Bluebird Sightings: So Past Due!

I probably do not have anyone even reading this blog at this point because I've been so unfaithful in writing it. I have no one to blame but myself. But today I am turning over a new leaf, a pretty green summer leaf that is!

I'm going to try to blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at least, this summer. I have got to work some routine into my summer or I'm going to catch a full-blown case of my kids' contagious laziness. I'm determined to be productive. In fact, I need to be productive. I have college and braces to pay for!

Today, I'll begin with a little about Daniel's graduation from high school. He graduated May 21 ( I know, that seems like forever ago now! Like I said, I've been pitiful about blogging!). We had such a great week. Both sets of grandparents drove in from their respective states, Georgia and Texas. The weather threatened rain all week, but no wet stuff ever really materialized. So that simply meant that the temps stayed nice and low - in the 70s and 80s, tops.

James and I got to go to Daniel's dress rehearsal on Wednesday night and take all the pictures we wanted. It was such a neat night. All the parents could just get on the football field and right in there with the grads. The administration just conducted the rehearsal as though we weren't even there and didn't seem fazed by our noisy conversations, flashing cameras, and laughter. I'm so glad we had that opportunity. With over 600 graduates it's impossible for everyone to really see their graduate on the Big Night, so this up-close-and-personal experience made up for all that.

Here's Daniel receiving his parking passes, tickets, and commemorative program in lieu of his diploma on the rehearsal night.

Graduation night we all went to an early dinner at a local Italian restaurant and headed to the stadium. We were there nice and early. Graduation went off without a hitch and we got the boy graduated. But the neatest thing was the big party the grads had at the school afterwards. Project Graduation is sponsored by hundreds of community members and organizations. It's an all-night, drug and alcohol free party at the school with tons of games, food, and prizes. The theme was "It's a Jungle Out There", fitting for graduates, I thought, and they had decorated the whole school in a jungle theme. The grads had poker tournaments, basketball tournaments, BINGO, Guitar Hero, tricycle races, etc. And they all got to choose from hundreds of huge gift baskets that included things like microwaves, bikes, IPods, etcs. They also had huge cash prizes and even airline tickets as door prizes. Daniel had a blast and, of course, slept the entire next day!

The day after graduation we hosted a party for Daniel in our backyard. Lots of friends came to help us celebrate the big event. We had hamburgers and hotdogs. We had spent all day getting ready for the party, with grandparents doing the bulk of the work. They helped us plant flowers, string party lights, clean off the lawn furniture, and prepare the food. Kudos to great parents/grandparents!

Here's our all-grown-up grad with his two grandmothers, Nana and Mammaw.