Purple Prom Power...

Yesterday was Prom for Joshua, and boy, did he clean up nicely!  He and his date, along with another couple, took off in the early morning to spend the day at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.  When they got back, the girls went to our church, which was hosting Go Glam, where girls can get their hair and makeup done by professionals, all for a donation that goes towards Compassion First to help fight the world wide Sex Trade industry. It's the second year in a row that our church has sponsored it, and this year they had 35 girls come through.  Check it out....

Go Glam: Stop Traffic Video from Compassion First on Vimeo.

And see how adorable Rebecca and Josh looked in their purple prom power....

I love the flowers in my yard this time of year. The purples, pinks and reds made for a complementary background to the couple.

They then headed to Anacortes to meet up with their friends again for dinner. The marina made for some beautiful shots at sunset....

This momma stayed up until after midnight to prepare breakfast for the four, following the dance. By that time they were pretty worn out from a long day, as was I, since that was way past my bed time!

Speaking of bedtimes, Mike had gone to bed way earlier, as he needed to rest for his 12k run on Sunday. He ran in the Port Townsend Rhody Run and was very pleased with his finish. He made his goal and then some, and is only mildly complaining of being sore now! We are super proud of our him!  He is in good shape and continuing to train for this summer's Ultra Ragnar race again.

Kaia and I head to Seattle tomorrow for her pre-op appointment. We plan to shop our way home;)

Senior....Citizen

Today was an unofficial dress up day for seniors at Joshua's school. You see, it was "Senior Citizen Day!"  Here's what Josh will look like in another 70 years...

You can't tell very well in the photo, but he actually put flour in his hair. Mike said it was hilarious at school; kids coming into class using walkers, many shuffling into class late, and one even laying on the floor saying "Where's my lifeline?"  Oh seniors, just three more weeks until you have to grow up, so have fun!

Speaking of having fun, this week has been an eventful one, and I have failed to post. Let me bring everyone up to speed, starting back at Mother's Day.  The kids took me to brunch, then back home for some family time.

I have been feeling bad about losing the cross necklace my grandma gave me, only to find it scratched and bent from being ran over in the drive way, so Kellen thoughtfully bought me a new cross necklace.

And Josh made me a beautiful salad bowl in his pottery class...

And the girls gave me great handmade cards and bought me some summery clothes for HAWAII in ONE MONTH!

Three days later it was Jaelyn's Gotcha Day.  I won't bore you with pictures of our local Chinese Buffet restaurant that the girls always choose for their celebrations. Regardless, we had a good time together. They feel so grown up when they can help themselves, so we all make the best of it.  This year, for the first time, we came home and watched the DVD of the foster family that Jaelyn lived with in China.  We showed her it the first year we got it, when she was about three, but we haven't shown it to her since. She did get a little bored since it was all in Chinese, but it did trigger lots of questions, and it was fun to watch her view it.

Prom is coming up this weekend. Here is a sweet montage of Josh showing up at his girlfriend's house with a picnic lunch, asking her to be his date...

And one week from today is Kaia's surgery, so I will try and post more frequently these next two weeks.

Let the Events Begin!!!

Last night was the first of many "official" senior events leading up to graduation (not to mention the unofficial ones). Why this event is called the Senior Tea, I have no idea, because there was no tea served! However, they did have speakers, a slide show, and cake, so I think that does make it official. No tears fell from me, but I have a month to go until graduation to shed plenty of those! I think both Joshua and I have both been a bit melancholy lately though, as the reality of him leaving is setting in.

One of our good friends and Mike's cowoworker was selected by the students to speak.

Josh and Dakota have been buddies since middle school and are both going to be Cougs!

We Have a Winner!

It's finally official; we have a Cougar in the house! Josh is now enrolled at Washington State University and majoring in Architecture.  Outside of WSU, he has also received one scholarship so far, and had an interview last Friday, as he is a finalist for another. May is a big month, as he has three AP exams to earn college credit.  With just over a month to go of high school, not much down time before college begins August 19th. So proud of you Josh!

Hmmmm, wonder if he will be embarrassed when his parents wear their OSU gear around the campus....

No, Cocoa!

One family favorite book of ours is No, David, by David Shannon.  David is a boy who is told "No" many times a day, as he is frequently getting in trouble (writing on the wall, picking his nose, jumping on the furniture, etc). However, after David gets discouraged by everyone speaking negatively to him, the book has a very sweet ending. We first bought this book because Mike and I could so relate to it, when we felt like "no" was all we were saying to the boys. Since it was a nightly ritual reading the book, the boys loved being able to "read" along with the story, inserting "no" every time the word came up and it made us not feel so bad. Fast forward a few years, and it became the perfect book for the girls too.

Now we are wondering, do they make the book in a puppy version? "No, Cocoa" is something we have constantly been saying the past few months! This winter she has completely destroyed our backyard. Seriously, it is a disaster, a war zone out there! Everything that can be chewed up, has been. Our pond that we installed a few years ago? A wading pool that gets nearly emptied of water every day. Poor fish. Umbrella for the table? Who needs that. What barbecue cover you ask???

Cocoa just turned one last week, so we know we have at least another year of this stage. But when I looked outside the other day to see this, I couldn't help but smile...

Yes, Cocoa, you are the Princess of the backyard, and we love you very much!

Party Time!

As I mentioned before, Kaia turned nine over spring break. Last Sunday she celebrated with her friends at the swimming pool.  Several of the girls from her gymnastics team were there, and it was fun to watch them fearlessly jump off the diving board doing the same moves they practice weekly on the gym trampoline!

Later,  everyone came back to our house for some cake and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.  As you can see, Kaia's cake had the lotus candle from China that we sometimes top our birthday cakes with. It did not disappoint! I will definitely need to restock when I go back this summer. If you haven't seen one in action before, check this out.

Animal Poetry Comes to Life...

Awhile back, each student in Jaelyn's class researched an animal, then wrote a poem based on their facts (for you non-teacher types, that's called integrating subjects or cross-curriculum, or whatever the latest catch phrase may be). Her teacher compiled them all into a book, which we were too cheap to buy, but then he also had a friend of his, who happens to be a professional voice actor, perform each poem. I was expecting something cheesy and only funny to the kids in the class, but it turned out to be quite entertaining. So watch out Shel Silverstein, I give you Jaelyn's "Fox"....