Celebrating, Camp and Endings

Kate celebrated her golden birthday this week, turning seventeen on the seventeenth. We celebrated with a lovely dinner out with a sweet friend. 

G was attending her brother's college graduation when we went to dinner so we picked her up for an ice cream treat afterward.

Ty spent the first three days of the week at sixth grade camp with his classmates. Highlights include zip line, an obstacle course, dissecting owl poop, awesome food, silly skits, canoeing, fishing and campfires.

Ty is fourth from the left

I'm so glad my co-worker was a chaperone. I love the shots she captured for me. Her daughter is next to Ty and they have become friends this year. 

We no sooner got him home from camp before we were supposed to return to school for his end of the year archery banquet. He emerged from his shower and declared,, "this hot shower hit different and I'm too tired for a banquet." So we skipped it and had a quiet dinner at home instead. We have no regrets.

A student asked me if the substitute teacher I was speaking to was my daughter. The woman was 39 years old. I am not okay.

Kate sent me this photo and I laughed. That one perfect day I posted on Monday? Well it had me scrambling to prepare brunch during a three hour power outage. Between the grill, Greg's help and a borrowed oven two miles away, we had a feast despite the setback. Thank goodness I had prepped so well or the coveted brunch could have turned into pizza delivery. 

The final Thursday of his sixth grade year required not one but two Dr. Peppers. I promised one for the morning drive and another after school if he would "just get into the car!" Good news. As of today, we are done. This year was rough and we tripped across the finish line but we finished the year.  (Kate, God bless her, still has two remaining weeks.) This was a tough year and my normal nostalgia over the closure was missing. I, like my son, am glad it's over. There is no love loss and that's kind of sad.