Book 12 and a Blast from the Past

Book 12 was the next book club book:

It was described as You've Got Mail with zombies, and I was incredibly dubious when I started to read it. That said, I ended up really loving it. I appreciate the world the author created, and every time I thought I knew what was happening there was a twist. I became totally invested in the characters, and I just found out this morning that the sequel is being released July 2, which is so exciting!

And in a complete blast from the past, look what I found in the yard yesterday:

Evan and Mikey had a nerf gun fight Monday, and they must have missed a few, which gave me a good chuckle.
 

What a Weekend!

We had a super busy, fun weekend! Friday was the first weekend evening we have had with no plans for about forever. We made pizzas and watched movies and generally rested up from the business that was and what will be.

Saturday, we had Issa's last end of season Monarch Soiree. She had a big plan for her final teacher gift. She has been wearing an old pair of Brad's flannel pants to the studio for three years. It has been a running joke, and they have become "THE pants." For her final gift, she turned those pants into pillows:

They all cracked up:

And in a full circle moment, they had a similar plan and gave her a new pair of flannel pants with the Monarch logo:

Those pants took me out. I had to step outside to compose myself. I will be forever grateful for these women who know my girl so well and love her so well. 

Sunday, we finally go to see The Lion King:

My bar was set really high, and the show exceeded my expectations. The puppetry and costumes were just incredible. The emotions on stage were so real, and the music was just incredible. It's definitely in my top five shows of all time. 

This is the last week of school, and we promised the kids we would take them and a couple of friends to Drive Shack to celebrate. Given all of the graduation fun that is coming up, we decided it was easiest to go Monday, and Evan's friend Mikey joined our crazy for the first time:

The kid had never been golfing and was hitting the ball out to the white pins in no time.

They had changed the games this time, and Brad was no amused:

They were way easier for those of us who are not great at golf, but for him it was frustrating to not be able to aim well.

He was thrilled that the last game did count on accuracy, and he showed us all up:

He and I actually took our own clubs this time, and I'm falling love with golf. I think he and I may hit a real course soon. On the way home we stopped to get the first watermelon of the season:

Mikey and Kai spent the day with us, and then Mom and Shannon joined us for a Memorial Day cookout. Summer is just around the corner, and we are so ready for it!
 

Senior Week

Since finals start at the high school next week, this is senior week. Issa has had a special event every day, and it's been very fun to celebrate her.

Monday, we had the Senior Award Ceremony. Her neck will be tired at graduation:

She earned cords for National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Platinum Honors on her Career Keys Assessment, and Red Cross Service. She will be awarded one for graduation Magna Cum Laude next week!

She was also awarded the Orange County Future Teachers Scholarship:

Not only does that come with a scholarship, but she will also have paid professional development in the summers and signed a teaching contract for when she graduates!

Tuesday, she has the senior breakfast followed by the elementary school walk. If this face doesn't scream elementary school teacher I don't know what does:

She loved getting to see all of the kids she works with, and they LOVED getting to see her. While the rest of the seniors were reliving their best playground lives, she spend her time in 133:

It's wild to see this crew back at the elementary!

She has also painted her paw print on the front walk, attended senior sunset, and she will pick up her yard sign tomorrow! It's been a fun week, and next week will be the calm before the big day!
 

The Final Curtain

Saturday morning, Issa and I were out the door at 9 for her final Monarch recital:

We held our breath that our Dream Duffel would make it through the day:

Our handle has been duct taped all year, but it was silly to replace it for the last year. It had a good ten year run, and it did in fact make it through the day without a total collapse. 

It really was a day of joy, and Issa danced the best she ever has. I have never seen her so very, very happy on stage. And she had the best cheering section for her final show:

We are also thrilled with the way her senior display came together. Look at that cute little first costume! And it was adorable to watch some of the littlest dancers gently touch her first pointe shoes. One of the things I am most proud of is her mentorship and kindness to the dancers coming behind her, and I loved watching them love on her all day.

Kai also was there, and he hauled our very broken Dream Duffel back in the house at the end of the day:

And her teachers. Ms. Ruth joined the studio last year, and Issa worked so closely with her this year in some of her own classes but even more so in all of the classes with littles:

She and Issa think so similarly, and I have been so grateful for her steady presence this year. She is able to make Issa laugh right before she cries. 

Brooke has always been one of Issa's biggest fans, and the feeling is mutual:

Issa never felt that she could tap or hip hop until Brooke believed in her. She is a tremendous cheerleader and always a soft place for Issa to land.

And Ms. Stephanie, well, she changed Issa's life when she opened Monarch:

Issa was so discouraged but she wanted to keep dancing. Stephanie helped her find her love of dance again, and she challenged her in ways that made her a stronger dancer and person that we ever imagined. She has been a steady mentor, a rock solid supporter, and second mom to Issa. She helped Issa develop leadership skills and find her voice. Issa is a better human because of her, and I will always be forever grateful.

We are also grateful that we know this is not goodbye. It will be different, but Monarch will always be a part of our lives, and I know Issa will stay in touch with all three of these women as she opens her next chapter.

 

Happy Prom

 We are in a whirlwind of special events, but I want to be sure I give each one the attention is deserves, starting with prom.

We started prom day with a lunch with Issa's best friend, Allison, and her new-ish boyfriend. He wanted to meet Brad and I, and we were happy to take them out to lunch with Kai and Issa. We really like Cole, and it was a fun lunch up at Radius. Just we girls went last year, so it was fun to have the boys join us this year.

Issa came home to get ready, and she did her own hair this year. Evan conceded to one picture when she came downstairs:

And we took the required Monarch antennae picture: 

When we came back in Brad saw her for the first time and might have gotten a little choked up:

We went to Gold Park for pictures, and just as we got there it started to pour. Thankfully we were able to get some great pictures under the shelter house:

We beat Kai there, so we got some pictures of just Issa:

And he was so cute when he got there:

The pictures were so much more relaxed this year since they have been dating for over a year instead of two weeks:

They came back to our house for dinner, and Brad grilled steaks in between rain drops. They had originally planned to go to the Bakeshop for dinner, but a big chunk of the staff (including Kai) was out for prom. Kai didn't think he could relax watching his team work short-staffed. It was fun to have them chat with us while we cooked for them:

Issa requested a floral table, and I was happy to oblige:

After dinner Issa pinned on the boutonniere: 

The two of them took off after dinner to meet Allison and Cole for ice cream before prom.

Kai gave Issa her corsage at prom:

He had forgotten it at home, but his sister brought it to prom. It was gorgeous; we got to see it when she got home:

They came back to our house after to just relax for a while, and Issa was quick to change:

I didn't get a picture, but Issa scrounged up some XL sweatpants and t-shirt for him to change into, too. 

They had a really fun night, and we are so grateful we got to be a part of it.

A Full Heart

Yesterday was one of those days that filled my soul. Brad and I went to our favorite movie theatre and watched a livestream of the Met's Madame Butterfly. They livestream several productions a year, but this is the first time we went. It was absolutely incredible. They even livestream the audience filing in before the start time, and at intermission they interview some of the cast. The production was absolutely incredible, and we will definitely make going to the next a priority.

I also finished book 11:

And that closed the Poldark family saga. I enjoyed this book, but it might have been one too many. The author took a weird murder-mystery turn and there was a gorilla. It kind of went off the rails a bit, but it stayed true to the characters and beautifully tied up the family stories.
 

Super Proud

Issa was officially inducted into the National Technical Honor Society this week:

It was a little extra special since she missed her National Honor Society induction last year because she was sick. Brad and Issa made fun of me because I got all choked up:

I'm super proud of how hard this kid has worked across all disciplines, and I'm so looking forward to celebrating her for the next month!
 

So Much Celebrating

Starting Thursday, work was all about celebrations, including my favorite:

I could take or leave all of the award ceremonies, but I love hooding and graduation. This year's hooding was especially perfect, partly because it was a particularly amazing cohort. I teach all of them in their final semester, so I love getting to read their names and give the closing speech. And graduation morning is just fun. I love watching families celebrate.

Yesterday, my family celebrated me well. I did nothing. I did yoga and sauna, but other than that I let them feed me all my favorite foods. In the afternoon, they even played a new game with me:

You travel the world collecting flower specimens, and it is really fun!

This is recital week, and we are all focused on this weekend and all its celebrations already!

 

Happy birthday, Evan!

I can't believe this guy is 15 today:

His big celebration was Saturday, and he chose Drive Shack:

We laughed so hard. As evidenced by the final score, Brad is the only decent golfer among us:

But...we had a blast. Evan smiled the entire two and a half hours, and he was thrilled to come home to his requested crème brulee:

I think he really wanted the dessert so he could use the torch. We are still laughing that he blew the candles out with torch still lit:

Shannon pitched in with Brad and I to give him a massive computer upgrade for his birthday. He has a new curved monitor, light up keyboard, and some computers guts that make it very fast and cool.

Nana gave him his first kitchen appliance, and his birthday gift to us was watching him attempt to get it out of the box:

He has been talking about the Ninja Creamy for months, and he is loving making his own ice cream and frozen beverages:

This morning he woke up to a decorated house:

And because you have to have something to open on your birthday some computing fuel:

This kid is so easy to celebrate, and the world is better because he arrived on it fifteen years ago.