Basketball...

Driveway Basketball tonight!

 

Yearbooks!

We had fun looking through the boys' yearbooks this morning!

 

Summer!

First day of summer break = macaroni and cheese with a movie at lunchtime!

 

Freshmen...

Yep. They are freshmen now... We celebrated with pizza and cupcakes!

 

This is it!

Last day of 8th grade for these two amazing young men! They will leave middle school this afternoon and be considered high schoolers! Conner and Ben continue to amaze me and always put a smile on my face. They are our purest joy in this world. To say we are proud of our boys is an understatement. Adversity follows them and they continue to show everyone that they are more than capable in all situations. Middle School was a rough journey, for lots of different reasons, but I can sit here this morning knowing that they conquered their middle school years because of their perseverance, strength of character, and their incredible sense of humor and good old fashioned kindness! I cannot believe that high school is the next step, but I suppose I have a couple of months to get used to the idea. My heart aches with love for our two boys who have grown to be two wonderful young men!!! My tears today are tears of happiness (mostly) because I cannot wait to see what they will do next!

 

Two More Days...

Down to two more days of 8th grade!!!

 

Greasers!

Three more days of school left, and today is dress up day for the novel, The Outsiders, that 8th grade has been reading! Lots of hair gel and jeans and tshirts for these Greasers!

 

Bling...

Ben and I took a drive to the tattoo parlor today and got some new bling! He was so happy!!!! It was a great experience and I love that we did it together!

 

Road...

Conner and Ben did some driving on the roads today!!!

 

Iowa Bandmasters!

Conner and Ben had a band performance in Des Moines today for the Iowa Bandmasters Association. Their band was the only 8th grade band selected in the whole state of Iowa to perform! It is quite the honor and we were all pretty excited! The boys got to ride a charter bus with their friends and sent me a few selfies they took along the way. Their performance was absolutely amazing and I was so happy that Nick and I were both able to get the day off so that we could watch them. After the performance the band enjoyed a trip to Great Escape in Pleasant Hill where they were able to play arcade games, eat dinner, and bowl with some of their friends. It was such a great day!

 

 

Basketball?

We attended a meeting about freshman basketball tonight! The boys sat with some friends while we listened to all of the skill training and weight lifting they will be asked to do this summer if they decide to go out for basketball! We didn't realize it would get so intense their freshman year, so we will have to see what the boys decide to do!

 

Band Concert!

Ben and Conner had their last school band concert tonight! It was really good and a little bittersweet, as we might be done with band after this year!

Last Game!

Today the boys had their last soccer game of the season! It was finally a gorgeous day for soccer. The boys have really enjoyed playing soccer this year!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day! Nick had to work this morning, but we enjoyed the day together with a few gifts and a wonderful dinner. The boys were great helpers today! Happy Mother's Day!

Adventureland!

Today we all went to Adventureland to watch the boys perform there with their 8th grade band. They left on the bus at 6:45 this morning and Nick and I drove there to watch their performance and spend the day at Adventureland with them! The performance was great and then we spent the rest of the morning and afternoon enjoying the park. The boys went with Nick on the new roller coaster, The Phoenix, and they thought that was pretty cool. The bumper cars, however, will always be their favorite!

 

Sick...

Ben has been home sick for the last couple of days with a terrible cough, but today for lunch he requested breakfast burritos and he wanted two all for himself, so I think he is on the mend!

 

Lessons...

Ben and Conner are ready for another driving lesson!