Graduation Celebration

 
WARNING: Proud Parent Alert!
On May 23, we celebrated our daughter's high school graduation. Where has the time gone?? It's hard to believe that she's 18 and ready to go on to college and start the next phase of her life. She finished well, graduating with honors. We were blessed to have loads of family and friends come to celebrate with us--she had 15 people who love her cheering from the cheap seats at her graduation ceremony.
The whole weekend was a busy blur, but SO much fun. I had 16 people in the house to cook for on Friday night. I made a huge lasagna, fettucine alfredo, and penne pasta with meat sauce, salad, and rosemary bread with olive oil for dipping. Then it was on to preparing for Saturday's post-graduation party and our Mexican buffet. Thankfully I had lots of food choppers, cooks, and even dishwashers on hand to help. As my grandmother used to say "many hands make light work". This was certainly true!
And in all the hoopla surrounding my daughter's graduation, I can't overlook my son either. He finished middle school with high honors for 8th grade. That means all A's, all year. He accomplished a lot in the classroom and was also a starter on the school's basketball team and a valuable asset to the track team as well. He was also recognized on honors night with a poetry award! One well-rounded guy.
I am super-blessed with two wonderful children, and I thank God that He chose me to be their mother. They've probably taught me as much as I've taught them.

Spring Break--Magical!

For spring break this year, we traveled to Orlando once again. This was also a tag-along to one of Emily's band trips. They marched in a parade and did a recording session with one of Disney's professional musicians and had a great time. We picked Emily up in Orlando, saving her from a long bus trip home, and spent 3+ days at Disney.
Our first stop was the Magic Kingdom--we arrived about 6 pm on Sunday night and stayed in the park until about 1:30. Disney sure is different with teens, I must say. The lines were low and we got to do a lot, but we also got the "blooper tour" of the MK that night...let's see, something went wrong in Space Mountain and we got to see the inside of the dome with all the lights on....then in the middle of the Jungle Cruise our boat died and we had to be rescued and towed back to the dock...all of which, I must say, was really pretty fun and interesting. I'm sure if we'd had little kids they might have been scarred for life, as our jungle boat stopped right at the point where the huge hippo head comes out of the water and approaches the boat. (After about the third time, it stops looking so scary :)
Over the next three days we did the other three parks and although we all have a soft spot in our hearts for the Magic Kingdom, we probably have the most fun with our teens at Hollywood Studios. The Rock-N-Roller Coaster is something that we as a family can't get enough of! We rode it three times this trip.
I was really looking forward to riding Expedition Everest at AK for the first time, and I must say I was disappointed. I wanted it to be a LOT scarier. It did feel kind of authentic because it was so cold the day we went there--forget the water parks for this trip, please!
I truly enjoyed and appreciated this week with my kids, who are growing up at a dizzying rate. With DD leaving for college in August, I treasure family time even more these days because I know I'll miss it--this may have even been the last big vacation for just the four of us. All in all, a magical week!!