AMHS had college signing day. Talan and Trevor are attending BYU Provo; Max and Jack are attending BYU-Idaho. All will head to their respective schools after their missions.
We hit quite a few grad parties during the month of June. Here’s a few pics from James’s party. I will definitely miss these two playing piano together, something they just gravitate toward whenever they are together. They even recorded an album of LDS church songs and put the album up on itunes, spotify, amazon, etc. Pretty cool and definitely something we will appreciate when Max leaves on his mission.
Max has not been a big fan of the HS dances so instead of attending senior prom, he found some friends and they had a great time on a double date in Seattle.
Seminary graduation was awesome! Max has been blessed by seminary these past 4 years and a teacher who is just amazing. I must say that I could elaborate on some issues that we’ve faced with Max as a teenager (what parent can’t do that, right?) but attending seminary has NOT been one of those issues. He has never complained about seminary, skipped class, etc. I think that’s due to Josh Casperson who Max loves so much.
Because Max is my oldest child, I was unsure which events to attend related to graduation. I was glad I happened to attend a senior awards assembly. Unbeknownst to us, Max received 2 awards. The first one was because Max passed a test indicating that he is biliterate (Spanish) A seal of biliteracy will be on his HS diploma. He also received an award as the Language Arts Department’s student of the year. I was a pretty proud momma and glad that I ignored Max’s insistence that I did not need to attend.
There is a tradition at AMHS that the graduating seniors visit their old elementary and middle schools to visit their former teachers and to encourage the young students there to continue their academic pursuits. As it turns out, most of Max’s elementary teachers no longer teach at AJ- the school he attended. However, a few are at the same school where his sisters now attend- Hazelwood. He went with a few other graduates to pay them a visit and give them notes. The event is called, “Make ‘Em Weep” and it’s really pretty cool.
Steve Christiansen has been a favorite teacher of Max’s all these years. Steve was Max’s music teacher in elementary school. I am so glad my girls have been able to enjoy him also as a teacher.
Max (and Lily) had notes for Mrs. Davis. Interesting because although technically Max never had Maggie as a teacher, her influence and love have stuck with him. She was Mara’s teacher when she was sick and Mrs. Davis always included Max in things the kids did for Mara.
It was fun to roam the halls and find the girls among the students at Hazelwood.
Because we had a bit of time, we went over to AJ to “visit” Mara. We are thankful for all the memories we have at AJ and that this sign still proudly hangs there even though it’s no longer our home school. I must, say, this definitely made me weep and I had a sudden wave of grief that passed through my heart wondering what Mara would be feeling at the thought of her brother’s upcoming departure. She must be so proud of him.
Mr. Hedger has been Max’s favorite HS teacher. Max had him for Spanish for the past 2 years. Those Spanish classes and Mr. Hedger’s instructions will become ever more important as Max learns to teach in the Spanish language these next few years.
At the end of the month, we threw a Graduation Party/Mission Farewell for Max, Jack and Trevor. It was so wonderful to combine our efforts with the Etcheverrys and Briones, our dear friends. These boys are so lucky to have grown up together. We love that we got to celebrate their accomplishments together.
So fun to have Mrs. Jackson (Max, Mara and Natalie’s elementary school teacher) here with her 3 adorable babies. My goodness, the wonderful influence she has been on our kids. We love April!
Kim found this idea on pintrest and we were so glad to make it happen. Each boy had a number with photos of them over the years. The one had pics of all the boys together from the time they were just little tykes until now.
So glad these mommas are my friends. We are a good team and had fun together creating this party for the boys.
I am not sure where Tanner was during these pictures but it’s pretty cute to see these boys with their adoring sisters!
Argentina, Peru, the Philippines. Watch out world!
The best of buds. Love each one of these boys so dearly and feel thankful for the memories that bind us together!