Have You Met My Son - The Mouse?

Well...Jack is officially a High School Actor. It's been 10 weeks of school and his theater troupe has performed two shows. The first was Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach". Jack played Mr. Trotter (James' father) and he was killed by a wild rhinocerus. 3 1/2 weeks later (and 15 rehearsals), they performed Roald Dahl's "The Witches". Jack played "Boy" who became an orphan in the first few lines and went to live with his Grandmother. She told him stories of witches - real witches - and how they lived like ordinary women. As the story goes on, poor "Boy" is turned into a mouse. Tonight was their 3rd performance. I saw this one (was manning the concession and ticket table for the first two shows)...but tonight was the best performance so far. The entire show was amazing and funny and I just loved watching Jack on stage. Above are a few pics (keep in mind the theater was dark and I didn't use a flash - so they are a little blurry). But, nonetheless, it was a fantastic event. Jack is loving theater and enjoying his new friends. They start rehearsing on Tuesday for their really big show...Roald Dahl's "Willy Wonka" (have you seen a pattern yet?)

Fall is in the Air!

It's nearing the end of October and the weather actually turned cool for a brief time over the weekend. I believe the low on Saturday was 52 and we were loving it. Our neighbors, Matt, Carrie and Avie, Rennee and Matthew, and family, Beth, Joel and Joshua, came over for some yummy homemade tortilla soup and pumpkin carving time. We gobbled up 2 recipes of halloween rice krispy treats, too. It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy the crisp air and swat mosquitos! The pumpkins turned out great. Matt carved the pirate ship, I made the window scene and Jack carved the spider. Bill took the photo - he did an awesome job. Sunday afternoon, I made a batch of candy corn kiss chocolate cookies. These are a spin off of the peanut butter cookies with hershey kisses. I got the idea from one of my favorite sites - The Idea Room. Check out her blog - I go there almost everyday.

This week will be quite busy. Jack has his upcoming performance of Roald Dahl's, The Witches, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He has the lead male role. I'm nervous - but he says they are totally ready. I can't wait for the show. Jack got his haircut this afternoon - it's nice to see his eyes again :) Matt has his first middle school dance on Friday night - Zombie Prom. How fun is that? We are starting the 10th week of school and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Bill has the Houston Skate Marathon this Sunday morning. He's been training hard. We'll let you know his time after the race. Hope you all have a fantastic week!

First Day of School - Updated!

I thought it would be fun to show the progression of the boys over the years. Every year on the first day of school, I take their picture in front of the front door. I couldn't find every one of those pictures (but I will definitely dig through my stacks of photos to locate them all). But...I did want to post the 4 pics that I did find.

Edited to add: Yeah!! I found more pics of the first day of school. These were from waaay back and I had to scan them in. I'm still looking for the missing 4 pics - but I'm so happy nonetheless....

Here's Jack on his first day of Kindergarten. He looked so handsome!

Here's 1st grade. Now...what a charmer! Spiked hair and sunglasses. He still has those tall socks!

Now, this is sweet. Matt's first day of Pre K and Jack heading out the door to 2nd grade. Matt sure did have a lot of spiderman stuff!

Above is the day that Matt went to Kinder and Jack was in 3rd grade. I need to remind him of his "tall sock" phase. He wouldn't be caught dead in socks that went above the ankle now. Also...notice the progression of the door mats and the floor. I thought that was pretty interesting too.

Fast forward two years...here's Matt going into 2nd grade and Jack going into 5th grade. Jack didn't wear shorts that whole year - didn't like his legs showing. And that hair on both of them - so 1970s!
This picture shows Matt going into 5th grade and Jack going into 8th grade. I like to see how they compare to the top of the door. They are growing like weeds.

Our final picture was taken yesterday - the first day of school 2009! Matt's first day of middle school and Jack's first day of High School. Yes I cried the night before. I realized that the first day of kindergarten is nothing compared to this high school thing...and before I know it...4 years will go by and we'll be moving Jack into his UT dorm.

I love these boys! They make me so proud!

My Super Handsome Boys

This is my favorite recent picture of my two boys. I just love their expressions and that they are hugging each other and actually look like they like each other :) Anyway...I had not blogged in a couple days, so I thought I would post this picture. I just love these kids!

Matt's 5th grade graduation is Tuesday morning, so I will post again then with pics of his special day. Tomorrow, the entire 5th grade is going bowling. That will be lots of fun, too! I'm chaperoning and look forward to watching the activities.

Jack's 8th Grade Graduation

Well...last night was the big night! Jack graduated from middle school. I know this isn't the biggest milestone in life, but it sure was something for us. It's so hard to believe that 9 years of school has past and that Jack will be going into high school (a phase that I am completely freaking out about). But, Jack is more than excited about all the adventures that lay ahead. I'll keep praying for all of this and know that by the time it happens, I'll be okay with it too.

Back to last night...it was fabulous. 117 8th graders crossed the stage to receive their diplomas and special awards. Our principal and staff of teachers created special awards for every single student. Some were funny, some were fitting and some asked for forgiveness. Jack received the "I know I shouldn't say this out loud, but I'm going to anyway" Award. His was very fitting. He also received the President's Gold Award for Educational Excellence. That was very exciting. His GPA was 3rd in his graduating class. Two very deserving girls beat him out for the top two spots. At the end of the ceremony, there was a tearful (at least for me) picture slideshow of all of these kids from 6th - 8th grade. Before the lights came back on, the 8th grade staff sprayed the graduates with a dozen cans of silly string. It was awesome.

We ended the evening with a dinner out at a little divey mexican restaurant. We packed the place out, but service and food were excellent. I was sad as I looked over this crew of amazing young teens and wished it could continue on like this forever. But, most will go their separate ways for high school and make new friends and new memories. I hope for Jack that he will remember this time in his life.... and smile.

Jack on Stage

This is my oldest son, Jack. He loves to be on stage and sing and perform. He was chosen to sing a solo at his school's winter concert. He was really congested and had a stuffy nose, but he did his best. I love hearing him sing. I hope you enjoy!