Poppin' Sixteenth Birthday

Take note...no matter the age, you are never too old to play in a room full of balloons (just the site of them puts a smile on any ones face)! In tossing around ideas for Trevor's birthday Devin mentioned he's always wanted to be surprised by walking into a room full of balloons. That was the exact direction we chose to take...1,100 balloons later Trevor's bedroom was full of balloons! Believe it or not, we had a pretty good time blowing all these balloons up and popped our fair share playing in them during the whole process.  

Trevor was told there was 50 $1 bills hidden in his room as well as a $20 bill and he had 160.16 seconds to find as much money as he could.  After figuring out they were inside the balloons, he found his pocket knife and went to town!
 Happy 16th Birthday

Grandma Gibb's Visit

We have had a great week with Grandma Gibb visiting us.  She has already come and gone but we sure feel spoiled to have had her all to ourselves for 5 days!  The girls received first hand experience on how to make her famous granola and Trevor had a football scrimmage she was able to watch. She even assisted Devin in a full day of finish work for his first chicken coop client.  There were a few days spent enjoying the warm Desert Sun in a cool pool but I most enjoyed having her around for just everyday life and conversation.  Grandma Gibb is a special lady and we loved every minute of laughing with her, at her and making memories together. Jon, Jenny, Cricket and Dewy came by and had breakfast with us before sweeping her off to Utah.  

A Spring Full of Commencing

com·mence·ment

   [kuh-mens-muhnt] 

noun

1.

an act or instance of commencing;  beginning: thecommencement of hostilities.

2.

the ceremony of conferring degrees or granting diplomas at the end of the academic year.

3.

the day on which this ceremony takes place.

Origin: 

1225–75; Middle English  < Anglo-French, Old French. Seecommence, -ment

May 31st - Devin Commenced from High School

June 6th - Savannah Commenced from Elementary School

July 7th - Natalie Commenced from Middle School

In the Desert Sands Unified School District they have done away big over the top Commencement Ceremonies other than High School (thank goodness).  Some parents seem to be very upset about this decision but Gerald and I on the other hand see the complete logic.  Savannah had a cute little awards ceremony and their class sang a few songs for us while Natalie volunteered out of any type of recognition at all..."Just give me Summer Break" (pretty easy to read what she was thinking).  And so you have it, Savannah is completely relieved to be done with Elementary School and a very long 5th grade year and Natalie is ready to take on the adventures of High School with her older brother Trevor.  

Say Cheese...

Natalie got her braces off and is all smiles...literally! 

It's a done deal!  Devin has graduated and was honored as a Senior Scholar which means he attained a cumulative GPA of 4.0 all 4 years of High School.  It was a mild temperature of 115 degrees and we had the opportunity of sitting on the side of the stadium that faced the sun (the things you do for your children).
Congratulations Devin...We love you!