The hugs and squishes!

Afterward, the group moved to the Pavilion, next to the Lower Campus Chapel for hugs, pictures and congratulations! The girls ditched their cap and gowns toot sweet and got to show off their beautiful dresses!


Mrs. Kathy Schlegel is Sarah's mostest favoritiest teacher! She taught her in 6th grade.


Sarah, Mrs. Schlegel and Kaitlin, whom Sarah has known since kindergarten!


Sydney, Sarah and Audrey


Sarah and Mr. Wilkins


Sarah and Miss Danielle!


Sarah with Rachel, who is a year ahead of Sarah and went to CES too.


Mrs. Sarah Flynn, her science teacher from last year.


Sarah and Becca


Sarah and Brie


Sarah and Heather, whose mom is Sarah's home ec teacher!


Sarah and Liz


Sarah and Mr. Michael Folsom. They have such a great relationship and as the high school tennis coach, we hope she'll make his team!


Sarah and her science teacher, Mrs. Rachel Wilkinson (also very lovingly known by her students as Mrs. Wilkie-face)


Sarah and Courtney


Sarah and Kylie


Sarah and Dara


Sarah and Emily


Heather, Caitlin and Sarah

The Ceremony.....

After the hair appointment, we flew home, ate a bowl of cereal and were on our way out to the ceremony! There were approximately 90 graduates and the ceremony was so well done - not too long but certainly with highlights from the students and staff.





Shaking hands with Chuck Leslie, the Superintendent of Christian Unified School District.....



...and with one of her most favorite teachers, Mr. Tobin Wilkins. From day one, she's called him her BFFLABAIH (Best Friend For Life And Beyond And In Heaven) and he congratulated her and called her his BFFLABAIH - and got it right!



On to the party!

Graduation preparation...

One might think I'm referring to the academics required to graduate but no, I mean the hair, nails, dresses and all that jazz!

We hit the ground running - Thursday was the last day of school and I swooped up Kelsey, Danielle, Sarah at 11:30 and we met the moms at Souplantation for lunch. Afterward, we drove to Vicki's Nails to get the girls mani/pedis done. They all chose to get a French manicure for their fingernails and Sarah and Danielle had pedicures, choosing almost the same color!



Sarah, Kelsey and Danielle



Sarah's pretty toesies!


Miss Kelsey had to add her two feet's worth!


We decided to get Sarah's hair styled and luckily Miss Catherine at Timeless Salon had time for Sarah. She, Ed and Kendra helped get her cap to sit just right. We absolutely LOVE everyone at Timeless! Vanessa's done an amazing job assembling such an awesome team!



Consultation with Edgardo...



And the lovely Kendra, our official esthetician!



The finished product! :-)

A Walk Through the Park!

So last week when I was off work, I decided to go for an early morning walk in Balboa Park. It was lovely and I truly envy those who can do this sort of thing every morning (dumb work gets in the way, especially since I start at 7a.m. around 90% of the year.) Anyway! :-) I thought I would post some pictures I took. Love having my trusty Nikon Coolpix available! It was very foggy that morning so some of the pictures might look better if you click on them to enlarge.

This is the infamous Jacaranda. Every year about this time, pretty much every block in the city of San Diego turns purple with Jacaranda (I think the founding fathers of San Diego got a really, really great deal on Jacarandas from the Franciscan Padres!)





Then you find purple flowers all across the sidewalk - well purple splotches after they're stepped on....


I'm 99% certain that this is a Cherry Blossom but to be safe, I'm just titling this one "Pretty Pink Flower"!



This one is entitled "Schmucks That Have To Go To Work". And lest you think me cruel, I'm usually one of those schmucks! :-P (And who knew that the word "schmucks" is not a spelling error on this Web site? Hmmm...) This is the view from the Cabrillo Bridge which is over the 163 Southbound, looking toward a very foggy downtown skyline. It's actually one of the prettiest freeways in San Diego - two lanes each way, with Balboa Park on either side and the San Diego Zoo on the East side.


This is a view from the bridge looking toward the Museum of Man its famous bell tower.


Okay this is not a sight you typically see - no people anywhere!


So Ryan says that the smaller tree is sticking its tounge (the branch toward the top) out at the bigger tree. Two Ents that are sharing a laugh, I guess!


The walkways have such lovely plants and trees!

Memorial Day 2009

A three day weekend - ahhh....wouldn't it be wonderful to have them more often? But would we really appreciate them or would we ask for more four day weekends? Hmm....

Saturday night was spent celebrating Miss Emily's First Holy Communion. Sunday was spent at the Peterson home celebrating Carla and Sarah's birthdays. We had a delicious barbecue and shared their wonderful company. We had purchased a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for Sarah's birthday last weekend but sadly had to cancel the party because Ryan was so sick. Mercifully, the cake kept just fine for a week so we were able to share it for our dessert.

Today, we had Ryan's parents over for a barbecue (seems most apropos to have two barbeques this Memorial Day weekend!)

Most importantly, we thank God for our amazing United States Military, both active duty and veteran, for their courage and sacrifices made.

And now time for sleep....

I've been tagged again....

Tammy tagged me on her blog - so here are my 8 things:'

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Sarah's Graduation
2. Sarah's summer vacation - NO homework!
3. Doing every free activity Ryan, Sarah and I can find over the summer
4. Taking Chloe to Nate's Dog Park in Balboa Park & Dog Beach in Coronado much more often!
5. My garden crop coming in - come on guys, my salad bowls are ready for you!
6. Sarah's slumber party - wait, we're having 15 girls spend the night? What was I thinking!
7. Our 16th wedding anniversary!
8. The upcoming three day Memorial weekend

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Walked through Balboa Park
2. Went to Whole Foods and spent way too much money!
3. Went to Trader Joes' and spent way too much money (anyone see a trend here?)
4. Went to Sarah's Awards Ceremony
5. Cleaned up after Chloe who got sick on the kitchen floor (TMI?)
6. Took Chloe to to the vet to find out why she got sick
7. Went to In&Out for dinner ---mmmm good!
8. Posted my "I'm so proud of Sarah" blog! :-)

8 things I would like to do:

1. Lose weight and exercise more....sigh...
2. Buy new clothes because I've lost so much weight! :-P
3. Learn to cook so I don't hate all the amazing chefs on the Food Network!
4. Explore San Diego much more, especially on foot
5. Actually ride my beach cruiser at the beach!
6. Get back into scrapping/stamping

8 shows I watch:

1. Chopped
2. Ace of Cakes
3. Thowdown with Bobby Flay
4. America's Test Kitchen (again, does anyone see a trend here??)
5. This Old House/Ask This Old House
6. The freaky storm shows on the Weather Channel
7. Soaps - Guiding Light, General Hospital, Young and the Restless
8. Classic reruns (MASH, Dick Van Dyke, Quantum Leap, Newhart, Lucy, etc.)

8 people I tag:

Shannon
Brandi
Sherri
Brenda
Roni
Laurie
Daiva
Breanne

May I Brag For One Moment, Please?

Last Friday, Sarah's school called me to tell her that she'd be getting an award at the Awards Chapel today. My wonderful boss gave me the day off to attend but I elected to NOT tell Sarah as I wanted to surprise her.

I got to the school right on time and saw the kids going into the sanctuary at Shadow Mountain. I wait until they were mostly in and then I went in, hoping to not see Sarah before the ceremony. Well, that wasn't a problem at all as I found out the kids I saw were the high schoolers (I thought they looked older....) I was told that the junior highers were downstairs at the Mountain High Kids Club (lovingly referred to by the CJHS kids as the "Happy Building" as it's painted with bright and happy pictures for the little children who attend church at Shadow Mountain.)

I walked in and my luck ran out. Sarah saw me right away and looked at me from across the room with the most confused face. I could tell she was asking me why I was there and I just shrugged my shoulders, smiled and sat down.

I knew she was receiving an award for Drama but I didn't know that she was also getting one for Bible (most polite was the title of the character award - a funny designation but sweet!) Both these awards made me so proud - I was smiling so big that I think I hurt something! :-) But the best moment was yet to come.

Receiving her award for Drama from one of her most favorite teachers - her Honors English teacher, Mr. Tobin Wilkins!

The vice principal wanted to acknowledge those in the class who were on the Honor roll. The first group acknowledged were those who had a GPA of 3.5. These names were read in reverse alphabetical order. Sarah's name wasn't on the list so I thought maybe she had a 3.4. The next list of names were those who had a 4.0 or higher. These names were read in alphabetical order and Sarah's was the first one!!! Ryan and I are so stinkin' proud of her! I tease her that her dimples are what gets her good grades but I know the truth. My daughter is smart indeed!

Sarah standing with the 4.0 brainiacs!

The perfect gift for all you Trekies out there! (Me included!)

Okay these are way too adorable (though pretty expensive!) Check out the extra special graphics at The Vermont Teddy Bear Store!

Time to book my flight to Albion, Indiana!

So I've decided that I must go to Indiana. Why you might ask? To thank - in person - one of the most amazing people in my life that I've never met! Once again my dear friend Roni touched my heart from 2.214 (approximately) miles away! Look at the amazing bracelets she made for Sarah and I!

And on the back of the Scrabble tiles are gorgeous images sealed with acrylic!

And lest one think that she's only a fabulous bracelet maker, check out her Web site where you'll see tons of her creations including THE NEW BOOK SHE'S AUTHORED - "Teach Yourself Visually - Collage and Altered Arts". I'm so proud of you Roni!!

http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.com/

Roni, I can't tell you how much your kindness means to me! And truly I wish I could come hug you in person. We'd laugh so much and for so long they'd probably have to sedate us, yes? Your heart is beyond compare and I'm so honored to have you in my life! Our Lord has most certainly given you the gift of encouragement and generosity.

So by car, straight through, if I leave right now, I should be there by Wednesday morning around 12:30 a.m., okay? Leave a light on for me doll! Oh and warn the cows that I'm coming too!