Catching up - 8th grade Graduation!

Happy June!
Sorry for the little absence - I was out of town for a few days!
I attempted to blog from my iPhone and/or iPad, but
guess I am not quite techie enough to figure it out.
I could not get photos to load and  . . .
we all know a photo is worth a thousand words!
Oh well, I'm back!  :)

Miss Maddy graduated from 8th grade last week!  It was a lovely ceremony at church, 

but first we had a dress emergency!!

Maddy planned to wear a white breezy dress with her denim jacket
(to cover up a bit as required).
 After she put it on, we realized the denim jacket would not work
with her graduation gown!!  

Oh no!!  What to do????

Graduating class of 2016 -- the girls!

 Plan B's dress did not have sleeves long enough to meet her teacher's requirements.  

So, we quickly figured out a Plan C - a dress she wore in 7th grade still fit and had 3/4 sleeves 

and no collar, so it worked with her graduation gown! 

Whew -- crisis averted!  

Unfortunately Mr. Tennis and Connor were out of town and couldn't be there. 

Blame me -- I made their reservations, but didn't realize they would be
out of town for graduation. 

Luckily, Maddy's oldest brother, Philip, was able to attend!  

After the graduation, the school held a cake and punch reception
 downstairs in church 

so parents and graduates were able to gab and grab some photos!  

Nearly all of the graduates had been together since kindergarten!

Isn't that the sweetest!

Entire 8th grade graduating class of 2016 -
Cathedral of the Risen Christ

They really all grew up together and have made
 so many wonderful memories from K-8! 

Most will go on to high school at our local Catholic High School,
but going from a total of 34 students to a class size of probably 500
will be a real change.

They are up for the challenge I'm sure.

Now it's time to enjoy summer and prepare for high school!
Congrats to the graduates!

Sing, Sing a Song - Jr. High Final Choir Concert

The final choir concert for the junior high at Cathedral 

happened the other night!

8th graders in choir

It was so lovely!

Seriously, is there anything better that warms your heart and soul than hearing 

junior high students singing and giving praise in Church?

A number of parents attempted to video the

concert with the iPhones.

Mr. Tennis did a short portion, but then I quietly reminded

him that it's really distracting for others behind you.  

Plus, you're not really enjoying the moment when you're trying to hold your iPhone steady!
Last year, a woman in front of me held up her iPad the entire
concert!  Looked to me like the best images she was getting
was of the bald guy in front of her!

One of the really big things about the concert is that the students

do not have to wear their uniforms!

Yippee - -a chance to wear a dress for more than 

one occasion!

But wait . . .

does anyone else have a difficult time finding appropriate

dresses for 14 year olds that are not dorky

and do not look too kiddish or too old ladyish?

Please, tell me I'm not alone!

Luckily, we have a found a couple that work

with a denim jacket (as they are too bare), 

but Maddy and I are wondering . . .

where are the cute dresses for girls her age

that meet the criteria above?

So, now talk amongst yourselves and give me your advice!

Coming up soon . . .

8th Grade Graduation!

A New Sport!

This year Maddy decided to spread her wings, expand her vision

and try a new sport -- claiming a spot on the

8th Grade Girls Volleyball team!

Practices started in early August and games just started last week!

It's really the first time she's been involved in a team sport.

Her other athletic endeavors have been individual sports -- 

tumbling, cheer, tennis -- that type of thing.

All photos credited to Volleyball team Photographer/Mom - Cathy Bender

Volleyball has been great!  She's really enjoyed it, learned a lot

and loves the team experience!

It's a relatively short season -- with only 8 matches

over four weeks.  They play on Monday and Tuesday nights

either at their home gym or another Catholic school gym.

Practices continue on every Wednesday and Sunday.

Maddy is No. 5

I never realized volleyball could be so exciting at

the 8th grade level!

Their first match last Monday was a close one, but they lost.

The match on Tuesday was a real nail-biter and

every point won by the Eagles (Maddy's team) was

matched by the other team.

Until . . . 

the very end when the Eagles took over and won!

The girls are so sweet and supportive even when some points are lost,

serves are out and returns are missed.

Love watching my girl learning a new sport! 

Back to School - 8th Grade!

Oh my word -- how did that happen?

I blinked and it was time to get out the uniforms, round up the

 pens, pencils and notebooks

and get back to school! 

1st grade!

We had such a great summer and so much fun hitting the 

pool nearly every evening!

Bonus -- Maddy took a shower and washed her 

hair there before we headed home, so no 

need to do that at home!

A few other fun activities included visiting and working at our sweet little zoo,

learning how to do a back handspring, shopping at Target, walking the dog

and trying (not always successfully) to declutter.

That's a story for another day!

And all of sudden, Maddy is an 8th grader!

She has been at the same elementary school

with almost all the same kids since 

kindergarten!

Not so sure if she is quite ready to give up the

10 am wake-ups, but the first few mornings have gone very well!

Fingers crossed for a fabulous 8th grade year!