Our college-bound son

Well, not quite yet! He has one year left to go -- but he took the SAT and made a 1990, which isn't too bad for a first try! Tonight while Adam and I were out, he got a call from Belhaven, offering him $9000 scholarship each year, just for the SAT score. He was pretty enthused about that. Not that he wants to go to Belhaven; he wants to go to Covenant (of course) - who could resist Covenant, once he has seen that view from the overlook at sunset? Now, we have to wait and see how much money Covenant will offer him. I don't think I'm quite ready for all the drama of the senior year - there's so much hoopla involved, and at our school, it's quite a celebration.

Tomorrow: last exam given, and I have to finish up my teaching year. In the afternoon I plan to go strawberry picking. In the evening, we attend graduation at the school, and I have to give a little speech and a little award. On Saturday I hope to make some strawberry jam, and have a nice visit with my Aunt Ann, Uncle Bob and Aunt Lois, who will be traveling through town. On Sunday I have a little solo to sing at church. Monday I visit the doctor, and Julia goes to the orthodontist.... wasn't summer (and relaxation) supposed to start in there, somewhere?

The end is in sight!

I got SO much grading done today at school. Sigh of relief. And my happy little students all did creative writing in class today, and we laughed as we read their fables aloud. One wrote about an elephant and a caterpillar having a race on motorcycles. Another wrote about a blood-sucking competition between a mosquito named Maleria, and a flea named Sucka-flee. Too funny. I am so close to being done! I'm trying hard to get all my end-of-year tasks done early, so when that last exam is over on Friday, I can LEAVE. I'm slated to go strawberry picking with a friend and with Peter (who will eat them all), on Friday afternoon. Here's hoping!

A husband who makes beds

is a true gem. That's a mighty big bed, don't you think? This is Adam's new perennial bed; he has lots of perennials he's grown from seed, and they need a comfy home. THAT job wore him out a little today - plus the heat (85), which hasn't been a factor until today.

Just lookie at my lambs' ears. They have gone berzerk since I moved them to this location. They are shooting up and spreading around. I may have to divide them soon. Adam wants some of these, back in his perennial bed!

Busy kids

Philip and Anna have had a busy weekend. On Friday, Philip went with friends to see a production of "The Sound of Music" in Mooresville. A girl in their group of friends played the Mother Abbess, and did a great job. Then he went to a friend's house to spend the night, and on Saturday they went to a movie. We're happy he has finally found a good group of friends to hang with. Sometimes I think we barely see him, but I'm glad he's got a social life.

Anna spent the night with a friend on Friday night also, for the friend's birthday, and they did fun things all day Saturday too. Then on Sunday afternoon, the youth group at church spent the afternoon at a church member's lake house for their outing, so Philip and Anna went to that. This year they did NOT succeed in throwing Philip into the lake. He dislikes water.

Today Peter is gone all day. He and some of his friends organized a grand trip to Carowinds for the day. I'm sure the park will be packed, but they'll have a great time. 2 other sets of parents are chaperoning, so we got off the hook.

And this afternoon Julia will go to her best friend's birthday party. The friend is a twin, so it's a double party, and lots of little girls.

Adam was planning to cook steaks, but we haven't had everybody here for a meal! Maybe tomorrow!

It's a beautiful day, and we've already been tackling the yard work. Adam is trying to get rid of some stumps, moving mulch, and digging a new perennial bed. I trimmed a row of azaleas, will go to Salvation Army, shop with Julia for birthday gifts, and hopefully grade some papers.

RIP

Okay, so maybe it should be "ICU" instead of "RIP" - but the stove is officially dead, at least for now. It's an ancient, 1950's model. (No offense to my brothers, also ancient 1950's models) Adam says that, hopefully, he can resurrect it, after school is out.
Our flourishing strawberry patch.
Adam's sunflowers are standing tall. They have about another foot to do. They are a short variety, so no 8 foot flowers for us.
Julia decided to brave the chilly waters today.
This poorly located rose bush rarely gets direct light, but it blooms happily nonetheless. We put in some low, solar lighting on the patio - can you see the light hidden in the rose bush?

Today:

I cleaned the baseboards in my bedroom, wiped down the window sills too. Cleaned the toilet. Washed the shower curtain. Washed our sheets, mattress cover, comforter, and put it away for the summer. Cleaned the woodwork/ledges on the front porch.

I even dusted. Just a little.

Summer is coming.

Bye bye, teeth

Sorry for the dearth of posts. Busy week. On Thursday, Julia had these two teeth pulled - aren't we glad we got a picture of them before the tooth fairy whisked them away? She did great - they're just baby teeth, so they came out easily. Now her adult teeth can descend, and she can get her fancy retainers. We are making progress in the big dental endeavor!