Sunday, June 30, 2013

Mt. Clemens Hike

Donald and Ivan are hatching a plan to have a wilderness weekend this summer.
Probably not just yet since the temperatures in the next week are going to be triple digits.
But soon they will head into the wild for some good "father/son" time.
In preparation, Donald thought they should hike a local mountain this weekend.

They woke up at 4am and prepared some food for the adventure and took off.
About 4 hours later, I saw a post on Facebook that they had made the summit!
A gorgeous day for hiking with a beautiful view of Mt. Adams in the background!
They arrived home exhausted but safe!
A little sore this morning as well.
Here are a few more pictures from their day!

Look carefully just to the right of the center and you'll see a rainbow!

The summit!
 They made a great find...that is now sitting on my television...

 Time to head back.
Great day for the guys!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Remote Control!

For Christmas Ivan received a remote control helicopter.
Even though he requested it, he was a bit intimidated to use it.
He tried one out at the mall once and struggled with the controls.
So, until this past weekend, it has sat in the box.

Donald and Ivan got it out and set it up and had some fun!
Someone was having a lot of fun!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Hannah's 8th Grade Graduation

I can't believe how fast the school year seemed to go by.
And as fast as it went, sometimes I don't think it went fast enough for Hannah.
She was ready to leave her middle school years behind and start moving closer to high school.
The 33 kids in her class have become more like brothers and sisters over their years of elementary and middle school.
And you know how that can be!

But on this day, they enjoyed celebrating with their friends and families!

The week leading up to graduation night was full of activities and recognitions!
We were so grateful that Granny and Grandpa were able to visit during this time.
We kept them busy - but it was really special having them be a part of the kids end of the year activities!

They were able to be a part of the academic awards all three of the kids!
Yea! First Honors for all three!!
Very proud parents AND grandparents!

The night of Hannah's graduation, we had some sushi (she loves it!) and then gave her some gifts.
Donald and I gave her some money that she can use in the fall towards her high school wardrobe.
I imagine that khaki pants and polos will not be on the back to school list!
She was pretty pleased to receive the cash...
But Ivan and Jenelle were left in shock!
Ivan expressed his surprise by rolling and throwing himself across the living room floor!
Funny kids!

While Donald, his parents and the kids went to the church to find seats, I stayed behind and took some pictures of the 8th graders while they were assembled in the cafeteria getting their robes on.
The backdrop of the cafeteria tables doesn't make for portrait photos...but the beautiful faces in front of the lens certainly does!
The girls made such pretty choices with their dresses.
The looked grown up and gorgeous!
 Especially one in particular!
Group photos...
Last time many of these kids will be together as many of them are heading off to different high schools.
And our school photo bomber strikes again!
Remember the jog-a-thon!?
Everyone getting ready!
Hannah and Amanda.
Last time together at St. Joe's.
They won't be at the same school, but that won't change the great friendship they share.
They've got a lot of history!

And then, just like that, they've graduated!
Time to eat cake and celebrate with friends and family.

And Hannah...
We are so proud of you!
How did it happen so fast that you grew from this young school girl...
...into this beautiful young lady?
You've worked hard and done so well -
We are excited for the next four years of your life's adventures, but I doubt we're as excited as you!
Good luck sweetheart!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

End of School Year Catch Up

Busy busy busy time of year!
From the beginning to the end of May there is so much going on...and it's all good stuff!

Between the Jog-a-thon and Jenelle's birthday, there was the Math and Science Night for the middle school students.

This was Ivan's first year to participate and Hannah's last.
Ivan and his classmate Jacob did a project called "Fog in a Jar".
The experiment consisted of creating, well, fog in a jar, with water, heat and air pressure.
They worked on the project a few times at our house and had a very successful presentation at the school.

I was very impressed with Ivan's first science fair project and the work he put into it.
They did a great job and were complimented by another parent on the quality of their presentation that night.
Plus the good grade he received was nice for him too!

This was Hannah and Amanda's last year to participate in the fair and they wanted to go out with something really different...and messy!
They chose to work with ferrofluid...which is, according to "wiki", a liquid which becomes strongly magnetized in the presence of a strong magnetic field.
It is the color and consistency of motor oil!
Donald had two large magnets that they used to work with and they spent an afternoon in the garage testing their project and hypothesis.

That's the ferrofluid that is forming the funny pointed shapes on the magnets.
They wore gloves, but still ended up getting covered in the material.
They spent quite a while in the back yard scrubbing themselves until their skin was red in order to get cleaned up!
And on the night of the science fair, they got just as messy, but had a great time!

Un-school related, Ivan got a new mattress and box spring.
A few years ago he had grown out of a "junior bed" that he'd had since he was a toddler.  
He loved that bed and held onto it for as long as he could, but eventually he just didn't fit!
I thought I was saving money when I bought a fairly inexpensive bed at a local furniture store, but it was only a matter of time before it wore out.

A matter of time, and come to find out, some jumping and leaping as well.

Eventually Ivan's bed was caving in...literally...
He would get in bed and sink into the middle.
Sad.
So, we bought the poor kid a new bed and that weekend, he and Donald took apart his old one for recycling and trashing.
It was interesting to see what was inside...
A beat up box spring and cheap construction!
You get what you pay for folks!

Hannah had a piano recital.
She chose not to play the clarinet during her 8th grade year and I don't think she's ever regretted it.
An opportunity to play the piano came up and she started that in January.
It's clear this girl has a natural talent for music!
She plays beautifully and really enjoys it.

She chose a song by a band she loves called Panic! at the Disco.
Her piano teacher held the recital at a local church and some of the students were supported by a band.
I've been trying and trying to include a video...
For the sake of getting this post published, I'm just going to include a picture, but I will get back to the video soon.
I'll probably have to ask the piano player herself how to do it...

And Jenelle had her annual dance recital for the second year in a row!
She gets pretty dolled up for this event.
At the dance company's request, she was in foundation, powder, eye shadow, liner, mascara and heavy blush and lipstick.
Yikes!
I was a pro at getting her into her slick bun this year.
She did great and had a blast!

Next stop...an 8th grade graduation!