This is the birthday card L wrote out for E to open at her party. How sweet!
E had two of her best friends, A & A, over for a mini-birthday party today. Andy took them to do laser tag (B went along) and then they came back here for pizza and a sleepover. A small group of sweet girls.
Tonight was E's eighth-grade dance. Her date, M, a boy she's known (I think) since kindergarten, asked her to go with him a couple of weeks ago. He came over to pick her up a little after 6:30 p.m. He forgot his dance ticket and had to run back home. Fortunately, he lives just a block away.
We took some pics of them and of E's friend, A, who stopped by before the dance with her date, J. The girls looked gorgeous and the boys were handsome. I wanted some outside pictures but it was drizzling all afternoon. 
E said they had a good time. She was home a little after 10 p.m. E says she and M are just friends. M's little brother, L, is one of B's best friends so anything else could get a little awkward - more so than it was already. And she's only 14 - plenty time for the mushy stuff later. M and his family are moving out of state this summer for his dad's new job so it was nice they were able to go to the dance together. He'll be back a lot to visit and I'm sure they'll keep in contact via the computer. You just never know. They do look pretty cute together. 
L's dream is to become a rock star. In kindergarten, she dressed up in a pink outfit as a rock star for Halloween. She loves to put a streak of pink dye in her hair and she sings on the playground at school. In art class, she recently created this picture. She says it's her idol, Avril Lavigne.
The eighth-grade dance is two nights away. Instead of playing with makeup and practicing different hairstyles, E chooses to spend her time on the computer. Here she's playing a game where you try to spread a pandemic around the world. Another one she played is about drilling for oil. Apparently, she retired from that one as a wealthy oil baron.
Today was L's awards ceremony at Irving. She's in the middle of the picture, holding up her folder. She received nine awards: Character Education (for demonstrating outstanding character throughout the year), You're Wonderful (because of how well you participate in class discussions), Bookworm Award (for demonstrating a love for books and reading), Spelling Super Star (for showing off sensational spelling skills), Egg Drop participant, Young Author (for writing well-written and creative stories), Academic Fair participant, Student Council member and Circle of Friends member.
Of all of these, L said she's most proud of the Young Author award because she never received that one before. L really enjoys the time she spends in the Circle of Friends. It's a club that brings special education students (including her friend Mila) together with the rest of the school population. They play games, eat lunch together, create skits. L's career goal as of third grade is to become a special ed teacher and I think a lot of that has to do with the time she spends with Mila and how accepting her teachers and L's teachers have been of her helping Mila since kindergarten.
I never played softball on a team, but it must be hard to sit around while you're waiting to be called to bat. L joined one player's three little sisters playing in the dirt during tonight's game. Soon, she had convinced her fellow teammates to join her in creating holes in the dirt. 
L's team did win and L had two hits, making it to first base twice. She was on third base when the third-base coach told her to run home, but the ball landed just in front of home plate and she was tagged out. Guess you have to do what the coach tells you. The coach even apologized for telling her to run.
L came home from school today with her latest sculpture she made in art class. She says it's called "Bird in the Nest." She loves that the bird actually can come out of the nest. Nice work, L!
I love the T-shirt she bought at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Museum.
The weather has been cooperating and today was a beautiful sunny day for L's softball game. The game started at 11 a.m. and she invited Grandma Barbara to come along. After the game (the girls lost), we all went down the street to Salerno's for a pizza lunch. L was surprised to see her school friends, L (her future husband, she claims) and A at the next table. I think she spent more time watching the boys and listening to their conversation than she did ours.
Here's E packing last night for her Cleveland trip. Yes, she's packing her algebra book to study for a test on Monday. (I'm not betting on much studying getting accomplished). This morning, E got up at 3:45 a.m. and hopped in the car. Andy picked up her friend, A, and even took B along - not sure why he was up that early. They ran through Dunkin' Donuts for some munchkins (B got a doughnut for himself) and hopped on the bus for Cleveland. E was going with the Julian band; A with the chorus. They're visiting the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame/Museum today, taking a dinner cruise tonight, Cedar Point amusement park tomorrow then home on Sunday. E was so excited!!
I took the day to accompany B's field trip to the Indiana Dunes. The kids learned some pretty interesting things about science and water. Here they're sitting on the dune (Lake Michigan is on the other side) and they're examining the texture of sand. They tested water for insects and ph levels. A couple of the kids slipped on the mud and slid into the water. B even sat by me on the bus. Pretty brave for a sixth-grade boy, I'd say.
At E's karate testing earlier this month, she moved up to a blue belt. Her instructor brought her new belt to class tonight.
Even though it was only 47 degrees outside, B couldn't resist rolling down the window and sticking his head out on our way to L's softball game.
Tuesday and Wednesday were hot - temps in the mid 80s - then it started cooling off Thursday. Neighbors were putting on their air-conditioners (we held out, but definitely considered it) and now everyone is back to having their heat on. L's softball game started this morning at 9 a.m. and it was a frigid 47 degrees. They play if it's over 45 degrees. B and his friend, the coach's youngest son, were huddled under blankets. Eventually I let them sit in my car. After sitting on the cold aluminum bench for three or four innings, I called it a day and took B home. Andy came home with L after the game. Brrr.
E's band at Julian, the wind ensemble, had its final concert last night. Her director recognized all the graduating eighth-graders. Next weekend the band heads to Cleveland to visit the Rock 'n' Roll Museum, take a dinner boat cruise then perform at an amusement park. She's excited to be going!
All three kids came home from school just "dying" because of the heat. After an extremely cool spring, temps reached 90 yesterday and they just can't stand it. This morning, B decided to put his school clothes in the freezer (right next to the ground beef) and put them on just before his friends came to walk with him to school. They didn't stay cool very long.
After volunteering this morning at the Economy Shop, I went over to Irving to pick up the 2010-11 yearbooks. They look great! I'll start selling them to students next week. A bargain at $15 each. Tonight I let L color on the cover with permanent markers as my "sample" copy. The fifth-grade class voted on the cover and, though it wasn't my top choice, it's kind of a neat idea that they can personlize the book however they want.
Andy brought me a bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day. E gave me a $10 gift card that's good for four restaurants (how sweet of her to spend her money on me!). B gave me a papier mache'd egg he made in art class which is special because he doesn't really enjoy doing art projects and L brought me a little tree I think she found at school.
Andy also made breakfast and dinner. We went to church, then went out shopping. Our exciting purchase was a new coffee pot. Couldn't find the fire pit we wanted.
Like last year, E lead the Julian marching band through the streets as one of the majorettes in the Ethnic Fest Parade. Because of budget cuts, this was supposedly the last Ethnic Festival the district will host.
Shortly after lunch today I got a call from the Julian nurse. E's science class was burning sulfur and other chemicals and she passed out. Since it was Friday, they asked if I would come take her home.
When I got to the school they had me sign in as a visitor and gave me a pass to walk the halls. I found E in the nurse's office, holding an ice pack on her forehead. The nurse said she was called up to the fourth floor after E passed out in the hallway. E said she felt a little nauseous and asked the teacher for permission to use the restroom. She stepped out of the classroom and hit the floor. Some seventh-graders told the teacher she passed out and they called the nurse. The nurse took her blood pressure and pulse (both fine) then used a wheelchair to take her to the office.
I had to wheel E back up to the fourth floor to pick up her books and backpack before taking her home. She was upset - everyone was asking her if she was OK - and embarrassed, of course. I told her it was nothing to be embarrassed about. The nurse suspects she might have been a little dehydrated. The office workers hugged her as she left school - they all said what a wonderful girl she is and told her they hope she feels better. E has some bruising on her forehead and upper lip, but she's OK. (Of course, I don't think she could possibly look more miserable than she does in that photo!) Tonight, her friend, A, whose dad is a pediatrician and hopes to be one herself some day, called to check in on her.
Later, she sat with me at L's softball game. L was thrilled to play catcher. I think she likes wearing all the equipment. And it's a position where you have to pay attention and actually get to throw the ball. Her team won!
Today B and L had their initial orthodontic appointments with E's orthodontist. Both need braces - that I knew! B has a bit of an underbite and a small mouth (like mother, like son). He's going to have to have some teeth pulled so he's upset about that. He also has a tooth in the roof of his mouth (apparently, not too uncommon) and the orthodontist suggested that needs to come out as well.
Today was the annual CROP Walk. Andy walked with E and B, and L rode her scooter for the entire 5-mile walk to raise money to buy food for the hungry. Our church hosts the event, serving as the registration spot and kick-off point. B even walked home from the church after the walk! He said he was tired, so he laid down, I covered him up and before I knew it, he was asleep for a short nap.
