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There is nothing better than getting a big box of my printed layouts in the mail! They are so realistic that I have a hard time believing that they really are flat. So much more beautiful in real life than on my computer screen!
Happy Saturday!
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I need a random format for today so here goes my Five on Friday:
1. I have 8+ weeks of Project Life to share and not sure how to do it. It's going to be really boring if I do it all at once. So maybe call next week Project Life Week and do one every day? Not sure but I'll think that through and finish photographing it all today. I hope.
2. Andrew and Libby were in a theater camp a couple of weeks ago and they had the leads. Andrew was a doctor and Libby was a nurse. It was hilarious.
3. My youngest brother was here this week and it was soooooo good to see him!!! Hopeful that he'll be back this way on business very soon.
4. The crazy puppy has been sick for the past couple of days. Some vomiting and not eating and then the ... ahem....other end was involved. He seems very perky today, though, and I'm hoping he just ate something funny and that's all it was. We had to "lock" him in the kitchen so that he wouldn't vomit on the carpeting and he hasn't liked it one little bit and is pushing every button I've got right now. Poor baby.
5. Andrew is absolutely LOVING his summer football league and I've decided to make him a football album of this season. I've got 3 pages done so far. You can see details about the layouts here. That last layout is about a comment that an opposing player made that was so darn funny, I just had to scrap it.
Happy Friday!!!
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Braces are a big deal for us. Tom and I didn't have them as kids and always wished that we had been able to. So making sure our kids' teeth are taken care of is a huge deal for us. And today, Emily got her braces off and I couldn't be more proud of her. She had to have 8 baby teeth extracted plus oral surgery to remove 4 adult teeth (including 2 that erupted in the roof of her mouth) before she could get braces - it took about 2 years of extractions and surgery and then almost 2 more years of braces to get where she is today.
It's such a big day! And she is so beautiful!
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Sawyer is 3 1/2 and we've begun contemplating getting another pet. We go back and forth between wanting kittens or getting another dog to be his companion. The thing is - that we really don't want another dog - we just want him to have a friend. And that doesn't seem like the right reason to get another dog, ya know?
So while we contemplate and wait, Sawyer gets to be Andrew's "brother" - in Andrew's words. And now that school's out, Andrew and Sawyer get to spend a lot more time together. Sawyer is still a hyper puppy-like crazy dog but Andrew does a good job getting him to chill out. *apologies to those of you on Facebook who've already seen these photos
This was the scene yesterday morning:
I'd say they make pretty good brothers. :)
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Andrew is playing on a flag football team this summer. He's played football for two seasons prior to this but they were all indoor teams and just not as organized. This is a start-up summer league and I really hope it continues. It has been a wonderful experience so far and so much fun for Andrew. He has played soccer and baseball and they just didn't click with him. But football - that's where it's at.
I'm also grateful for this league because this was the first year that he was eligible for tackle football and I just couldn't do it. He would be the youngest on the team and the 6th-grade boys are HUGE. It's too scary for this momma. So this summer league helped to ease the pain for him.
He's one of 2 quarterbacks and he LOVES every single minute of it. And, yes, I have a lot of photos......... :) He's No. 12.
On the sidelines:
Consoling a teammate after a play that didn't work.
Coaches are on the field with the teams - his coach is the teenage boy in many of these photos. He gave Andrew an extra star after this game for making up his own plays on the field.
Dropping back to look for a receiver:
This guy was after him every single play. Andrew was sacked this time.
But not this time!! As Andrew told us with a grin after this game, "I'm really good at scrambling in the pocket." tee hee
He not only completed this pass while scrambling but he threw two touchdown passes, one extra-point touchdown pass and handed off the ball for two more touchdowns.
And now........he's beyond addicted. Sigh. I'm happy he's found so much happiness but this is not the sport I would have chosen. It scares me. I'll take any words of advice from other mommas about football if you've got any.
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After Emily and Josh took the acting class with the girls from Disney, my younger kids were a bit jealous. Lucky for us, Audrey and Allisyn were also signing autographs the next day at a local food pantry - OUR food pantry that we volunteer at. There was no way I was going to be able to get out of taking the kids.
The reason the Disney girls were in town was to visit with Audrey's family and friends - she's from here and went to the same elementary and middle school as our kids. Libby was conveying a message to her here from her former singing teacher - the same teacher Libby has and is taking a theater camp with. After Libby told her the message, Audrey squealed with delight and shared memories with her - totally made my daughter's day. :)
And Andrew brought along his Texas journal for the girls to sign - they were exclaiming over how cute it was. :)
The "official" picture.
Our summer is off to a very busy and fun start!
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About a month ago, Emily and her friend, Josh, signed up for an acting class taught by a couple of the teen stars from the Disney Chanel's "So Random!" show. The class was last week and I was allowed in for the last 30 minutes to take some photos.
Audrey Whitby & Allisyn Ashley Arm
Emily's skit:
Josh's skit:
The girls were very, very sweet to all of the kids in the class, making sure to talk to each of them and saying good-bye to everyone individually.
Em & Josh at the end of the day on the "red carpet. :)
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Thanks for your sweet comments and emails about yesterday's post. For the record, I think Andrew has changed the most, too. :)
I mentioned that each of the kids had gone through a bit of a rough time this year and I would be remiss if I didn't also point out that the good times far outweighed the bad. They have wonderful friends, extremely supportive teachers and fantastic neighbors.
And so we celebrated with our friends on the last day of school. I've mentioned this family here before and you've seen all of their pictures throughout my project life posts. We adore this family and, more than anything, I am grateful for the friendships our kids have formed. (The parents aren't too shabby, either - they have good tequila. ;) And they've introduced us to another wonderful family that has incredibly funny poop stories - I am soooooo not kidding.)
Anyway, I snapped a few pics with my cell phone of the kids together after their last day of school. Here are the elementary school kids (4th & 5th grade):
The middle school kids (6th & 7th grade):
And the high school kids (freshman & sophomore):
And the celebration involved ice cream. Of course! (And yes, we snuck in a 7th kid at DQ.)
It was a great way to officially end the school year.
Did I mention that Emily is taking Freshman Gym over the summer? Yep - she wanted to get it out of the way and make room for another elective during the year. She starts on Monday. She has 5 whole days between the end of 8th grade and the beginning of high school. Yikes! She has to catch the bus at 7 am and will be gone until 1 pm every single day.
So we're headed out of town for the weekend - just a quick weekend away before our school schedule starts all over again.
Have a great weekend!!!
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I have so many emotions about school ending this year. I am sad, wistful, and proud. But more than anything, I'm excited for the next year for my kids. They each have big changes ahead and I'm excited and happy for all of them. And while I could go on and on about how well they all did this past year, they are more excited about the future so that's my focus as well.
First, my little man. A couple of months ago, I was talking to someone about how happy I was to share in the girls' excitement about next year and moving onto new schools. And this little guy said, very sadly and very quietly, "Next year will be new for me, too. I've never gone to school in my whole life without a sister." And my heart broke into a million pieces. Because, of course, he's never been on his own. When he started preschool, Libby was in kindergarten and Emily was in 3rd grade at the same school and they were all together until we moved here. And he and Libby have been in the same elementary school for the past two years. So, yes, little guy. This is a big step for you, too, and we will be here to help you through it. And we know that you will shine!
And now Libby. She is a testament to courage and bravery every single day. And she has had a bit of a rough year with health issues, particularly these last couple of months. She has spent more than a few days at home instead of at school, yet still worked as hard as she could on homework. And she starts middle school in the fall. She is soooooo excited. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being terrified. I'm excited for her, for sure, but terrified at the same time. I'm not happy with our middle school and Emily's experience has not been the best. But besides those issues, I'm worried about the length of her day. She doesn't start school until 9 am and won't get off the bus until 4:40 in the afternoon. This schedule has worked out beautifully for Em - she stays up late and sleeps in. But Libby has always battled sleep issues and sleep deprivation and fatigue brings on migrations. She insists that she'll be fine and her bravery hasn't failed in the past so I'm going to just go on faith. She can do anything she sets her mind to!
And now our Emily. She has had to fight her own battles this year and call on courage and bravery, too. At the beginning of the year, she dealt with some hardcore bullying. Being called names, yelled at, tripped, surrounded in a bathroom, etc... And we almost switched schools. But in the end, we all decided to stick it out and we fought a long time with administration about how to protect her. And they did right by her finally. The second half of 8th grade was so much better and she had a lot of fun. But that's not to say that she's not very happy to be moving on. She is so excited about high school. So much so that she mentioned yesterday, "Mom, I'm not wearing my black t-shirts and hiding from everyone anymore. I'm wearing skirts and dresses and I feel like the real me again!" It's amazing how the absence of fear can affect everything about a person. So, yes, my sweet girl, onward and upward. And through all of the pain of the last two years, she managed to exit 8th grade with more academic awards than I can count.
Before I go, I have to comment on these photos and ask your opinion! In person, I see the biggest physical changes in Libby this year. But comparing all of these photos, I've totally changed my mind! Who do you think has changed the most over this past year?
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