Piano Monster Concert

McKinley and Evan have been working hard preparing for the Monster Concert at the mall where they have 8 pianos and up to three students playing on each piano while they perform in the courtyard at the mall.  It is such a fun concert to attend and to hear the pieces that the students have worked on.  Nana and Grandad, Aunt Vicky and the girls, and Grandma Libby were all able to attend and it was a special night.  They did a great job.  Thanks so much to their piano teacher Janet for getting them ready!  So fun!

Outstanding Bear

Last night Austin was recognized at a student showcase for SAHS.  Each teacher was allowed to nominate one student and Austin's physics teacher nominated him for the outstanding student award.  Dr. Shelkey wanted to acknowledge the extra hard work Austin has put in preparing for the AP Physics B test that he took last week.  The test was incredibly hard and Austin isn't sure how he did, but we are optimistic that he will pass the test and validate all that studying and preparing for the big test.  If not, then it was a great experience and good preparation for his enrollment at RPI this fall!  Austin loves physics and is very gifted in it, so I hope it's something that he pursues!  We are so proud!

Happy 40th!!

I had a wonderful birthday with all my family around.  All the kids were home and no working, sporting, playing, camping, out with friends, or anything!  That was the best present ever!!  We all went to dinner and had a great evening together playing games and finally cheesecake!  If this is the beginning of the 40's I'm super excited!

New Yard...coming soon!

After two years of dealing with stickers and field like grass we are redoing our 1/2 acre back yard.  After we killed all the grass and weeds, a good friend of ours brought his tractor over and plowed the whole thing up for us.  Now we "just" have to rake it, grade it, and hydroseed it and we'll have new grass in 6 weeks!  I'm so excited for a lawn that we can actually use and play on!  Not so excited about all the work we have until then....

Our newest teenager!

Evan is now 13!  This kid is such an amazing kid and we're so excited to watch him grow up.  He is a kind hearted, spunky and fun kid who is growing into an amazing young man.  I can't wait to see what he will do in this world!  We love you Evan!

Last game of the season...and senior night!

Friday was the last game of the 2014 soccer season for both Austin and Ethan.  It has been a challenging session with definite ups and downs, but the boys stuck with it and played through to the very end!  So proud of the team!

Austin was not feeling very well (fever/stuffed up), but he didn't want to miss the last game of the season and the last game of his high school career!  After all it was senior night!

 He played really well and finished his high school career with some exciting moments.  These boys have really bonded and have a lot of fun together.  They are all headed in different directions after high school, so it's been so fun to see them together for the season.  Before the game they took time to honor the seniors of the team and the parents who were there with them!  What a proud moment!  I love that boy! Congratulations on a great season!

Dying Easter eggs

We waited until the last minute to do our Easter eggs this year.  McKinley and I found ourselves home alone and decided for our girls time we would dye the eggs.  After all we picked out the glitter egg dye kit, and that's pretty girly.  We were able to use our brown chicken eggs (we picked the lightest ones) and the color was bold enough to cover them just fine.  I think they turned out pretty well!

Happy Easter!