand side.  She had such a good time in band this year.  

May 19th the last soccer game of the season was rained out.  Naomi was bummed, but what can you do when you live in a rainy state like North Carolina?!

May 20th Jeremy was ordained to the office of an Elder.  It is really weird that this whole growing up thing is really happening.  His mission papers are almost ready to go in as well.  

May 23rd was a historic day.  After proctoring over 18+  EOGs throughout the years I was finally promoted to EOG central. I got to wander the halls and make sure the teachers had everything they needed.  I also answered the phone and routed messages.  After the test was over I helped to organize and alphabetize and verify the information on all the forms.  It was heaven.  

May 24th I guess I passed the test because I was in EOG central again for the day.  Mr. Bauer and Mrs. Shipman run a really tight and organized ship.  I was amazed to see everything that went to making sure the test was administered properly. I love my kids' school.   

May 25th was a practice for the talent show.  Naomi and Ashley had fun feeling all professional with a mic check and lights and everything.  They are very excited... but not as excited as Naomi was to FINALLY have a dog (for the weekend).  The Poleras asked Naomi to dog sit for them while they were out of town for Memorial Day weekend.  Felix is a Chiweenie and is the cutest little guy ever.  We all really enjoyed having him around.  Felix REALLY liked Nick because Nick would lay down on the couch instead of sit and then Felix would come and lick his ears and face.  It was hilarious to watch.  Even with all the cuteness and fun, Steve still says "NO!" to a dog.  

Felix went where ever Naomi went.  

He would jump on her lap every time she sat down.  

Look at that face!!!

Watching for Mommy and Daddy to come back!!

Over the Memorial Day weekend (when we weren't playing with Felix) we also attended a graduation party for Garrison Stewart, a mission farewell party for Justice Stewart, washed the outside of the house so we wouldn't get a notification from the home owner's association saying we had mold on the house and did some yard work.  It was a great weekend.  

Oh yes!  We also turned in Jeremy's mission papers.  Whew!  That was a process, but it will be worth it.  

Jeremy all done up like a missionary for his paperwork submission.  

May 29th and 30th Nick took his last finals for the year.  He also helped in the middle school library with boxing up books that were to be donated.  Our neighbor, Carolyn, works with underprivileged kids and wanted the books for the homes where the kids stay.  Mrs. Rogowski was extra happy that the books weren't just going to Goodwill, but to homes where they would be read and loved.  

May 31st was the awards ceremony for the middle school.  Naomi won the ward for 6th Grade Art.  

Naomi and her award for 6th Grade Art.  The young lady next to her is Penelope and she is one of my favorite 5th graders.  She won the art award for 5th grade.  

That afternoon was the talent show.  I was able to go and watch the kids perform.  It was a fun time.  Naomi and Ashley did a really great job and the crowd loved them.  

This is a picture from the  rehearsal.  For the performance it was dark in the gym and there were flashing lights.  The camera didn't like those conditions and didn't take very good pictures. 

Back at home, the boys had been home most of the day by themselves and had gone to lunch together to celebrate the end of the school year.  We have a place near us called Mr. Tokyo and they have an all-you-can-eat sushi lunch special.  The boys put the all-you-can-eat to the test.  Together they downed 75 pieces of sushi!  Impressive, boys!

We spent the evening packing and getting ready for our early flight to Utah the next morning.  Another school year has been completed successfully.  All three kids did really well.  Nick has been recommended for Honors US History and Honors English 11.  Naomi got all 5s on her EOGs and is moving on to 7th grade.  Jeremy made the Dean's list both semesters of his first year in college.  All in all, I would say it was a success.    Utah, here we come!!