Growing Up and Moving On

Sydney graduated from 8th grade on Thursday. While I don't find the actual graduation to be a major educational milestone, it definitely is a time for celebration. In a small town, the kids in your class become an extension of your personal family. There are the ones you love and the ones you tolerate, but still...they belong to you...

Syd doesn't believe me, but with the move to high school, those connections aren't as close. In some ways that is good, but in others, it's a little sad. Luckily, she spent the last week of school "partying" (as only silly 8th graders can) with her friends.

On Wednesday, my mom hosted a little luncheon for the girls. The highlight was the chocolate fountain, and the sunglasses.

Thursday morning the kids showed up to school, ate juice and doughnuts, and were back home by 9:00. (I've got to get in better with the 8th grade teachers). That evening, they met at the high school for a few pictures before the big moment...

This is the boy, Chad, that Sydney marched with. She claims that they were the best marchers there. (I'm sure she drilled the poor kid until they were perfect). He brought her that pretty rose. What a cutie!

Later, Sydney was announced as the Co-Valedictorian with Savannah Brown. We sure are proud of her and all of her work.

Finally, they had an after-graduation party with lots of food, music and dancing. The evening ended with an hour long swim in the pool in raining 58 degree weather. Not that it bothered anyone but the lifeguards.

And now she is on to the High School! Heaven help us all!

Two More Days of School!

Remember that huge hot air balloon the 7th grade made? Well, today it became a HUGE slip and slide. It's even down hill. Add a little dish soap, and a lot of water and you've got a bunch of happy kids.

*No students were injured in the making of this activity...

Party Dresses

Sydney's friends came over last night for the finale of her birthday party season. They all dressed up in their 8th grade graduation dresses, loaded up in the Camaro, and drove out to take pictures. (I did the driving....they did the waving and giggling....)

Living on Borrowed Time

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I watched the movie, "Marley and Me". For those of you who haven't seen it, it is about a big 'ole yellow lab dog named Marley. The poor dog has a lot of psychotic issues. The movie chronicles the adventures of the dog and the family through the years. When the dog finally died of old age, I cried until I was sick. (Which shouldn't surprise me--I've read "Where the Red Fern Grows" at least 10 times, and I sob each time).

Well, meet my own psychotic lab, McFly. She joined our family 14 years ago, when Santa brought her as a puppy. Ryan and my sister, Cortney thought the name "McFly" was extremely funny because they liked to knock on her head and say, "Hello, McFly, anybody home?" ( Remember Back to the Future....) No wonder the poor thing has issues, she has been mocked her whole life.

Like Marley, she is afraid of thunder. Lately that has also included firecrackers and even loud noises coming from the park. The minute she gets a little scared, she takes her 100+ pound self, and crams it under the bench on my front porch. To top it off, she proceeds to chew up the wooden railing looking for some sort of comfort.

In her old age, she has become as stubborn as a mule. She is deaf, fairly blind, and her hips don't work very well. At one point, she was so fat she was known as our "4-H pig". But, having passed from middle aged to just dang old, she has thinned out again. She sheds like a wild pony and currently looks like she has the mange. (It takes HOURS to clean her fur out between winter and summer). A few times, I've had to seriously consider having her put down. But then she bounces back and seems spry and happy. A few times, I've considered putting her down because she lays in my flower beds and kills my flowers. They don't bounce back as well. But, we all love her, and that's more than a few flowers I guess.

Until now. Last night I planted some new flowers, and admired how big and pretty the old ones are. Today after school I made the rounds again only to find the flowers crushed and broken. I fixed things as best I could, but if that (*&%^ dog kills another flower, she is going to die.

...Or not.

...But I may swear at her.

I've Always Wanted to Take this Picture

Payson, Arizona

I don't know about you,
But this leaves me with
more questions
than answers.

May 2, PROM

Wouldn't you know it, I practiced and practiced with my camera so that I could get some good pictures of Cade and Jorden. I got some great shots of other kids coming up the aisle in the "Grand March". But when it came their time my hands were shaking so badly that I didn't do so well. Get a grip Marcie! Even though the pictures aren't perfect, the two of them look great.

My Cinco De Mayo Baby

Today, my sweet Sydney turned fourteen. There is something about that number that just tugs at my heart. For some reason, 13 didn't seem so old, but that extra year she added today just does me in. We always celebrate her birthday for about 2 weeks because it gets pushed aside with all the little league games, end of the year school assignments and the baseball state tournament. So, to start, she opened presents this morning and later I bought her lunch. Normally, she would choose her favorite dinner, but the baseball team was having a BBQ, so she chose to go to that. (I really didn't have to twist her arm). The boys were great. When she showed up, they started singing "Happy Birthday", and then posed for this picture with her. You can tell by her smile that it wasn't torture. I've already printed it out for her so that she show off at school tomorrow. This weekend, we'll do a little shopping in her honor, and then when we actually have a free day, she is going to have a little party with her friends.

In her honor, here are 14 facts about "Syd the kid".

1. On the day she was born in Flagstaff, it snowed, rained, hailed, blew and the sun came out. All in one day. It has always reminded me of her personality...a little of everything.

2. When she was a baby, she did not like to be held or comforted. If you tried to snuggle with her, she would throw a fit. But if you just laid her down, she could be happy for hours.

3. When learned to talk, she couldn't say her "l" or "r" sound. So we spent a lot of time saying "Lori loves lollipops" to practice. It sounded a lot more like "Wowi Woves Wowwipops". She did finally catch on.

4. Her first word (outside of the mama one) was "stomp". She was bossy about it. When she said "Stomp", you'd better get with it, or she would get angry.

5. She loved my parents dog, "Suzie". Suzie moved in with us when my parents moved to Alaska. She was too old to make the trip. Syd made her final years happy. They spent a lot of time laying on the grass and eating Cheetos together.

6. When she was younger she was a champion snake catcher. She had watched so much Crocodile Hunter that she could copy exactly how he would catch snakes with a stick.

7. Speaking of TV, she loves to watch shows like "How it's Made" and other Discovery Channel shows. Sometimes I'll leave my room because Ryan is watching some "BORING" show, only to find that Syd is watching the same boring show downstairs. But she will watch Cold Case and The Unit with me, so it's not all bad.

8. She is COMPETITIVE. She comes by it naturally, but phewwwww! She is a spitfire when it comes to winning. But she also has the ability to channel it in order to fuel herself, not cut down others.

9. She has always been a beautiful girl. But when she was little, that competitiveness often resulted in a scowling face (and a little attitude). So every morning when I brushed her hair I would remind her that Beauty comes from how we act, not how we look and you're not pretty if you don't act pretty. She still can chant it to Lauren when Lou needs that talk.

10. She plays the piano extremely well. She has been taking lessons since she was eight. She's excited because she only has 2 more lessons before I let her quit. I love to lay on the couch and listen to her play.

11. She is an incredibly determined girl. If she sets her mind to something, it will happen. She has amazing will power. (I think she is adopted).

12. She is at the top of her class academically.

13. As I've mentioned before, she likes to be alone. But at the same time, she does enjoy having fun and being silly with her friends. (Just not for long stretches of time).

14. She is a super athlete. She plays soccer, volleyball, basketball and her all-time favorite softball.

and one to grow on...She is a great daughter and I love her "too much"!

Happy Birthday Syd.