Michael Graduation Party, feat. Isaac J.

Michael Graduation

The big day! A looooong day! An exciting day! We had to wait awhile in line to ensure good seats, but it was shady and we got to chat with friends and family.

Ben was part of a special group and was in the events center first. This is his 2nd year playing at graduation - only 1 more time to go!

Graduation is always a mixed bag. It's great to see your kids and their friends cross the stage. It's less great to sit through the talks and the other kids crossing the stage. We may have leaned heavily on electronic devices this time. 

Awww...here he comes!

Class of 2025!

Michael's Last Day of School

She's at it again! The marker wielding matriarch! Actually, I am super surprised that she let me take this picture after I used a similar image to throw her under the bus with Josh. Ha!

What is the occasion? Michael's last day of high school..........ever. We snuck over to the school during the school day and absconded with the Jetta to take it through the car wash and then decorate it. 

Then we returned the car to a similar parking spot and fled the scene. Unfortunately, the 25 year old passenger side mirror couldn't take the buffeting of the car wash and something broke inside of it. More evidence that good deeds don't go unpunished! Otherwise Michael was more amused with having his car decorated than Josh was when we did his. Apparently there was some discussion on whether or not the spelling was intentional or if I just kept making mistakes when writing on his car. I have decided not to respond to that. 

Last Orchestra Concert....of this year

This was Ben's favorite orchestra concert of the year. Mostly because he participated in a small group ensemble that was self-directed and only included dedicated musicians. It has been difficult being in the lower orchestra (determined by grade level not ability) for the last two years as Ben does practice and does want to do well while some of the students view orchestra as, well, let's say a lower priority in their lives. An ensemble of mostly gold orchestra folks improved his end of the year orchestra experience significantly.

Starting with a pic of the two best cellists in green orchestra who have been in orchestra together since 5th grade.

And the ensemble!

It was a lovely concert and I know Ben has plans for a similar group next year.

Josh/Michael Family Birthday Party

This year the birthday/end of school insanity is especially epic. Today was the best day to celebrate Michael and Josh's birthday with family. For dinner we had brisket, ribs, and stuffed shells with cheesecake and brownies for dessert - an ideal mash-up of the boys' food preferences. Then gifts!

IronMay

At the end of April, Ben told us about a competition called IronMay. It is a competition run at his school by a gym teacher for both students and staff during the month of May. Participants can either compete as individuals or as part of a team. The goal is to complete the equivalent of an Ironman Triathlon: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run in one month. To win in a particular division, the individual or team must complete the Ironman requirements for all three activities by May 31st. Any distances above and beyond the minimum are converted into percentiles and the averages of the three percentiles calculated to determine the final score.

Ben likes to swim. Ben really likes to swim. Ben really likes to swim a lot. Ben swam 8.3 miles pretty easily and quickly. Then he had a go at the other two. He started off strong and then tapered off.

Tapered off. Until the last day of the competition. When he had 35 miles on the bike and 14 miles of the run to complete. Did he give up? Did he say it couldn't be done? Did he sleep in?

No. No. And yes.

He finished around 11pm after walking the last 4 miles around our neighborhood with a party size bag of gummy sour patch kids. And HE WON! Procrastination for the win??

Nature Walk at Nisqually

It's been a rough week month year. For fun that didn't take too much driving or effort, we went to see how things are going at our favorite wildlife refuge. We weren't disappointed. 

We saw a rabbit that let us get so close I can only assume he/she knew they were in a wildlife refuge and would not be harmed by any humans.

I took some pictures of the bees which I assume had the same understanding as the rabbit, but are camera shy.

 

The big find of the day was the barn swallow nests. They were cute and fun as long as you didn't accidentally rest your arm on the ledge where all the bird poop fell from their nests.

Pics so I could prove it happened.