June 2, 2011

Breakfast and Balloons for the Birthday Boy!

Breakfast and Balloons for the Graduate!

"Happy Birthday" from two of his third grade buddies - Skylar and Braden.

A proud mama at the graduation ceremony.

Annalise and Mrs. Lidstone, a fantastic teacher, best known for turning our girls into "voracious readers!"

Annalise sharing her Graduation Day with Daddy in Doha.

Justin's teacher, Ms. Hansen, opening her last day of school present. I was the Room Mom for Justin's class so it was a great moment for me to see this smile. We gave her a class photo framed by notes from each of the kids in her class.

Justin distributing Birthday Doughnuts to his friends.

Post Graduation Pool Party

The Kindergarden Moms who made my year without John so much more manageable. I can't say enough how thankful I am for all of their love and support.

Birthday Cupcakes for the football team.

Sometimes it gets a little bit overwhelming, but being a football mom and soccer coach are two of the greatest experiences I have ever had. This was a fun evening for me.

9 Year Olds may act tough, but they come running for cupcakes every time!

For me, this is what it's all about.

After a very full day, Nana put together a final celebration for Justin. Presents and cake! Presents this year still included Star Wars Legos, Transformers, and the big one from Dad...Tony Hawk SHRED for Wii.

Birthdays and Big Girls

No, you did not read that wrong. It's really the end of September and I'm just getting around to telling you about that day. I'm pleased to admit that I've been delinquent in updating our adventure log because we've been busy having more amazing adventures!

So June 2, 2011 was a big day for this Mama...My little man turned 9 and my baby girl, "Chicken Little," graduated from Kindergarden. I bought lots of balloons and too many cakes, ate too many of the celebratory doughnuts and sweets, and I may have cried a time or two. Or three. Who's counting?

The morning started with a surprise trip to the McDonald's drive-through before they got up and both kids were welcomed to breakfast with balloons and junkfood. They both looked twice to make sure I wasn't pulling a joke on them because I'm generally a stickler on rules for a nutritious breakfast. With grease in their bellies and smiles on their faces, off we went to start our big day.

Justin asked if he could come to the Graduation with us and I was so pleased that he wanted to support his baby sister. Go figure that when he realized that there was plenty of sitting around waiting for it to get started (boring), he was ready to get back to class. At that point, he was treated to an obnoxious lecture based on the "do you know how many football games and practices your sister sits through?" principle. We happened to be sitting next to another Panthers Head Coach who chuckled and admitted that his son was also there watching graduation for the same reason. After some major kindergarden logistics and challenges, Annalise graduated, we cheered, and then Justin went back to Third Grade. Annalise talked to her Dad on the phone and then we headed to the after-party pool party with all of her friends. I brought doughnuts to Justin's class so that he could celebrate and then headed back to the pool party. Justin was flying high from the sugar and "Last Day of School" elation when I picked him up and we spent the afternoon playing in the pool at Erin's house.

After all of this excitement, Justin headed off to football practice and I delivered the next dose of sugar in the form of a cupcake cake for his team. It was the best part of his birthday from what I could see. He smiled a big happy smile during a painful version of "Happy Birthday" from his team before they lined up for their treats. They all slapped him on the shoulder pads and gave him birthday wishes that only other 9 year old football players can deliver. I don't remember exactly what they all said but they were generally wishes for good presents, more cake, and staying up late.

Nana was here to celebrate the day with me and I couldn't have done any of it without her. She's funny, that Nana. She never lets an occasion go by without appropriate notice. She demanded a full cake/presents birthday party for Justin after fooball practice so she spent her afternoon wrapping and planning for the end of the day celebration. I'm sure I would have skipped this last one from exhaustion but Justin was very happy to rip open all of his packages and end his night in front of the TV enjoying one last treat - cookie dough ice cream cake from Cold Stone.

This life sometimes seems to go by too fast for me and I'm glad I took the time to sit down and remember all of this. So much changed for me that day. I realized how much Justin has grown, we all missed John terribly, I finally accepted that Annalise would be in full time school from now on, and I felt great pride when I stopped to look at the lives they were able to create over the last year. They both faced a challenge head on, didn't stop to feel sorry for themselves, and they made new friends in a heartbeat after moving across the country and sending their dad off to protect the world. I know they are growing up and I look back on these days with the normal bittersweet feeling a mother has when she sees her kids reach those big milestones. I hate the speed at which they become independent, but I'm pretty proud of the kids who are growing up under my roof. My wish is that the many birthdays and graduations to come are filled with the same happiness that I felt that day.