The Graduate

The other night we attended Reed's 8th Grade Promotion. He marched in with his class, to the music of IZ, and looked so handsome in his new suit and (size 16!) shoes. He received several awards; one for Outstanding Achievement in Leadership and one for Community Service. After the ceremony in the 107* gym was over, they loaded up on buses and headed to their big party/dance sponsored by the school. Now he's moving on to bigger and better things. High School things.

CONGRATULATIONS, REED. YOU MADE IT THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL !!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Father; Leader; Friend; Grandpa; Listener; Teacher; Coach; Counselor

(and, of course, Fisherman)

I LOVE YOU, DAD !!!!!

Cautiously Optimistic

We got some exciting news yesterday from Little Guy's caseworker. His dad's home study was denied. This doesn't necessarily mean we get to adopt him, but it does mean he most likely won't be going to live with his dad in August. Hooray!!
His dad's attorney will surely appeal the decision and drag that out as long as humanly possible. And the caseworker told us the state will now begin doing serious relative searches and determining if there are any relatives who would be appropriate permanent resources. I know he has several aunts and a grandma who have expressed interest.
In other words, there's still a long, hard road ahead.
But we're starting to feel a glimmer of hope.

Cute Little Brace Face

Montana has been so excited about getting braces, even though her big brother and big sister have been sure to *warn* her about how much it hurts. Her big day finally came. She was so happy. She chose silver brackets with turqoise rubber bands around them. She could hardly wait to get to school this morning to show her teacher and her friends. Of course, they didn't put any wires on the brackets yet, so it's all fun and games until next week...

Circus Circus

While we were in Las Vegas we took the kids to Circus Circus. Everyone (except me) got a full day pass. I don't particularly like rides, but I had fun watching them and taking pictures. They had a B*L*A*S*T. We chose a great day to go because school was still in session and there were hardly any lines at all. They were able to just walk up and get on most of the rides. I think they rode the big roller coaster 4-5 times in a row.

Little Guy saw the Pirate Ship and wanted to ride it. It ended up scaring him because it went so high. But as soon as the ride was over, he wanted to do it again. So they stayed on for another turn. Even the older kids loved this ride.

Frog Hopper

The Disk-O--caused a few tears

We went home for lunch and swimming, then spent the evening with Hank's family. Afterwards, he took the 3 older ones back because their passes were good until midnight. They used every last minute.