State Marching Band Competition

Two weeks ago, Bryan and I headed to San Antonio to cheer on Sarah in the State Marching Band Competition!

Us in the stand, proudly wearing Sarah's button!

This is the band getting ready to take the field.

The drum majors marching out.

Sarah and Katie doing their salute.

Sarah conducting the band during the warm up.

Sarah running to the front during the first movement to continue conducting,

Sarah conducting!

The show was the best they've ever performed it!

After the performance, Sarah gave an interview about the show and the season.

She did an amazing job!

After the show, Sarah texted us and asked if we could meet up while they were getting dinner!  We were so excited to see her for a few minutes and tell her what an awesome job she and the band did!

After we watched a few more shows, it was time for the announcement of places.  Our band got 1st!  This is the other drum major, Katie, accepting their trophy!  It was so much fun to watch them receive 1st place!  And, one of our high school band directors had been one of the judges, so that made the whole thing even more fun!

We meet her after the announcement and took this picture!  We are so stinkin' proud of her!  

Us driving home the next day...he's my favorite travel buddy!

Last Day of School!

Today is the kids' last day of school!

This school year did not end at all they way we thought it would, or in some cases, even wanted it to.  That being said, I've really loved having them home over the past two months.  It took a couple of days for Jackson and I to get into a good rhythm of doing school at home, but after that, it was great!  He's so smart, and I loved being able to watch him do such a great job each day.  And Sarah clearly didn't need my help, but I did love having her here!

This was Sarah on her first day of school this year.

And this is her today.

This was Jackson on his first day of school.

And this is him today.

They seem so little here!

And this picture of them makes me want to cry because they really do look so much older!  I can't believe that Jackson only has a year left in intermediate school, and I really can't believe that Sarah only has a year left of high school!  

Sarah was a rockstar yet again this year!  She's number 3 in her class, and she got all "A's"--and several of those were 100's!  She received an award for Physics and countless Journalism awards!

Jackson was amazing this year!  He got all "A's" and "B's" again!  In fact, he only got 2 "B's" all year--and they were in math.  And then he moved those "B's" to a 99 by the last semester!  His teachers said he was a "joy to have in class" and that they would never forget his "kindness, intelligence, and humor!"  He also received a ticket to Six Flags because he read so much at home!  

One of Sarah's Journalism awards was receiving 1st place from the Dallas Morning News--beating out  all other entries in the state!

We did the kids' last day of school treat like we do each year, only today, we brought the goodies home with us!  

We're so proud of them, and we're looking forward to soaking them up over the summer!

Way to go, Jackson!

Last week, Jackson got dinner on the "You are special today" plate too!

He's been doing so great at his online school work!

He's been doing so great, in fact, that his name was put into a drawing with the other students that have been doing so well, and his teacher drew his name and delivered a cherry slushie to our front door!

We're so proud of him!

Last Day of School!

 Friday was the kids' last day of school!  

This was Sarah on the first day of school.

And this is her on the last day of school!

This is Jackson on the first day of school this year.

And this is him on his last day of school...his last day of elementary school to be exact!

Sarah had an amazing 10th grade year!  She remained number 2 in her class!  She won more journalism awards than we could count!  And next year, she's going to be an editor for the school paper.  She currently wants to be a journalist when she grows up, so it's so fun watching her pursue and grow in her passion now!  Sarah was also named a brass captain for the upcoming marching band season!  We just love seeing her shine!

Jackson did great in 3rd grade!  He got all "A's" and "B's" again!  He still loves reading so much!  And he also really loves science and math!  He loved being a leader on the Safety Patrol and being on the Chess Team again!  We're just so proud of him!

They've both grown and changed so much this year!

Jackson has gotten a lot taller!

I can't believe that Sarah is half way through with school, and next year, Jackson will be at the intermediate school!  It's all going by so fast!  Until next year starts though, I plan to eat them up all summer long!

I began this school year by baking the kids a "Friday treat" each Friday, so that's also how I ended it.  And I knew I wanted to do something pretty special for their last treat, so when I saw these huge cookies, I knew they would be perfect!  The kids loved them!

We also went to get our traditional last day of school treats.  They picked peach milkshakes from Chick-fil-a!  They were a great choice!

Way to Go, Sarah!

Last night, Sarah received an award for AP World History!

This is one of her favorite classes taught by one of her favorite teachers!  When he called me to tell me that he was giving the award to Sarah, he said that she's "astounding" and "there was no one more deserving."  Oh, my Mama heart!

We are so proud of her!