Beauty (and the Beast)

Not only did we have a total solar eclipse in April.  We could see Northern Lights (aura borealis) from our backyard in May.  With the naked eye, it was a bit underwhelming.  I could see shafts of light, but not really colors.  But as soon as you took a picture, you could see all the colors hidden in the sky.  It was pretty spectacular and mysterious.

  

The flowers are in bloom.  We have these beautiful orange lilies in our front mulch bed right now.  The gladiolus will soon follow.  Jeremy put flowers in our planters on the back patio that looked gorgeous last year.  I am not a flower person, but Jeremy is turning me into one who appreciates the work of a flower person!  The roses my neighbor tends to in our small shared space are vivacious with color right now, too.

I dropped Sandy off at her house the other night after she came over to hang out and see the house renovations.  We were going to walk, but we are fair weather walkers, and it was raining.  But, there was a huge rainbow arcing over Kidron that night.  Pictures never do rainbows justice, but enjoy anyway.

Not my pictures, but since I have been there and I am blogging about beauty…. my friend, Christi Michaels, and her family are traveling out West.  They went to many national parks, but these pictures are from Bryce Canyon – one of my top parks in the southwest.  It is gorgeous and unique and not to be missed.  I had not seen it at sunrise, but they did.  And I so appreciated the pictures!

    

Finally, the man, the myth, the legend… taking a moment :) … probably trying to get a moment of silence away from the household of chatty girls he lives with!

8th Grade Celebration

Every year, we hold 8th grade celebration.  It is not graduation.  Just a time for the 8th grade class to be recognized and put the finishing touch on their time in the elementary/middle school building.  It marks the end of one journey and the beginning of the next. 

The night before all this goes down, they have their final middle school dance.  Madison and her friends have a tradition of often going out after the dance, usually to LincWay Cafe.  This time, they went to the Dariette.  It was fun to see them their in their summer dresses hanging out outside being kids.  Most of (but not all) of her people for the last few years – Jaida, Gretta, Ellie, and Addie.

As a teacher at Dalton, I have sat through 7 of these, usually up front fist bumping or shaking hands with the students.  This year, however, Mr. Jackson (our principal) asked if I would like to be there as a staff member or parent.  I opted for parent. 

So, I sat with Jeremy, Gloria, and my parents.  (Here is a link to the livestream of it; not sure how long this will stay active.) We watched some awards be given.  Madison earned a 4.0 for all four years of middle school, so she received a plaque for that.  She was also an Aultman Ambassador, a new club started this year in conjunction with Aultman Hospital where the students brought awareness of health related topics to the student body.  We watched a video compilation of pictures from the kids 8th grade year, as well as some flashback pictures.  Mr. Jackson said some nice things to the kids, and then their other certificates were passed out.   

    

When it was finished, and after a few obligatory pictures, Madison left to go to the Dariette with my parents.  (I stayed back and resumed my role as teacher.)

    

She chose Bibibop as our family celebration meal on Saturday.  And we went to Old Carolina to celebrate with Grandma Yoh on Sunday.

    

And that’s a wrap.  No, I didn’t cry when it happened.  I don’t know if I even feel sad.  I think at each of these transitions of my kids lives (preschool, kindergarten, etc), I have just been so excited for them and for us as we experience the next step.  My brother, Nate, said to watch out because the next four years fly by.  His daughter, Sophie, has been out of high school for 3 years, and Chloe, just graduated last weekend. 

    

I do think he is right.  As she moves to high school, takes on summer volleyball practices, weighs the pros and cons of marching band, gets excited for musicals and other dramatic performances, and ventures into building her own schedule, thinking about college and more, it will feel fast!  She already took the practice ACT with her peers this year just to know what the experience would be like (a 27! can you believe this kid!?!); she will be getting her health credit online this summer.  She has dreams of careers that range from interior designer to librarian to eye doctor to editor.  I am so excited to see where she will go, what she will do, who she will meet, and how she will continue to love others with kindness and grace. 

Way to go, Madison!  Onward and upward! (Kindergarten winter concert and 8th grade spring concert)

    

Music is in the Air

Since it has been awhile, this post will span a couple weeks of musical adventures for us. 

Starting with….

Madison’s 8th grade band concert

    

and Ellie’s 6th grade band concert

    

Then came…

Ellie’s 6th grade choir performance

and Madison’s 8th grade musical. Mrs. Carr (the music teacher) always has the 8th graders do a musical for their spring performance.  This year, it was Wonka, Jr.  Madison was very excited about the musical, but she was unsure exactly how much of a part that she would want.  I encouraged her to try something just a little more than she thought she wanted.  It was a pretty low pressure situation in junior high, and it would give her a feel for high school involvement.  So, she decided to say she would be open to a small speaking role, no solos.  She was cast as Ms. Teevee; her son was Mike Teevee, aka her classmate, David Carr.  Here are some scenes from the musical

            

Collecting donations for the music program :)

Some after musical pictures

    

Then, we stepped it up to the professional level with tickets to the Lauren Daigle concert (Kaleidoscope Tour) at Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland.  The girls brought friends – Mary Nussbaum and Megan (Ediger). 

   

Jeremy did a great job finding tickets – on the floor, halfway down the catwalk stage, and two seats away from the stage itself.  The girls were pretty much in awe! 

    

Her opener was Ellie Holcomb, who I really enjoyed as well.

It was a great concert – genuine, energy-filled, and fun.  I loved her trombone, trumpet, and sax players; so fun to watch them interact with each other and the music!  Her stage was pretty spectacular as well.