Lots of Reasons to Get Dressed Up

Last week was, as they say, off the chain.  I had cheer clinics and tryouts which took up ALL my free time.  By Wednesday, Rozzie texted me and asked, "Are you coming home today?"  Sadly, the answer was, "No."  We survived it, though.  Now it is the girls' turn to tryout for the dance team this coming week.  But before tryouts, there is the banquet.  It was a lovely evening with lovely kids.  

The Freshmen

The Juniors 

And then there was Prom!  Rozzie went with her small group of friends.  They got a limo and went to dinner at PF Chang.  McCall did her hair and makeup.  You might recognize the dress from the pageant, so now she has 2 wears out of it!!  We met at the park in Green Cove Springs.  You can see the spring right behind them that runs into the St. Johns River which is further in the background.  

Chelsea, Rozzie, and Lauren

As you can see, Rozzie's friend Chelsea is back to "normal".  She returned to school this past week.  Her tumor was benign.  And she was able to go to Prom!!  She has been, we all have been, greatly blessed.  She is on a lot of medications and will continue to have many doctor appointments throughout the year.  She is happy to be doing normal things.

Travis and I always enjoy going to the Prom.  Travis is very good to sit at a table with shoes and purses.  I check in with him regularly.  It is fun to get dressed up.  We went to dinner with the dance coach and her husband, Ali and Stu.

The girls and the limo driver

Rozzie's closest friends hamming it up.  I tried to ignore Rozzie at the Prom.  However, I wanted a few pictures.  She was irritated when I asked them to take a picture.  Then they got to posing and we had to cut it off at 5.

Chelsea, Nora, Rozzie, Lauren

Rozzie went to Lauren's house with her friends to spend the night.  Then they went to Lauren's grandparent's lake house where they spent the day jet skiing, sunbathing, eating, and having fun!  Now it's time to get serious and finish out the school year strong.  We have AP exams coming up, EOC (end of course) exams for Maddie in Algebra and Biology.  And I just have to tolerate my seniors for another month!!

The Holiday From Which We Measure How Long It Has Been That We Have had Diarhhea

"Nacho Libre" enthusiasts will know that to be "Easters".  

We were on Spring Break this past week.  Travis was out in California having his voice surgically altered.  So it was just the girls hanging out at the house.  Spring Break couldn't come soon enough and now we just have to trudge through to the end of the school year.  This is when all the testing happens and there is no break in sight.  The kids have already started going to the beach so their minds are not on scholarly employs at this time.  sigh....

So what did we do while Trav was away?  We watched lots of movies and I finished a pair of socks!!  Now that it is 80 degrees everyday, I won't be needing them.  

I celebrated my 44th birthday!  We went to dinner at PF Chang.  Trav left me a gift card.  Sadly, this was my first cakeless birthday...  (Trav is coming home tomorrow, so I baked one today.  Wait til you see pictures!!)  I survived.  

While we were all waiting for school to get out last Friday, Rozzie's dear friend Chelsea went to the ER for a very bad headache with vomiting.  This was the start of 10 days in ICU for a tumor on her pituitary gland.  It was, and still is a very scary time for her.  The surgery went well and she came home today.  Rozzie, Lauren, and Nora have been to visit Chelsea many times.  It is nice to see kids rally in times like this.  They rose to the occasion and did the difficult thing - all of them.  

Sara sent me a puzzle for my birthday.  I'm always very intimidated by puzzles and this was no exception.  I spent an entire day doing this puzzle - even stayed up until 1:30 to finish it.  I couldn't go anywhere, and was coming out of my own funk, so I just committed one day to this beast and I conquered it!!

Then came Easters.  Just so you know, I am wearing flats and the girls are both in heels.  Yes, they are both taller than me, but not this much taller.  It was a nice Easters and we went over to Lani's for dinner.  

I also had a colonoscopy during the break (that is the funk I was in while doing the puzzle).  I do not have pictures to show you of the procedure.  Yes, the prep for the procedure is unpleasant and if I never have Gatorade again, it will be too soon.  I hated it in the first place.  After the procedure, my IV sites have been bothersome.  I was dehydrating pretty fast by the time they put in the IV that I was happy to see the saline solution.  The problem was that they couldn't get a good vein and it HURT when they put it in.  I've had MANY IVs in my lifetime so I know what it should be like.  It continued to be uncomfortable (it even hurts with typing - I think she messed up a nerve) and they must have moved the IV when I was out because I have 2 big bruises on my hand and wrist.  All went well, they found what they were looking for, removed some polyps, and woke me up.

That was Spring Break.  I hope you all had a good Easters and that the temps are warming up a bit and Spring will spring for you, too.

Also, for those who haven't already heard me tell the story:
Last night, Maddie and I were watching a movie and Licky came to the front door and was meowing.  Maddie went and opened the door.  Licky ran away.  Maddie turned to me and said, "We were just 'ding-dong ditched' by our cat."  That's pretty low.