Homecoming 2013

 Tristan and Savannah both went to Homecoming last night.

I have so many photos, I'm not sure I will be able to get them all in order.

First, Tristan's date and a couple of his friends met at our house for photos.  Then they left and went to be with their group for photos.  I did not like many of the pictures that made it out of his group.  They were supposed to have  photographer come, one of the boy's uncles, but he ended up not being able to make it at the last minute, so a mom took pictures.  There were dozens and dozens of them, 

but I think only about 12 were good.  

Savannah's friends met at our house and we took photos in shifts, as the kids arrives, since many of them were late.  There were seven in her group all together, none of them paired off.  

We took photos at our house, then at the lake front in Lake Charles, then on a stairwell in Downtown.

Then we met up with Tristan's group at Kyoto's, where they all ate dinner.

Me, Alyssa's mom, and Kailyn's mom ate at Kyoto's too and then drove Savannah's group to the dance.

They actually chose to not attend the school's dance, but go to an alternative dance offered at Alyssa's church, St. Theodore's Catholic Church.  After the dance, they all went back to Alyssa's for a party, where Savannah spent the night with all the girls.

Tristan went to the dance at the school and then to a party at Zac's house.

~ Trevor, Ben, Savannah, Alyssa, and Paige ~

~ Savannah, Alyssa, Kailyn, and Paige ~

One of the moms is a photographer, but had to work a wedding that night.

She gave me tips on how to set the photos up with the sunlight just right.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I think the pictures turned out pretty good, for the most part.

I hope she was not too disappointed.

I have no idea what they were doing here, but it was funny.

~ Tristan and Britney ~

Tristan picked out Savannah a corsage.  It was beautiful.

She was surprised and super excited! 

~ Gavin, Tristan, Trevor, Kourtlyn, Britney, and Savannah ~

Gavin and Trevor are brothers. 

Savannah did her own hair and make-up.

 Ashley, sitting to the left of Savannah, met us downtown for photos.

Of course, we had to try some jumping pictures.

~ Trevor, Ashley, Paige, Savannah, Alyssa, Kailyn, and Ben ~

 Dinner at Kyoto's.

Some of the photos of Tristan's group taken at the Lake Front in Downtown Lake Charles.

~ Tristan and Britney, Gavin and Kourtlyn, Jaiden and Jess, Hannah and Zac, and Tyler and LeAnne ~ 

I think it was a fun night and everyone had a great time!

Short Stack

I think his eyes are bigger than his stomach.

DeRidder Marching Festival

Yesterday was the DeRidder marching Festival.

I was able to go watch most of the bands perform.

Our band did a great job and brought home lots of hardware!

Marching out onto the field.

As they approached the field, I noticed Tristan and Amanda holding hands.

It was really cute and sweet!  He said that they pray together each time they perform.

I hope that is a tradition he continues with next year.

Calling the band to attention.

 Standing at attention, listening to their scores.

Some of the band is in the stands behind them.

Straight Superiors in all categories and the Sweepstakes Award for receiving all Superiors.

Getting their trophies.

This next series of photos is so great! 

Tristan and Amanda received the award for Best in Class Drum Major.

This is the reaction to the award.

The band also received Best in Class Drums, Best in Class Auxiliary, and Best in Class Band.

 There was some serious excitement!

All the Executive Officers with the Awards.

Tristan--Assistant Drum Major, Amanda Mustain--Head Drum Major, Nathan Burt--First Lieutenant, Morgan Blanchet--Color Guard Captain, Derek Presgrove--Band Captain, Ashton St. Diezier--Drum Captain, and Sidney Rowley--Second Lieutenant.

Jumping for joy!!

A friend of mine, Laura Gardner, has a daughter in band.  She arranged with our Band Boosters to be at all the band functions this year and take pictures.  She then made all her photos available to the parents of the students.  She has taken almost all of the amazing photos I have posted from this year's band season.  She has done an amazing job and I am so grateful to her for giving me these wonderful pictures of Tristan's Junior year.  My camera would never have captured such great images of the band.  I am so thankful for the time and talent she shared with us!!

My Louisiana Sky

The sky that greeted us before school.  So grateful to be able to see mornings like this!  

Sink or Float

Jackson did a science experiment this week at school.  They had to guess if items would sink or float.  They all made their hypothesis and then watched and waited.

Jackson has been talking about it all night last night, and all day today.  I promised I would do it with him today after church.  As soon as we got home, with not a moment to waste, he started making lists and charts and filling buckets with water and collecting items to test.  Finally he was ready and we sat down to make our educated guesses.

Apparently I am not smarter than a kindergartner or a fourth grader because I missed three of the five items.  I take a little comfort in the knowledge that they have all done this at school before and that is why they got every single question right.  Or maybe my kids are just smarter than me.  I do not deny that that is a HUGE possibility!  

Jackson conducted the experiment and we tested a leaf, an acorn, an apple, a pumpkin, and an pine cone.  All floated except the acorn, which I guessed correctly, along with the leaf.

Jackson was so thrilled to show us what he had learned in school.  He kept the bucket and is going to collect more stuff for us to try after school tomorrow.  I love to see them so excited about learning!

Jackson-isms

~  "Who made the Andrews faster than all the trucks?  Was it Santa.....or Jesus?"

~  "There are eight planets.  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, HERanus, and Neptune."

~  "I move faster when the sun is up and I move slower when the moon is up."

~  "I'm in French Immersion.  WAIT!!!  What IS French Immersion?"

~  "Mom, you're wrong.  Pluto is not a planet anymore because it has too much gas."

~  "Madame Elaine said, 'You are takin' all the smiley faces out of my pen.'  She was makin' a joke, but you know what?  I AM!!"

~  "I told Kallie that I want her to be the Mommy of my children."

~  "Kallie is not my girlfriend anymore because I'm not 16."

Wiping Away the Tears

I told my favorite fourth grader that we could have a mom and son date for lunch after his eye appointment today, before I took him back to school. He said he's rather eat lunch at school because they were serving orange quarters. 

Yep, I was rejected over oranges.