High Five for Friday (5.5.23)

 

One

As of today (at 12pm), all four of Hallie's four STAAR and EOC tests and Will's two EOC tests and first-ever AP exam are DONE! They (we?) made it through that challenging test "season" in one piece...which means it's now time to study for finals.

Two

On Friday night a severe thunderstorm rolled through town right around the time ballet was ending and pointe was scheduled to begin. Because we live less than a mile and about a 90-second drive from the studio, a few friends joined us at our house to ride out the storm. These ballerinas were excited to discover that keeping us informed during the storm was our celebrity Mother Ginger (meteorologist Shel Winkley) from last year's production of The Nutcracker.  

Three

Will made the tough call to skip a soccer showcase in San Antonio so he could compete in the area chess tournament. His decision paid off: he went 5-0 - accumulating the highest number of points of any player in the tournament (and highest number of points possible) - to win the high school division.

When I arrived for the awards ceremony, I asked Will how he did and he explained that while he'd won his first four matches, he'd lost his fifth and final match. I gave him a hug and told him I was proud of him no matter what, and then he went to sit with his team and I found a place to sit in the back of the auditorium. (Where I ended up holding a stranger's baby for the next 45 minutes, but that's another story for another time.) When the time came to announce the winners in the high school division, I was expecting to hear his name called for maybe 6th or 5th place. But those places were awarded to other players, and then 4th was awarded to another player...and then 3rd was awarded to another player...and as 2nd was awarded to another player, I realized that he had - per usual - just been messing with me. When Will was announced as the winner, he stood up, looked over his shoulder, and winked at me before heading to the stage. 

"Mom, it was more fun that way, right?"

I'm not sure I agree...but I am sure I'm proud of him.

Four

Tom has been out of town for two weeks, but he's returning home tonight. My "gift" to him was taking care of the lawn in his absence:

This is how Tom takes pictures of the lawn when he wants
to show me how well-coiffed the freshly-mowed grass looks.

I've actually always liked mowing the lawn, and while I enjoy it less here than in other places we've lived (the ground here is different - like a sponge - which makes mowing so much more physically difficult, there are a lot more critters in the grass, and it's too hot outside), I was still happy to take this one task off Tom's plate.

Five

Happiness Highlights

April 21st - the latest we've ever had the fireplace on.
(Hallie's phone to document the date. I forgot to post
this pic last week, but it still deserves a place...we
went from winter to summer pretty darn quickly.)

Inside the bathroom stall at one of the places
where I regularly set up shop with my computer.

Playing "blindfolded" chess with Will to
help him prepare for the chess tournament. 

Unsurprisingly, he beat me. I don't know how he does it.

They came back again. The moment these flowers push
through the soil and bloom is of my favorite spring happenings.

Will's high school hosted the State Gymnastics Championships. I couldn't let
something that cool take place so close to home without going to see it, so on
Saturday I spent a couple of hours watching these fantastic gymnasts compete. 

This is Binx, who used to be Bader. His family went out of town
last weekend, so we took care of him. He wished we were his mama
every time we walked in, but we were happy to see him. (He was,
however, thrilled we were there to feed him - sweet boy loves to eat.)

First swim of the season!

Happy weekend, friends!