One for the History Books

The school year has come to a close.  All three kids achieve outstanding grades and created lasting memories.  I am so proud of all three for what they accomplished this year.  Here is a blurry picture of Trisha as she leaves middle school for the last time as an 8th grader.  I can't believe she is going to be in high school!!

Unfortunately the kids have had to learn some very hard life lessons.  About 2 weeks ago, one of the star football players from the high school drowned.  Kristin knew him pretty well since he briefly dated one of her friends, was in the class ahead of hers, and was friends with the guy that took her to prom.  His death brought back all the pain and sorrow from the tragic death of another friend back in December.  Then, two nights before school was to let out for the summer, Trisha learned that one of her classmates had taken his own life.  That tragedy has left me stunned.  Trisha and I have talked.  She's asked 'Why?' and I've told her that there will never be a way to understand what all was going through his head to make him feel that that was the only solution.  The accidental deaths are no less tragic, but they are easier to understand 'Why'.  All we can do is pray for them and their families.  And hug and kiss our own kids as often as we can.

The summer is already packed with activities.  Blake and Trisha have camps to head off to.  Kristin has volleyball conditioning and a 3-day-a-week babysitting job.  I have Knitters Connection and a girls' weekend away. Ed has his 6th Ironman Triathlon.  Together we have a week at the beach.  We may not be able to fit in a trip to Tennessee this year.  The kids are going to be disappointed about that, but I'm not sure when we'd be able to fit it in.

On the knitting front, I finished the baby blanket for my friend, but forgot to take a photo of it before gifting it.  I'll see if I can get my friend to forward a picture to post.  I'm now trying to get Decimal finished.  I have another summer sweater waiting in the queue, but have vowed not to start it until Decimal is off the needles.

Back to School

Tuesday marked the first day of school for the kids. All the kids woke up early, eager to get to school. Kristin even got up before me and hopped in the shower. She did it again on the second day, but by the third day she had to be dragged out of bed. I knew it wouldn't last, but I was hoping the morning battles wouldn't begin quite this soon. Trisha is always 'Up and At 'Em" for school. She loves school and is always eager to go. She is a little sad that most of her friends are in other classes, but I'm sure she'll make friends among her current classmates. Blake has switched over to the local public school, just as his sisters did after 5th grade. He was nervous at first, worrying that he wouldn't make any friends. After only a couple days, he has met several boys that he says are fun and share common interests. He is also shooting for all As this year. He wants to make this a good year all around.



The Fall sports season has begun. Kristin made the JV volleyball team. Their first official game was yesterday at Ed's alma mater. Kristin's team is half freshman and I was worried it was going to be a total blow-out, but the girls held their own. They lost the first match by about 7 points, won the second match by 3, and lost the 3rd match 26-24. It was very close and exciting. The girls did a great job! BTW, Kristin played libero for the first match. She's the one in the white jersey below.



Trisha is on her school's cross country team. There meets haven't yet begun. Unfortunately, I keep the scorebook for Kristin's team, so getting to Trisha's meets is going to be difficult. I'm hoping to train another parent on how to keep the books, so that I can go. I feel terrible about missing some of her meets.

Speaking of Trisha, she finished the top of her quilt. We need to buy some fabric for the back and then I can quilt it for her. She did a great job. It measures 48" by 72", a nice size for cuddling under on chilly nights.



I've been trying get my shawl finished that I started in Amy Singer's class. I did a little math and figured I can get about 135 rows out of the two skeins of yarn. I'm at about row 120. My goal is to get at least 2 rows a day finished.