THE END

It is the end of a long chapter in our lives. It was a bitter sweet weekend.

I made 48 cupcakes for Andy's party. I thought they were pretty cute. Here is a sample:

 There are always interesting activities when Andy gets together with his brothers. On this day there was shot gunning sodas, hula-hoop contests, and hidden motorcycles.

 Andy got a BIG gift. The commentary from his nephew was so funny.

 Connor: Is it a suitcase? Why do you need a purse? It is a big bag. Wow, you look like Indiana Jones.

 Immediately Professor Bahlmann takes over and he starts teaching everyone about the finer qualities of this bag that many people pitched in to buy for him. He finally graduated from a backpack.

 Opening his gifts from us. Anneke made him a pillow that said Dr. Dad on it. We also got him a Superman comic book and a Superman belt buckle to wear to graduation.

 I forgot my camera at home. Everyone else got pictures from the ceremony that they promised to send my way soon. Here is what I have.
The school colors are scarlet and gray. Dr. Andrew Bahlmann was hooded by Distinguished Professor Dr. Joe McCullough.

 His garb under the robes.

 Proud Parents

 The happy PhD couple

 Looking all scholarly

 With his mom

 The hood for doctorate is not actually worn on the head. It is more of a shawl. But, Dr. B wanted to see.

 My dear husband's actual birthday is today. He got so many gifts all weekend, but we wanted him to have something on his birthday. In a couple of hours he will have ice cubes in the shape of the bat symbol. 

It was a harder weekend than I thought it would be. Everyone kept asking me where my family was. BUT, we were surrounded by all 5 of Andy's brothers and his parents. It was so nice to have them there to support their big brother.

Shark Reef

Luke has been asking to go to the Shark Reef. We learned about komodo dragons in preschool and he thought the sharks would be neat. I think it is too expensive and did not want to go. However, I thought about my little boy. He has been stuck at home with me a lot. His siblings go on field trips and school. He doesn't even leave home for school. We went for Luke.

The komodo dragon would not blink. Luke challenged it to a staring contest. (Luke was disappointed because it was a baby one and not nearly as impressive as he expected.)

 I like this one of Mo.

 Anneke still loves having her picture taken.

 The touch tank kind of spooked Luke. Anneke said they were slimy. Marcus touched one on his field trip and did not feel the need to repeat the experience.

 My little Boots.

My four angels

 Someone graciously offered to take our family shot. It didn't turn out too bad.

I asked Mallory what her favorite part was. (It was funnier but this is what I remember.) She told me, "I touch fish and him Fish-Sam. He my friend. Then Sam leaved."

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was so good. No diaper changes, breakfast in bed, gifts and love. Despite the floods it was a great day!

My husband and children made me a pillow. They each picked out a fabric square, signed their names and Andy traced their hands. Red = Marcus, Pink = Anneke, Purple = Mallory and Turquoise = Luke

 I got bacon, an egg sandwich on crescent rolls, a muffin and Ovaltine in bed.

Luke made me a book and card. Marcus gave me chocolates. Anneke made me flowers that she gave me right when she got home from school because she couldn't wait. I also got a Bat symbol shirt, a Harley Quinn shirt and Disney Just Dance for Kinect.

I am very blessed.

Dreams come true

In Boulder we used public transportation all the time. It was clean. It was handy. It was free (for us). We loved it. While there Marcus was fascinated by the double decker buses in England. In fact, when Andy went he actually brought back a toy version that Marcus loved to pieces, literally. 

When we saw the Deuce here we knew we needed to ride it. A double decker bus in Vegas! Unfortunately we never made it a priority. For the first time in a long time we had a Friday free of play practice, Book fair set up, babysitting, etc. and headed to The Strip.

The ride North was fun and interesting.

 Mal kept asking where Goofy and Buzz were. The only buses she had ever ridden were to and from Disneyland. Sad.

The ride South was less exciting and if we did it over we would do many things differently. However, Marcus got to fulfill his dream.

Saturday was Star Wars day (May the fourth be with you) and Free Comic Book day. (also Bob Bahlmann's birthday) Guess what we did after Anneke's volleyball game? (Which she served the winning point for, by the way. I was changing a diaper and missed it, but luckily Dad was there to see it!) We made the rounds to the comic book stores and even got some fun photos.

 My big kid was so excited he got to hold the big gun.

 We have seen different girl super heroes every year. I think our list is now complete.

P.S. Science fair update - Out of 8 children Anneke came in 6th and Marcus came in 7th. After working so hard he was devastated. Anneke could have cared less and was scored better. The hardest thing for him was that he was marked down for rushing it. He asked several times when the science fair was and never got a definite answer. It was always, "The beginning of May." In fact when he got to school several kids said it wasn't until Wednesday, so it was not very well advertised. Marcus found out Sunday that it was the next day and since we don't do homework on Sunday had to put it together during lunch at school. So sad.

Science...blech!

Yesterday was the science fair at school. We were told it was required or I might not have been able to handle the project Marcus chose. Remember in 4th grade when I randomly made up my plant watering project? Remember how Kristy, our dog, literally ate my sceince project? Guess what he did? He added a third element, though. He watered his plants with milk, Sprite, water and orange juice.

Two weeks is a long time in the heat here. By the end I could not stand to go into our playroom because it smelled so bad. I made him take pictures and throw them away. He actually gagged several times. Moral of the story is that that project is not for the faint of heart.

Orange juice final (can you see the green flecks? They are dead aphids.)

 Milk final (The worst culprit.)

 Sprite (It had stuff growing on it that you can't really see.)

 Water (The sole surviver)

When I did the project Sprite was the clear winner. Not so here. I wonder when they changed the recipe. That's all I can think changed in 20 years.