The kids are all taking their SOL's and headed into finals. George finished his freshman year at Tech with excellent grades while working full time and maintaining a busy, busy social life.

Roo is trying out for the HS flag corp this weekend. It sounds like a huge time and expense commitment so I'm not sure if I should be excited or concerned...or both. I'm still going to math and civics class with Roo to supervise and offer remedial "how to pay attention in class" lessons. I'm not sure if it's a compliment or criticism that Roo seems to enjoy having me in class. Anyway, her grades are sure to be better this time. Although I suspect her teachers would be motivated to give her good grades just to get me out of their classrooms.

Owen's friend Michael got himself grounded for a MONTH! (via Owen) So Owen's been playing with Ben who lives next door. They spend most of their time being ninja, superhero, star wars, pirate action figures swinging sticks and leaping bushes. Ahhh...boys.

Devon has been busy with his music as always and doing more work on his car with Dad. Still no interest on the job situation though.

Devon and Owen's mom is back from Afghanistan and they saw her last weekend. She was actually back in time for mother's day but decided not to come down to see them that weekend because she didn't want to leave her dog....

Anyway, the boys were super happy to see her and had a great time over the weekend. Apparently she took the opportunity to mention that she might be gone again, maybe for longer than 6mths this time, but they could come see her......

Much ado was made over the fact that she drove ALL THE WAY DOWN to see the boys, as a demonstration of the degree of her love. Maybe we should mention that we drive them ALL THE WAY UP to see her (or her family when she's out of the country) all the time ....and that's not even for our own benefit, but hers? Maybe not..... 

Richard and I have graduation for the master gardener program this Friday. 

We've been busy, busy with chain saw, chopping and hacking all through the yard. It's a veritable shrubbery carnage field out there. Everything was left to get overgrown and out of control and those shrubs need a little discipline! 

We're getting ready for Blacksburg's summer solstice fest in a few weeks and then the kids will be off to adventure with their other parents for the summer. Looking forward to the sweet sounds of silence! (and an empty kitchen sink and no $358 weekly grocery bills) 

:)

It's been crazy busy! Devon took his SAT - so hopefully that went well. After dropping him off at the test, we went yard sale-ing and scored a 40 gallon tub of new-in-the-box original star wars toys for $100. Devon priced them out online at almost $1000. So yeah - he's in heaven. We're referring to it as his retirement fund.

Owen was riding in the car and asked if a person could live after an electrical shock. Upon inquiry - he said it would be super cool to have electrical powers. So if Owen ever hits someone with a lightning bolt ...or ends up in the ER for playing with outlets and/or being hit by lightning....we"ll know why.

Roo.....well, Roo, Roo, Roo. She's been having a year of it. I've been working with  her all year on homework, turning in homework, paying attention in class, etc. I've met with teachers, instituted homework field trips, confiscated electronics. And yet, today I received a phone call from the principal. Apparently Roo's power struggle with her math teacher is such that Roo is looking at lunch detention and/or in school suspension if she doesnt get her act together pronto. I hate to ground kids - because I think separating them from their support systems at this age runs a high risk of depression and alienation but ....I think I'm at my last resort. I'll be going to school with her and she'll be staying home.

George is contemplating a move to Dallas TX with his current girl. They've been dating for a month. This girl has something of a personal and family history - such that several other moms have felt compelled to share the information with me in case I wasn't aware. It's fairly alarming - which is saying a lot given that I'm very rarely alarmed by kid's diabolical plots to participate in ADVENTURE! We all agreed the move is a stupid idea - but that's what being young is for - being stupid. So we'll see what happens.

Devon is enjoying being mobile now that he drives. Still no job on the horizon or even efforts to achieve said job. He's been helping Dad with the cars and house, playing his music and such.

I'm having a mommy moment though. The kids are to put their dishes in the dishwasher as they use them. I usually run the dishwasher at night and empty the dishwasher in the morning for them. However, on occasion, I have morning meetings and don't get it emptied. So they've all been told that on such occasion, their options are to hand wash their dishes and put them away or empty the dishwasher and put their dishes in. 

So one kid put the dirty dishes in with the clean dishes. The other kid left their dirty dishes in the sink.

The irony in this is that before this new system, the kids were responsible for emptying, loading, counters and sink. So they've got quite the deal in only having to load their own dishes in the washer. 

But nooooo. They still wont even do that. 

It's a dreary Saturday outside but busy, busy here. Devon finished putting the brakes, struts and shocks on the Camry and is pleased with himself. Owen and Michael are drawing superheros. Roo is off to play tennis with her friends. George took off on his adventure after completing his 1am laundry endeavors. (ask how we know that he was doing laundry at 1am) Kainyn got a brisk morning walk and didn't eat any cats ...or any ground hogs. 

I....well, I fell into a 2 hr food coma after Dragon made poached eggs and strawberry/banana french toast. Yummy!

We spend an average of $300 a week on groceries - sometimes as much as $450. That's just insane. Dang having 4 teenagers (factoring the 10 yr old equivalent thereof who weighs 35 pounds more than 14 yr old Roo)

Oh...I forgot to mention that Roo engaged in discretionary facial mutilation this week (got her nose pieced) and all went well. Hopefully pics to follow

Kainyn stole a can of tuna from the counter and crushed it with his vicious killer teeth until it is now a mangled shred of metal. How does that dog even know there was tuna in a closed metal can? We are saving the remains as a family sculpture. Pics to follow

G is off with his friends on a weekend road trip. Roo has her usual horde of friends over. Owen is bunked up with his best bud Michael. Tonight they are sleeping over here and tomorrow at Michael's. Devon is theoretically studying for his SAT next weekend. 

Hopefully I am unpacking and planting all weekend. Richard has tailgates and soccer.

Devon helped Dad work on his Camry - brakes/shocks/springs. Owen rode to school on Dad's motorcycle and wants to know how old he has to be before he can ride a motorcycle too. Roo and Owen are working on their school assigned community service and Roo is also working on her parent assigned community service for showing a lack of judgement dangerous to her health. 

The ground hog continues to feast on expensive landscape plants and the vicious-killer-beast dog is not earning his keep by feasting on the ground hog. 

George nearly had an adventure. We discovered that all of the lug nuts on his rear tire mysteriously came lose and the tire was ready to fall right off. 

Tasty roast beast for dinner.

I am still fascinated with Owen and the neighbor boy playing in the evening until dinner. Ahh - childhood memories.

Still having to allow 10 extra minutes when I come and go to get way-laid by chatty neighbors. One lady is smitten with Luppa ..wonder if she'll take him? :)

Owen's made friends with the neighbor boy. They play outside after school until we call them for dinner - like when we were youngin's and kids still played outside. I end up chuckling at the other neighbor parents the whole time I'm out in the yard as I overhear familiar attempts to manage their unruly children. 

There are some benefits to living in "community" and a good chuckle is one.

Ok- going for some discipline with the journaling thing. I sort of stopped after the trial - our site went down- things got kinda routine - life stuff. 

 Anyway: Quick updates

 George: graduated HS, hemmed and hawed and started college at VT. He changed his major from architecture to graphic design. He's busy with his performing and traveling and girls and work. He was pleasantly surprised to find the class work is manageable but doesn't feel like Tech is the place for him. He's planning to take next year off - travel and perform and then see what's next.

 Devon: Junior year is going well with the typical grades struggle. He's producing his music, antagonizing Owen, playing nerf wars with Owen and George and maintaining his room as a sort of biohazard experiment. He isn't a fan of night school (since the HS gym collapsed) but then he wasn't a fan of day school either. He's driving now and needs a job!

 Roo: 8th grade has been full of grade issues and frolicing with friends. She has plans almost every day with her gaggle of girls and weekends are a blur of group sleepovers. We have homework dates on Tues and Thurs which I kinda like because we get tasty treats. She's having difficulty maintaining brain function when her friends are around and I've gotten a fair amount of phone calls from teachers, principals and other parents. 

 Owen: 6th grade has been full of sports, friends, school projects. He is way excited to go to middle school next year. He has done well with his mom being in Afghanistan for the school year, rarely mentioning her absence and has spent some time with Mimi to help. His new best friend is Michael and they are inseparable. They take every opportunity for sleepovers, detailed superhero discussions and giggling. He still has this tendency to say "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad every two seconds but experience has taught us that in the next year he's likely to disappear into teenage-hood - never to be seen again. 

 Richard: Busy as a bee - as always. Soccer and lego and travel for work and master gardener and NVC and the houses/cars and managing his delinquent wife and children ...well it keeps him busy. He's a 'mazing goalie and really enjoys some time away from everyone to play. 

 Catherine: Got a job/ quit a job. Dropped the kids off/ picked the kids up. Let the dogs in /let the dogs out. Unpacked/ packed and unpacked again. Planted a garden/ dug up a garden/ planting a garden again. Mostly the past year has been a lot of effort to go 'round in circles. Feeling unaccomplished.....

 She did manage to con Richard into NVC and master gardening. Also continually contemplating joining roller derby girls but most says arrgghhh when she tries to stand up.