October 2021

Avian's official volleyball picture for 2021

I got nominated for the Knight of Honor at school.  I love where I work.  Everyone appreciates what you do and they are so supportive.  

Cindy is one of the best.  

October 1, Steve hung both of the signs at Lowe's in the break room on the wall that he shiplapped while he worked there.  It looks really good.  

Avian aced their math test which is saying a lot because they are in Math 3 as a sophomore and it is getting real.  I am so proud of them.  All their hard work is paying off.  

That night we had a pizza and movie night.  Everyone was home which is saying A LOT since we are rarely all in the house at the same time during waking hours.  The kids wanted to watch the new Gabriel Iglesias comedy.  It was a fun night.  

October 2nd and 3rd was General Conference weekend.  Avian had a haircut during the first session of conference so I didn't get to hear those talks, but the rest of conference was amazing.  The overlying messages I got from the talks were Love Each Other and Follow the Prophet.  Steve was able to get a project done for a friend.  

The finished product for our friend.  

October 4th Avian twisted her ankle at volleyball practice.  We went to Academy Sports directly from practice to get some ankle wraps since both Steve and I are prone to twist our ankles as well.  Genetics!  After getting the ankle braces, Avian and I went to Hobby Lobby to get some star buttons for their homecoming shirt.  We found the perfect buttons!

October 5th the JV team beat NW Cabarrus.  They are on a roll.  I also found out that my MTSS slide show is being presented to the admin team.   I am a little nervous about it, but Melanie Latza (the head honcho of MTSS for LNC) really likes it and she wants the other schools to know how the middle school will be expediting the MTSS process.  The best part of the day was putting money down on a beach house!!!  We are going to the Outer Banks the week after school gets out!!!

October 6th I presented the MTSS process to the team leads and got a very mixed reaction.  I clearly have some work to do to help the teachers get comfortable with this new process.  

October 7th I was holding Ms. Thomas's bunny in her classroom when it decided to jump out of my hands.  Wow!  I knew bunnies had strong legs but I wasn't prepared for the sheer power of the jump.  I don't know if it startled me or the bunny more.  Ms. Thomas just laughed.  He ended up breaking a nail from the jump and needed a little TLC from Mrs. Shipman to snip it off so he wasn't hurting anymore.  I felt so bad, but he is okay.  

That night the JV team won again.  Still undefeated.  

October 8th was the homecoming game against a little team from Bear River, NC.  It was a fun game.  Knight Riders very own Tyler Mills and the Varsity volleyballs captain,  Cadee Perry, were homecoming king and queen.  

Waiting and ready to play the school fight song while the team runs on the field

Tyler and Scaringelli

October 9th - Homecoming!!  Avian's group of friends arranged to meet before the dance to take pictures at the front of Highland Creek.  It was amazing to see this group of friends all dressed up and ready to go have a good time at the first Homecoming dance in several years.   

Avian and Goose (Maeve)

Goose, Avian, Leah, Darah and Anthony waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.  

Keegan, Anthony, Avian and Jack

Keegan and Avian have an inside joke about saluting each other.  I don't ask questions. 

This is my favorite picture of the group.  

There must be at least one picture on the stairs with the arch in the background.  

Finalizing the plans before heading out to dinner and the dance. 

I ended up driving Avian, Darah, Jack and Anthony to Cookout to get dinner.  The plan was for me to drop them off and let them eat in the restaurant and then come back about a half an hour later to take them to the dance.  What actually happened was we had to go through the drive thru because the lobby was still closed.  It was okay because we ended up getting to talk to Alden Jones (who took our order).  She is a fellow LNCite.  I then dropped the kids off to eat outside at the tables while I went and filled the truck up with gas.  When I got back, Anthony wanted more food (he is a growing boy) so we headed through the drive thru again.   They all finished eating and I drove them to the dance.  When we went back to get Avian and Darah after the dance they talked the whole way home about how much fun it was.  I am so glad these kids are getting some of the "traditional" high school experiences back again.  

October 12th Jeremy was offered a job at Lowe's in the indoor home and garden center.  He was so excited to get to move onward and upward in his job trajectory.  

October 14th was the last volleyball game of the season. THE JV TEAM WENT UNDEFEATED!!!  Mr. Schlegel, the Athletic Director, said the JV team has not ever gone undefeated.  Way to go girls!!  Avian has grown so much this season.  In this last game, several of their serves turned into points and Avian also had a couple of really good blocks and a couple of tips over the net.  The saddest part for the girls was that the season was over.  JV does not advance to the playoffs.  

UNDEFEATED!!!!
front row l to r:  Joy Atwell, Chelsea Scott, Alex Nielsen, Nini Tuck, Avian Cannon
back row l to r:  Coach Redmond, Emma Smallwood, Addy Lord, Sophia Petrucci, Olivia Zhvanut, Emma Chapman, Sopie Longergan and Ashlyn Teague.  Catherine McRorie is not in the picture. 

Jeremy was  planning on giving his two week notice at Barnes and Noble on the 16th but he got a call from his boss telling him that the promotion had come through with a pay increase as well.  Jeremy felt so bad having to tell his boss that he was quitting and this was his two-week notice.  It was definitely not the reaction his boss was expecting.  The job at Lowe's was just too good to pass up.  Even with the raise, Jeremy will be making more at Lowes AND he doesn't have to drive as far..  

October 17th Nick spoke in the singles ward.  Steve, Avian and I went to support him.  He did such a good job!

October 18th I got my COVID booster and flu shot.  Avian and Steve got their flu shots as well.  We are getting ready for the coming sick season.  After work that day (it was a teacher work day/no students) I volunteered to help out at the volleyball playoffs by sitting at the admissions desk.  The varsity team had advanced onto the playoffs and they still needed to supply volunteers for the games.  Avian and I had a good time coming up with game ideas for the basket we were putting together for a silent auction at the Athletic Boosters Fund Raiser.  More about that later.  

October 19th we made the decision to payoff Nick's car and the bathroom window/sliding glass door loan in order to free up money to pay for Nick's school loan.  It is such a liberating feeling to pay things off.  I can't wait to be debt free.  Steve and I also met with Tim Moses, our financial guy, to make sure we were on track with our retirement saving.  We are close but have a little bit of work to do.  It is nice to know there will be money there for the future.  

October 21st I heard Nick up and muttering to himself while trying to be quiet but banging around in his room.  He couldn't find his wallet.  Steve and I both got up and helped him look around his room.  When we couldn't find it after a few minutes of looking and Nick had to get to school, Steve quickly dressed and drove him up to Mooresville in Nick's car.  We would just have to work out a schedule to get him where he needed to go until we could find his wallet.  I took a moment to get myself dressed and pretty much ready for the day and then dove in to straightening Nick's room while I looked for his wallet.  About 10 minutes later I found it under a pile of dirty laundry.  I called Steve to let him know I had it, woke Avian to tell her to be ready when I got back and then headed out to drive the wallet up to Nick and bring Steve home. We got the wallet to Nick and I got home in time to pick Avian up and head to school.  We got to the high school with 1 minute to spare before the late bell.  Avian was just slipping in the door to their first class as the bell was ringing.  I drove to the middle school, stopped in the gym bathroom to put on some makeup and then walked straight into a meeting.  It was close, but we did it.  Nick is going to come up with one spot where he puts his wallet from now on to avoid this scenario again.  

That night was the Relief Society movie night at the Bishop's house.  Our president was home sick and the counselor over the activity was at home with the kids since her husband got called into work.  I was able to be there and help run the show.  It was a fun night.  

October 22nd Jeremy had his training at Lowe's in the morning and worked at Barnes and Noble in the evening.  The Knight Riders played at the last football game of the season.  It was also senior night.  I will miss the Friday Night games under the lights.  Until next year!

My view from the top of the bleachers.  My job was to keep the student section from encroaching on the band.  It was fun cheering with the kids.  

October 24th we had a really good lesson in Relief Society.  It was based on the talk by Elder Dale G. Renlund at the last conference entitled "Peace in Christ Abolishes Enmity"  Sister Johnston is so amazing in the way she delivers her lessons.  She knows just want to say and how to say it.  My favorite quote from this lesson was "We can't just conjur up peace - POOF!.  We need to work for it."  I love her!

Avian's art is being featured in the halls of the high school.  Mrs. Matocha frames her favorite pieces and hangs them around the school. 

This one is also on display

More of Avian's creations.  This is for Inktober. 

This one as well.  

October 28th Nick took his last test at school!  It was also Jeremy's last day at Barnes and Noble.  Excellent day of endings and new beginnings.  

October 29th - NICK GRADUATED!!!! It was an amazing day!

Nick had to be there early so we drove up separately and waited until the doors opened.  I loved watching him walk in with the rest of his fellow graduates.   After two student speakers and one faculty speech it was time to honor the graduates.   As the graduates walked across the stage, the dean announced their name, their degree and any awards they had won.  The first few students walked across the stage with minimal awards...and then came Nick!.  Nicholas Cannon, 6 Student of Course awards, 8 Director's List Awards,  Highest Honors for professionalism, Alpha Beta Kappa Nomination, degree in Automotive Technology &NASCAR Engines I & II plus Mopar TEC.  The place erupted with applause.   He worked so hard the last 15 months and it showed.  Steve and I got looking at the list of graduates and their awards and Nick was in the top 5 of his class.  He graduated with a 4.0 GPA and a 99.3% attendance rate.  

The six Student of Course awards were in the following classes:  NASCAR Engines 1, Mopar TEC 1, Mopar TEC 3, Mopar TEC 4, Electronic Diagnostics, Climate Control, Automatic Transmission.  

The best part was he had no idea he had received so many awards.  He just worked hard because he loved what he was doing.  

Receiving his diploma

Posing for the picture with the dean.

A well-deserved pat on the back.  

Changing the tassel to the other side of the cap - it is official!

Family picture!! 

Nick on his first day at orientation

Nick on his last day - Graduation!

After graduation Nick wanted to go to Mr. Tokyo's for lunch and have all-you-can-eat sushi.  We had to wait for a table so we opened presents to kill time.  

The new Diary Of A Wimpy Kid book.  Nick still loves these books and owns every single one of them.

Sporting his new Universal Technical College sweatshirt.  

After such a busy day and not having a real day off for 15 months all Nick wanted to do was chill out at home.  I would say it was a well-deserved day of chilling.  We are so proud of him!!

October 31st, I got to help in the nursery at church.  The parents of little ones were so excited to have nursery back in session.  It was fun to play with the little kids.  After church I went on a walk with Sandra.  It is always fun to spend time with her when she is in town.  Back at home I fixed the traditional  Halloween chili and breadsticks.  We ate early because it was Jeremy's first day at Lowe's and he had the night shift and both Avian and Nick were going to parties.  Steve and I took turns answering the door when trick-or-treaters came.  It was a fun night. 

Avian made the sweatshirt out of two sweatshirts and then used bleach to do the ribs and skeleton on the black side.  They worked all day to get it done.  

The creepy make-up was just a bonus.  

September 2021

 

Dad's painting arrived on the first day of September.  My sisters and I each got to pick our favorite picture and I chose this one because I LOVE the quaking aspen and we don't have any here in North Carolina.  I love it!

September 3rd was a field day at school.  Since we didn't get to have one at the end of last year, the coaches planned one for the first of the year.  It was a great way to welcome back the full student body..  I was outside most of the day and loved every minute of it.  Watching the kids interact with each other after being apart so long filled me with hope for the future that things will settle into a normal and the kids won't have to be kept apart anymore.

September 4th I got to go on a walk with Sandra first thing in the morning.  I love when she is in town and we have a chance to catch up.  After the walk I cleaned the house, Steve worked on projects in the garage, Kathy FINALLY got her bowl (locked in a Fed Ex trailer because not enough staff to deliver items) and we had dinner as a family.  I would say that is a great day!

The manager at Lowes commissioned Steve to make signs for the break room at the store where Steve worked for six months.  

I turned a clock that did not work into a piece of art for the beach bathroom.  

September 5th Sandra came over for dinner.  We did Damn Burgers and had a great time chatting.  

September 7th Steve finished the signs for Lowes.  The JV volleyball team won in three matches after losing the first.  All their games have been so easy to this point that I think they were caught off guard the first match.  They quickly regathered themselves and won the next two.  

September 9th Avian contributed 6 points to the wins.  Their serves are getting more consistent.  All the practice is paying off.  

September 10th we were all together for pizza and movie night.  This has been happening less and less as everyone's schedules are growing busier.  We had a great time watching Bear Grylls Choose Your Own Adventure on Netflix.  We explored every option in the choices and there were some really funny endings.  It was a good night.

September 11, 2021, marked 20 years since the attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the crash in the Pennsylvania field.  It was a somber reminder that we need to remain vigilant to insure that doesn't happen again.  

September 13th was an away game in Rowan County.  I only mention the county because Rowan is notorious for defying the mask mandate put in place by Governor Cooper.  We walked into the school and our team and fans were the only ones wearing masks.  The players and fans of the other team were actually quite mean about us deciding to wear a mask.  We didn't say anything to them, but they were definitely verbal with us.  The saddest part is that Rowan County has higher numbers of Covid cases that any of the surrounding counties and that says a lot because it is not as densely populated.  Oh well.  The JV team won, but I can't remember if this the game the Varsity team lost.  

September 14th Nick was finally able to get into the eye doctor and get his new contacts and eye glasses ordered.  Between school, work and quarantine this has been a long time coming for him.  

September 16th Steve flew to Utah for his 30th high school reunion.  He got to have lunch with his mom and he stayed at Dianna's house because she was out of town and had offered it to him.   Back in NC I helped clean out the theater and band room at the high school.  We have a new theater teacher and he wanted to redo the space which meant clearing out some of the stuff Mr. Willetts had collected over the years.  The theater kids all turned up to help.  I was fun to watch them all pick a souvenir or two or three.  Also, the volleyball team won again!  

September 17th I took the kids to see Wicked.  Steve didn't want to go and since he was in Utah at his reunion it was perfect timing.  We were sitting on the very last row of the theater, but we didn't care.  I brought binoculars so the kids could get a close up view if they wanted.  It was super cool that the people sitting next to us used to be in our ward before they moved.  Alexis Misenholder was one of the favorite YW leaders in our ward.  It was good to see her again.  

Nosebleed seats, but we didn't care. We were at WICKED!!

Meanwhile, in Utah, Steve went to Dianna's cabin with his mom.  He said it was really nice.  It was close enough to the big family cabin that Dianna could spend the day at the big family cabin and then go to her own to sleep for the night.  That night he went to the reunion and had a great time reconnecting with friends.  

September 18th and 19th I helped Nick study for a test.  He would read the textbook aloud to me and I would stop and ask questions to help him understand the material.  Ever since getting into the MOPAR portion of the training he has been more nervous about the tests.  If he doesn't pass a test he has to start the whole MOPAR program over again.  

September 21st was a REALLY good volleyball game. It was total deja vu from start to finish.  As I drove in the parking lot of Carson High School I saw the orange paw prints leading to the front door.  Inside the gym I discovered the blue and orange everywhere with more paw prints.  I felt like I was back in high school. This is exactly what Brighton High School had looked like, paw prints and all!  It would have been really weird if their mascot was also a bengal tiger, but they were the cougars.  The JV game was the best of the season.  They lost 27-25 in the first set, won 25-20 in the second and won 27-25 in the third.  For some reason the referees decided to let the third match go to 25 instead of 15, but that ended up being in our favor.  Still undefeated!

The orange and blue bleachers took me right back to high school.  

The paw stickers on all the seats just made it feel even more like Brighton High.  

After a frustrating 24 hours, Nick was finally able to take the MOPAR 2 test.  The test would not open on Monday and Nick had to wait until Tuesday to take the test that was stressing him out so much.  He passed and he was so relieved.  

September 24th was a really long day!  Avian and I got to school at 7:30 am and didn't get to come home until 10:00 p.m.  We had school all day, then volleyball practice, them Knight Watch at the football game.  It was a long but fun day!  The theme at the football game was America and so the student came dressed in red, white and blue.  Some were wearing flags with Nicki Minaj in a bikini and some were wearing Trump flags.  Anytime administration would walk by the flags would disappear only to reappear moments later.  The behavior in the student section was equally upsetting.  At one point, Mr. Scaringelli positioned me on the top row as a buffer between the students and the cymbal players.  All in all, though, it was a fun night.  

Scaringelli clipping the pampas grass so it wouldn't scratch the band members.  

Waiting to play.  This group is so much fun.  They just love being together.  

One student dressed up as Captain America and let Mr. Scaringelli use it for a little bit.  

September 25th was the Davidson College football game.  Knight Watch was invited as the guest pep band.  It was a fun game.  Avian ended up with a half sunburn because of the angle of the sun by the end, but it was all worth it.

September 28th LNC played West Rowan and it was a tough game.  They did win it in three but it wasn't easy - 1st score was 30-28 (lost); 2nd was 25-21 (won); 3rd 27-25 (won).  It was a great game to watch.  Avian had a roof block, several amazing serves and phenomenal hits.  Go Knights!!!

ROOF!  Denied!!!!

Mid-game pep talk.  This team really plays well together!

September 29th Steve finished the web tool he has been building for weeks and presented it at the company meeting.  Everyone loved what he had created.  It will make things a lot easier for everyone to access the data.   I am finally getting the hang of things at work.  All those years of homeschooling have really been helping me keep perspective and focus to help these kids.  

September 30th I was not able to go to the volleyball game because I had a RS meeting for church.  Steve went and represented.  It was another great game.  25-15 (win); 25-18 (lost); 18/16 (win).  Avian took a knee to the thigh while trying to get to a ball while the other player was trying to get out of the way.  Because a team member who was supposed to work the game wasn't feeling well, Avian took her place and was line judge for the varsity games.  It was a long day, but Avian is loving volleyball so it is all worth it.  

A few random pictures to finish out the September blog.  

After sitting in the ground all summer, this watermelon seed finally decided to grow.  I have a baby watermelon!

Because Nick was feeling discouraged and tired and feeling like school would never end, Avian and I created this chain for him to help him see just how close he is to finishing.  He gets to remove a chain link each day.  

The finished product for my friend Liz who is due with her baby girl any day now.