School

This week, Zach was captain of the football team.  Today, Zach got to go out on the field with his club for the coin toss, and he was pretty excited.

After the game, we got cleaned up and went to Sarah’s and Brittany’s Elvis Tribute Concert at Metea.  The Marching Band performed with a live band singing Elvis songs.  It was very similar to the Billy Joel Tribute Concert that they had last year.  They had a blast!  The lead singer of the band was outstanding!  He is a well-known Broadway performer that is in downtown Chicago for a show.  It was really cool that they could get him to take time to come out and perform!

We went up early so the boys could say hi to Sarah and Brittany.  Zach wanted a picture of him in Sarah’s band jacket, so she obliged.  🙂

When the concert started, the band played their entire halftime show through.  It sounds really cool in the auditorium!  As usual, they did an outstanding job!  🙂

Then the marching band turned the time over to the tribute band who played Elvis songs for about an hour!  The band members jumped up and danced with each other, swayed to the music, and made everybody in the crowd laugh.  It’s great to see how many friendships the kids make with each other during the marching season!  At the end of the concert, the band came up on stage and everyone played together.  It sounded awesome!

When the concert was over, the girls found the lead singer and just had to get their picture taken with him.  🙂  Kirstyn even joined in the fun!

Great job girls!  Way to play!

Metea got cremated tonight at the football game, but the marching band did GREAT!

Today, Ben started preschool and he loves it!  He loves to be with kids and get to know new friends.  He also loves doing activities and such!

We couldn’t get him in the Waubonsie or Metea preschool programs (Sarah may have ended up being one of his teachers) so we enrolled him in the Park District program.  I think that this will be good for him to prepare him for Kindergarten.  Yikes!  In 2 years, we won’t have anyone at home anymore during the day!

Tonight, Angela went with Sarah and Brittany up to Metea where they had the Tri-M Music Honor Society induction.  Sarah has been in it all the years she has been at Metea, and Brittany was nominated for it this year.  We don’t have any good pictures because the auditorium was dark.  Great job girls!  We sure are proud of you!

Today, Angela was the Mystery Reader in Zach’s school class.  She submitted facts about her, and Zach was right on the ball.  He guessed it was her from the first question.  🙂  I guess we’ll have to come up with some stranger facts about us that he doesn’t know…  🙂  She read “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss.

We love that book.  It is really a timeless book that can be read to both little kids and not so little kids going off to College.  🙁  Sniff sniff while I think about Sarah doing that this summer.  🙁  I couldn’t resist inserting the text below…

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

School started today!  It’s hard to believe that we now have a Senior in High School, a Sophomore in High School, and a Middle Schooler, along with one in Elementary!  I think Ben is actually pretty excited to get mom all to himself now.

Sarah and Brittany took off first this morning, but not with out pictures of all three girls together…

Next, it was Kirstyn’s turn.  She went to school with a group of her friends that she occasionally hangs out with, who live in our neighborhood…

Zach went next.  He is SO excited to be in 2nd grade, and he loves his new teacher.  We hope that he will be respectful and obedient in his class this year (that he learned a bunch of stuff from the issues he had last year).  🙂

I wasn’t there when they left, but I’m sure that Ben gave a big sigh of relief when everyone was gone and he had the house all to himself!  🙂  Best of luck this year in school, everyone!