March on FB

If I ever use the phrase "grow a pair", I mean a pair of ovaries. In light of current leadership, it is painfully and shockingly apparent that actually having a pair of the other kind does not correlate AT ALL with being a decent human being standing up for what is ethical or brave or strong or compassionate.

I don't think this is exactly what the folks at KiwiCo had in mind, but Isaac did enjoy learning about hydraulics 😆

 

Happy Pi Day to you and yours. May your numbers be irrational and your baked goods delicious!

The progression of the new mascot for J's division (he's over the TP of PPTP) 😆

First world problem: two musical kids and a school district that somehow manages to schedule two concerts on the same night for the high school orchestra and the bands of all the schools that feed into that high school. 🤦‍♀️🙄

These birthdays are so surreal because I'm pretty sure that 10 minutes ago he was my little buddy and ninja snuggle bunny.

Ben is 17

Ben is ::gulp:: seven-TEEN. While he isn't our youngest, somehow I still get a gut punch with these continuing milestones for Ben, formally known as my ninja snuggle bunny. A name which he deeply wishes I would forget or, at the very least, never mention again.

Ha!

Anyway, it is very tough to shop for Ben. I don't know what he wants, Jason doesn't know what he wants, and Ben doesn't know what he himself wants. When you are 17 and can't decide, you get the best card EVER (no cap!) and gift cards to your favorite food places (Chipotle, McDonald's, and Dairy Queen).

Oh, and a LOT of balloons.

Ideally, I would have put a cap on this process because 17 balloons is a lot. But still fun. Happy birthday to my most favorite Ben in the whole world.

Spring Celebration

We had Michael and Josh in the building and it is pretty near the equinox so Spring Celebration it is! As we were not in a good position to celebrate in the great outdoors (thanks a lot seasonal virus that has outstayed his welcome), the boys bonded and made memories (probably) playing video games together.

We did manage to take a break long enough to have the boys get their goodies.

So many goodies! The games were a hit; the Trader Joe's "peeps" were not. 

Hopefully we will soon also be celebrating the end of this cold as well. 

First World Concert Problems

There are some really dedicated educators and administrators at our schools. So talented. So able. 

And yet, somewhere along the way, at least one of them cannot read a calendar.

Which is why on the same night at the same time tonight there was a zone band concert (elementary and middle school students) and a high school orchestra concert. And by "zone" I mean the elementary schools and a middle school that are all zoned for the students to feed into this high school. 

Either someone didn't get that families can have more than one musical child and that children are not required to be in the same group as their other siblings, OR they do not know how to read a calendar.

Rant over.

Probably.

Tonight we brought Isaac to the high school gym and then we found seats in the front row so we could sneak out after his band played their four songs...

...so we could book it over to the high school theater to see Ben play with the gold orchestra.

And then went home. Hurray for talented children!

Something Rotten, ft Ben on Bass

Who was in the pit for this year's best musical at Timberline High School? This kid! Last year he locked in his spot playing the bass. We are so proud of him - the bass isn't his main instrument and he had to put in a significant amount of time and effort to get his skills up to par to play the music and he did a wonderful job!

I had not heard of this musical before, but it was witty and well done. I mean, how can a musical that has a song about the black death be bad?

I think Ben is hoping there is a cello part for next year's musical (TBD), but now he knows (and we know) he can bring the bass too.

Getting our Pi(e) On!

 With the musical in the evening, we gathered earlier in the day to celebrate what today is all about: pi!

Well, most of us celebrated. Some us are anti-pie. 

Freshman Singer Showcase, ft. Michael

You only have a Freshman Singer Showcase once. Which made it seem like the thing that we should go visit Bellingham for.

And once we got there, we found these flyers in the music building, much to Michael's disgust.

 We left Ben and all his activities and commitments behind, but we dragged brought Isaac with us.

Since many people in the audience had come with plenty of time to spare, the professor made the wise decision to use the resources available to her and had Michael play some prelude music.

But we did get to hear him sing, too. Always a lovely experience.

A lovely group. Michael enjoyed this class and even started hosting game nights for the class at his place. It will be exciting to see how some of these folks grow over the next few years.

Before we left, we had to make a pit stop at Michael's place to appreciate the decor. 

And then we took the scenic way home and tortured Isaac by making him get out of the car and pose in front of the view beautiful views.

Hot Chocolate Run 15k, ft. Josh

I am not going to lie, of all the kids I thought would ask me to drive them to Seattle to do the chocolate (choc-o-late) run, Josh wasn't even on the list. And yet, Seattle for the Hot Chocolate Run is exactly where we were this morning.

Josh is upping his running game these days. Look how excited he is to run!

Of course, since he would be RUNNING, I assumed that the excitement would last the whole time. 

He did great, recovered quickly, and posed well and patiently for some photos.

I did insist, as a chauffer and parent tax, that I would get the post-run goodies that would literally kill him.

I am sure this is just a sign of things to come. They do have some cool medals for this race, though.