No, just honkin' busy. The last 2 weeks have been c-r-a-z-y and I feel like I just now have time to breathe before returning to school on July 31st. So here's an update, in a nutshell... Gosh...where to begin...
A HOT, long evening at 2 different places for ball pictures. Neither one came out stellar, but they love their ball and we love stockpiling those team photos! :0)
Book given to me by current/former students - harkening back to 4th grade!
Hanna graduates kindergarten!
Ball Day 2012 Joel's team sponsor this year was Seals Funeral Home (2nd year in a row being sponsored by a funeral home!) So Andy's brainchild float theme was to do "SEAL TEAM VI" and deck it out with camo. We opted not to go with the joke slogan "You bag 'em, we tag 'em". LOL
Hanna's team - The Diamonds Her games are so relaxed and short! Love it!
Even dad gets to ride on the float this year!
At Ball Day, the families of our sponsors threw the first pitch to their teams. Joel was catching, so I snapped a nice pic of him in the gear.
Some jousting fun after the first game of the day. Hanna vs. Joel Ratliff
Joel Walton vs. Joel Ratliff /////// Here's the gang at a froyo place before heading to SkyZone for Joel's b-day. Ruthie (Joel's girlfriend) is on the far left. And now the update in a nutshell...
- Last week of April: Andy had a back spasm at work and was rendered incapacitated enough that we needed to call an ambulance to get him to the ER. Not pretty. Long story-short: all is back to normal, but we now know that my man's body is not cut out for the strong pain meds that were pumped through it during the ordeal. Oh, and he is officially in the "tease-him-as-old-man" club.
- May: a blur really. Spring Concert with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Same night as Hanna's Kindergarten Graduation. Was able to make it there in time to see her sing a couple of songs and get her "diploma". At our concert, the main boy character (only boy in the 7th grade choir) for a girl group great medley was a no-show, so we had to have the principal step in. Was fun, but a complete mess that night, starting with a grandmother who fell down the steps into the cafe/commons right during line-up at the start of the concert. Medics, stretcher, the whole 9-yards. On our way into the gym, I overheard her say she was denying medical treatment because she was NOT going to miss her granddaughter sing!
- Late in May, Hanna performed in her class's "ABC Rodeo". It's something only her teacher does every year; she raises and rides horses, her classroom is all western-themed, etc... Hanna was so cute - she was "T" for 'trick-rider'. She struggled to keep up with her trick-riding fron half of the horse partner, but it was adorable! I had tears in my eyes the whole time...maybe because for the past 8 years, I've been helping with the event. Same thing happened at graduation when I saw the kids performing to music I had picked for last year's kinders and doing the same choreography... But it was also because my baby is a big girl now!
- 8th Grade Graduation was one of those "annoyances" that I needed to be a part of for most of the day, so I was unable to really take part in field day and awards at the middle school with my main group of kids. When it was all happening, though, I really enjoyed seeing the kids at the ceremony. The annoyance abated pretty quickly... I was very proud of all their accomplishments, and the choir sounded great on their 2 songs. Earlier in the year, the 8th graders completed a career project for class - some groups picked music teacher, some did show director, some did budget plans, and others did singer/songwriter. They had to present the projects in class. One group of 6 kids composed and performed a spectacular song that was totally appropriate for graduation, so they agreed to sing it there. It went over beautifully. Two of my girls who I had in 4th grade choir - so long ago!, presented me with a book that they had authored and illustrated. It was based off of the bookmark I gave them at the end-of-year breakfast in 4th grade. It said, "If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing". They created a story completely based off of that bookmark quote! - It was amazing and of course I cried as I read through it.
- End-of-the-year brought the unfortunate news that I was not going to be allowed back into the elementary, even though one of the elementary teachers was retiring. The politics and ridiculous contract-bending-hoops that were placed in my path were too much to overcome. I have lost all faith in the corporation administrators and their ability to retain a backbone. So, I remain at the middle school doing 6th-7th-8th grade choir again, probably for a long stretch. Will still have to walk across to do 8th grade choir in the "not-my-classroom", but at least they will all be my former 7th graders and hopefully won't present me with as much difficulty as the last class. At least I was able to get a prep period scheduled for next year...that will be nice.
- This past weekend was Ball Day in town...a morning parade with all the teams on floats, games all day in the park, working the bounce houses, and tracking down your kids after they've wandered off with friends in the park! We had our annual team cook-out at our house the night before - happened to be the coldest day this season - and float building until about 10pm. Then up early for a 7:45am line-up in town. Joel's team got 4th place for the float! Hanna's team just piled in the back of a truck and waved. She informed me that she preferred being in the audience so she could catch candy rather than throw it! This whole weekend continued to remind me that my husband is a good man. He's a hard worker, he steps in and goes above what needs to be done, and he coaches our childrens' teams for the right reasons. We may not win all our games, but the kids are learning and having fun. Now if only we could take some of the parents out of the mix... :0)
- It warmed my heart to see all my former students at the parade and throughout the day. More than one float went past me with cries of, "Hey! It's Mrs. Walton! Hi Mrs. Walton...we really miss you!!" One of the 5th grade boys said, "I get to see you again next year, Mrs. Walton." I told him I'll be waiting and slapped him a high-five. So, not all bad I guess...
- Ball season has been busy. Two to three games a week, lugging coach's equipment, playing dugout mom, keeping the book, snacks, making sure Andy has the right shirt for the right team he's coaching that day...HA! Wouldn't trade it for the world. We've got some pretty good little ball players. Today, we put gymnastics back in the mix after a 2-week break. Now, it will feel like the school year is back on again... Happy Summer all...
