June recap

Today is the last day of June, so for most intents and purposes, the summer is about half over. Connor starts football on August 4, which means we have to be back in town from Colorado the weekend before.

June's been good! Kelly went on a Dino Dig trip with about 20 kids from school and 3 teacher/staff chaperones. They went (and camped) to New Mexico, Colorado (yes, she's already been to Estes once this summer :), Wyoming and South Dakota. They saw Mt. Rushmore, and actually dug for dinosaur bones at an excavation site in Wyoming. The dig is run by a Christian college and they approach it from a creationist worldview.

Connor's been recuperating from that dislocated shoulder. He's begun playing 7-on-7 football, although I'm still unclear as to whether the doc has approved it :) He is currently at Beach Camp in Florida with the youth from Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Nick and I went to Kansas State for orientation and enrollment. He's enrolled for 15 hours for the fall, and we are having an ongoing conversation on whether he should just take 12 as he adjusts to college and pledges a fraternity. He is pledging Delta Upsilon and will be living in their house. I toured the house when we were up there and it's pretty cool: 3 levels plus a basement, sleeping dorms, study rooms, an industrial kitchen... they have a full-time cook and the pledges do all the cleaning! Nick did Wildcat Warmup, a welcome weekend for new students. I had a relaxing weekend at a hotel in Topeka while he did that. A tornado had hit the campus just 36 hours before we arrived, so there was a lot of debris around. However, the school did a great job of keeping the weekend going.

Nick had all four of his wisdom teeth extracted at the beginning of the month and it was a difficult week. Now, 4 weeks later, he has developed an infection under his gum and is just as swollen as the day after they were pulled! He's on a stiff antibiotic and the doc says he'll be feeling fine in no time.

Last week, Nick, Kelly and I volunteered at West Dallas Community School in the mornings. We enjoy doing that every summer. We may try to work it in for two weeks next year. The kids are great, and it's easy to bond with them in a short period of time.

Nick has been playing golf almost every day. Kelly has been writing stories. Connor has been hanging out with his friends, and looking for a job. Kelly leaves for Kanakuk Colorado on July 7. We all pick her up from camp on the 19th and head up to the cabin. Bill is taking two weeks off, so that will be nice. And Astro...well he's just been hanging out!

Kelly's 8th grade graduation

Kelly graduated from the 8th grade last week. She has loved middle school and is somewhat sad to leave it behind. Some middle school highlights: Wildnerness Trip (with all the 8th graders in the Ozark Mountains), Academic Awards for Science and Latin, National Latin Exam awards - 7th grade and 8th grade (gold medal summa cum laude), State Recognition for SAT score taken as in 7th grade under Duke Talent Identification Program, 6th grade Physics Camp by Women in Physics at University of Texas at Dallas (selective admission), and just enjoying school. (Hope this didn't sound too much like a Christmas letter! We are very proud of her and thankful that she enjoys learning and have a strong curiosity).

Nick graduates!!

Nick has graduated from TCA!! It was a wonderful ceremony and we are very proud of him! We were thrilled that his grandparents from Phoenix were able to attend. Nick leaves tomorrow, Monday, to work on a friend's ranch for 2 or 3 weeks. He is looking forward to college at Kansas State (go Wildcats!) where he has already pledged Delta Upsilon fraternity and will be moving into their house. They seem like a really good group of guys and we are excited for him.

Kelly wins two 8th grade Academic Awards!!

We are very proud and excited for Kelly as she has won two Academic Awards. When we learned she was winning an award, we guessed it would be for Latin. She did win a Latin award, but she also won a Science award! She loves both subjects and we are thrilled to see her rewarded.

Legacy goes all the way to state!

It was a fun ride for Connor's baseball team as they had an undefeated district season, and won all of their playoff games until the state championship, which they lost 11-7. Connor had a great playoff run and was named to the all-tournament team. Unfortunately, he completely dislocated his shoulder during the championship game. Next week he will begin 12 weeks of therapy. His summer has changed now that summer baseball, summer basketball, and 7-on-7 football are off the radar!

April update

Typical busy Spring in our home just as it is in everyone else's. Nick is winding down at school. He and Bill went up to K-State last weekend for the spring football game, university open house, and fraternity rush events. Amazing that the fraternities actually are recruiting the high school seniors before they graduate from high school! He did receive a bid from one of the houses that he likes, and several are still in contact with him. He will probably make a decision soon. AP exams and TCA prom coming up in the next week or so. Graduation is May 16th. His announcements have been delayed, but we should get them this week! This photo is of Nick up at K-State for the open house.



Connor has been playing lots of sports this spring! LCA finished district with an undefeated record and won their first play-off game 10-0. Connor had a great game at the plate, going 3-4. Connor is also on the track team and has advanced from district to regional and now to state in 3 events (high jump and two relay races). The state track meet will be held May 2 and 3 in Waco. He even did a stint with the tennis team! Connor went to the LCA prom a couple of weeks ago with his girlfriend, Patricia. All of this activity keeps him really busy, so he has to catch a few z's wherever he can (that's Astro with him in the photo).


Kelly has been playing on the middle school tennis team at TCA and is really enjoying it. She has improved quite a lot. Unfortunately I dont' have a photo to post, but I'll get one! They only have one match left so I better get it then. (The only reason we have so many sports photos of Connor is because there is a wonderful volunteer team photographer. ) Kelly did just win a gold medal for scoring in the summa cum laude level for the National Latin Exam, an exam taken mainly by high school students around the country. TCA uses the Latin I curriculum (which is usually a freshman Latin course) in the 7th/8th grade years. I promise to post some pics of Kelly soon!

Connor's team plays in professional stadium

Connor's baseball team, Frisco Legacy Christian, played a district game in the AA park of the Frisco Roughriders today. We won 13-0 and remain undefeated in district (5-0) with 3 games to go.

Nick sat in the press box with his friend, Matt, who announced the game.