Little girl...all grown up

Andrea had her graduation ceremony last night. They called it the "Moving on" Ceremony. I'm guessing because they just cross the street to the highschool for next year. Several students won't be back next year but most of Andrea's friends will start high school with her. Andrea came home on Friday and jumped in the shower. We did her hair and off we went. ( As an aside, Jess came home with a fever so she stayed home with one of our friends.)
Here is An, before the ceremony...note the expression. She did NOT want to be taking pictures, even though we were the first ones there and no one was there to see. But I like the dress, and she looks so pretty in it. I think this is the only photo of the whole thing.

Her friend Mikai showed up and we took a picture by the flowering vine.

Alexa volunteered to be a flag bearer for the ceremony. So, she was dressed up too.

Here is Joe and me mugging around waiting for the shibang to start.

Alexa placing the flag in it's thing.

Andrea is the second from the right in the back.

And the other side of the class.

There were 28 students in all. Each one gave a short speech. Then they gave out 5 awards dealing with citizenship. The recipients were all girls. Andrea says the boys are all slackers. The teachers had high praise for the entire class discussing how the kids were all interested in building community and how they were the first class to vote that 40 hours of community service should be a requirement for them for graduation. Listening to the speeches, you couldn't help but be proud of the kids and hopeful for all our futures.

They had each line stand in front as they went one by one handing out certificates and keys. Joe was in charge of the photo. It's not printable. So here is Andrea after she received her certificate.

And up close. The key is similar to the one Benjamin Franklin used when he discovered electrity. I like the symbolism...go forth and be a lightning rod, discover something amazing, imagine new inventions.

At the conclusion of the ceremony all the students gave their parents a bouquet of flowers.

It was a beautiful way to end the school year. I didn't even cry...although I did get choked up when the director asked the 9th grade to stand up. *sniff* My baby's in highschool.

When we arrived home, Jess's temp was up to 103.7. Thanks to Alexa, I knew where the hospital was. The clinics we've gone to are not open on Saturdays and we had party scheduled for noon so...better to go to the ER then. The doctor spoke spanish but we were able to convey the problems and he wrote a prescription for us. She's resting comfortably now. Hopefully she'll be right as rain by tomorrow, when Nick finally comes home. We've missed him terribly this week!

I'll post pictures from todays Graduation party later.

Love to all!
~Bren

Joe's party

The rain on friday brought cooler weather on Saturday for Joe's pool party, but that didn't stop the kids from having a great day. First they munched on some homemade corndogs, spare ribs and salad.

Then the water war of 2009 started with water balloons and guns blaring...

They split girls against boys...the boys didn't stand a chance when Joe's sisters joined in.

Everyone was wet at this point so they all jumped in the pool

They took a quick break for a few group photos...

It's good to be king...

Happy Birthday Joe!

A little more than 12 months after I held the littlest baby I'd ever held in my arms, Joseph was born. He topped his sister by 3/4 of an ounce. Because Alexa stopped growing the last months of pregnancy, they watched my pregnancy with Joseph very closely, which meant, regular ultrasounds. I never complained though because all those ultrasounds meant I got to see my son more often. We knew he'd be on the small side from the beginning because of it...and it took until his 5th birthday to actually get ON the growth charts the pediatrician's office likes to use. But, as they told me then, Joseph was on his own growth curve...and that's all that mattered.

Joseph came into the world, 12 years ago today. My son, my little man.

He was always the quiet one. But, as time went on we noticed his wicked sense of humor. He loved making us laugh. And in time he learned that you had to raise your voice a little in our house to get heard.

I even found proof that the girls love him...(some days it's hard to remember that as they get older...and get mad at each other for the littlest things.) I may have this one blown up into poster size.

Times haven't changed all that much...

My little man is growing up. More days than not he has a smile on his face and is willing to help out where he can. He's smart and is starting to realize an appreciation for languages. He's running for Middle school Vice President and has made a great group of friends at BFIS. He's ready with a joke or a gag at a moments notice to put a smile on your face. I miss the little boy he was but I love the person he's becoming.

Happy Birthday , Joe! We love you!!

Weekend adventures...

We had a fabulous three day weekend. Nick was away on business until Saturday morning. So, I took the kids shoe shopping for the day to give him some peace and quiet. Andrea now has the perfect shoes for her graduation ceremony in about a week and a half.(seriously how did this happen so quickly) Sunday we took the kids to the movies. Joe invited his friend Ben along and Nick and the boys went to see Star Trek while the girls and I saw Night at the Museum 2. I highly recommend the film, very funny. Because the theater that plays Original Soundtrack versions is in Port Olympic, we packed our swimsuits to take a plunge in the sea as well.

We walked along the marina and did some yacht shopping and stopped into a sailing school to inquire about some lessons for the family for the fall. It didn't take long for hunger to overcome us and we stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch.

We returned home and enjoyed the rest of the evening by the pool. Sunsets here are still getting later and usually happen around 9;30-ish. It gives the oddest sensation of the day lasting forever...in a good way.

A friend of ours, Robin, organized a few families to go to NaturPark on Monday. The kids had off of school because of Pentecost, I think. This park is set up among the trees not far from where we live. They outfitted us with climbing harnesses and gave us a quick lesson on how to climb around the trees and use the apparatuses...apparati...lol climbing things. The routes are ranked from beginner to advanced. We started on the beginners and worked our way through...

We've got a few of our kids, myself included, afraid of heights and I was worried how the day would go. But because you're pretty securely clipped on it's not as scary as you'd think...until your legs give out half way through a route. The kids were great. And I only had one freak out moment...that lasted for a few minutes but I survived. We're looking forward to going back soon!

The kids are back at school. Joe's birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe it! 12?! Ack. We've got a pool party planned for him this weekend, then a graduation party planned the next weekend for Andrea. School's over soon and we have lots of visits planned with family and friends over the summer. Time is rushing by so quickly...probably because we're having so much fun.

Spring Concert and Port Aventura

I'm getting really bad at getting these updates online. I'm blaming it on the weather. We've had glorious sunny days. Last friday the kids had a Spring concert. More specifically Jessica's class performed with a few others. Andrea and some of the kids in the Drama club performed a song from Godspell. I didn't get pics of that. I got video but I'm still having issues uploading those.

here is Jess and some of her class. They sang Do Re Mi. Her friend Karina had a solo as Maria.

That night the school held their International Food Festival. There were a lot countries represented with some very interesting and great food. I worked at the American table. Alexa and I had made little apple pie tarts. My favorite was the Russian table, where they had halupki. Yummy! We left early though because we had plans on Saturday with our friends, the Lasso's.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to drive to Port Aventura. It's a Universal Theme park about an hour outside of Barcelona. It was an overcast day and a little chilly but we made the most of it. The kids had a great time on the rides...

Here we all are waiting for the Runaway train ride.

The teacup rideand Alexa and Joe on the serpent...

The kids are finishing up the school year. It's hard to believe it's almost over. News of friends who won't be returning is slowly coming in. Alexa has found out her four closest friends won't be here after the summer. She is having a rough time of it. Never the less, all four were talking about staying longer than two years on the way home from Port Aventura. Andrea is considering graduating from here. Alexa was in agreement until this week when she heard the news about her friends. Now she wants to go back to the US this year. I'm hoping they are content with a few weeks. We are planning on being in Massachusetts from August 10th through 29th.

So that's the news for now.

love and miss you all!!
~Bren