Tink-erin-belle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2010
- Messages
- 1,197
Summer officially started for us in late June when school finally let out. Coy graduated from 6th grade after a tough couple of years for him at his new school. He thrived at his last school before we moved, so it was hard for me to watch him to struggle to make friends and to find meaning in his school work. He was able to find more of a balance by the end of the school year and he had come up with a plan all on his own to make his next school year better! He really is a mature young man, so I felt he was deserving of a celebration!
At the risk of getting flamed, I have to say that I just dont believe in these mini-graduations. Kindergarten Graduation. 6th Grade Graduation. 8th Grade Graduation. My kids were once in a daycare that had a Pre-School Graduation, for goodness sakes! Yes, all of these mini-graduations are a cute way to mark a milestone, but I feel that they also take away from the importance of the High School Graduation. All of that being said, I still felt that Coy needed a celebration because (even though he is the brightest young man I know) he and I both had our doubts that he was going to make it out of 6th grade! Haha!!!
So let my hypocrisy begin! LOL! I planned a graduation party for him and since I love surprising the kids, I hatched a plan for it to be a surprise graduation party! First, I had to get people over to my house without Coy getting suspicious. Well, the weekend after school was out just so happened to be the same weekend that the pick-your-own farm that we frequent opened for cherry picking. One of my sisters, my mom, my kids and I left my house at 7am that Saturday to get to the farm by 8. Needless to say, the kids were beyond cranky. We had to get there that early because we were told by a farmer on our last trip there that their sweet cherries often get completely picked within one day! There was an entrance fee of $5 per person on the sweet cherry orchard but the sour cherry orchard didnt have an admission fee. I devised a game plan where my mom and sister would go to the sweet cherry orchard and my kids and I would go to the sour.
Well, within 5 minutes, Coy and True were bored of picking cherries! True started taking pictures of herself to pass the time LOL:
Together, they only filled about a quarter of a grocery store bag! True wanted to leave and see the farm animals and Coy just wasnt into it. In about another 5 minutes he started giving me looks like this:
He was not happy and the gnats were annoying him and True because they werent in the protective covering of the cherry trees. I told them to at least stand near the trees, but Coy didnt want to do anything but leave. True stood under the tree, saw I was telling the truth about it providing some relief from the gnats and tried to convince her brother to stand under the tree too. He just wasnt having it. Long story short, he and True kept asking to leave for the entire hour that we were there. Well, my mom, sister and I had been looking forward to cherry picking for over a month, so I told my kids that they had to be patient. The kids never acted like that when we went to pick strawberries or apples, so I was stunned at their behavior and a little disappointed too. Coy was being too stubborn to enjoy the moment and True was so bored that she even refused to hold the bag of cherries after I filled it up! No amount of games or jokes or distractions changed their attitude. I was pretty POed because it was a beautiful morning and they were too cranky to enjoy it. At the same time, I knew that when I got into a mood like that, it was hard to break me out of it too LOL!
You know, I always say, Long story short but it never is! Anyway, when we met my mom and sister at the fruit scales they had 2 bags of sweet cherries. That was a really good haul! When they weighed the bags, it came to 11 pounds! Then I weighed my 2 bags. They were also 11 pounds! I picked 11 pounds of cherries all by myself (well, Coy and True helped a little. Haha! A very little!)
I teased my mom and sister that I did the work of 2 grown women and we all got a good laugh out of that even the kids! So the tension was finally lifted. We paid for the 22 pounds of cherries and I cant remember how much it was but even with the $10 cover charge, they were still way less than what they wouldve cost if we brought them from the grocery store. My mom then saw that the blueberries were open too, and since we were all in a good mood by then
we drove down to the blueberry patch
and ended up picking a total of 6 pints of blueberries!
We went back to my house and divided up the cherries and blueberries so that everyone would have some. Next year, our plan is for all 3 of us (4 if our other sister comes) to go to the sweet cherry orchard and then go to the sour. Oh, and were leaving the kids at home! LOL! We had cherries and blueberries in everything for weeks! Back to that day, though. My sister and I went to the grocery store to pick up the food for Coys party. By the time we got back, both of my brothers and my dad were there. My brother distracted Coy for me by asking him to help him wash his car. Coy gave me this look like, Why is this dude asking me to wash his car? LOL but he helped him anyway. I was worried that Coy was suspicious and might figure out the surprise, but I went ahead and decorated for the party.
I sent my brother the all clear from my window and he led Coy inside. Coy was genuinely surprised to see all of us there ready to celebrate with him.
At the risk of getting flamed, I have to say that I just dont believe in these mini-graduations. Kindergarten Graduation. 6th Grade Graduation. 8th Grade Graduation. My kids were once in a daycare that had a Pre-School Graduation, for goodness sakes! Yes, all of these mini-graduations are a cute way to mark a milestone, but I feel that they also take away from the importance of the High School Graduation. All of that being said, I still felt that Coy needed a celebration because (even though he is the brightest young man I know) he and I both had our doubts that he was going to make it out of 6th grade! Haha!!!
So let my hypocrisy begin! LOL! I planned a graduation party for him and since I love surprising the kids, I hatched a plan for it to be a surprise graduation party! First, I had to get people over to my house without Coy getting suspicious. Well, the weekend after school was out just so happened to be the same weekend that the pick-your-own farm that we frequent opened for cherry picking. One of my sisters, my mom, my kids and I left my house at 7am that Saturday to get to the farm by 8. Needless to say, the kids were beyond cranky. We had to get there that early because we were told by a farmer on our last trip there that their sweet cherries often get completely picked within one day! There was an entrance fee of $5 per person on the sweet cherry orchard but the sour cherry orchard didnt have an admission fee. I devised a game plan where my mom and sister would go to the sweet cherry orchard and my kids and I would go to the sour.
Well, within 5 minutes, Coy and True were bored of picking cherries! True started taking pictures of herself to pass the time LOL:
Together, they only filled about a quarter of a grocery store bag! True wanted to leave and see the farm animals and Coy just wasnt into it. In about another 5 minutes he started giving me looks like this:
He was not happy and the gnats were annoying him and True because they werent in the protective covering of the cherry trees. I told them to at least stand near the trees, but Coy didnt want to do anything but leave. True stood under the tree, saw I was telling the truth about it providing some relief from the gnats and tried to convince her brother to stand under the tree too. He just wasnt having it. Long story short, he and True kept asking to leave for the entire hour that we were there. Well, my mom, sister and I had been looking forward to cherry picking for over a month, so I told my kids that they had to be patient. The kids never acted like that when we went to pick strawberries or apples, so I was stunned at their behavior and a little disappointed too. Coy was being too stubborn to enjoy the moment and True was so bored that she even refused to hold the bag of cherries after I filled it up! No amount of games or jokes or distractions changed their attitude. I was pretty POed because it was a beautiful morning and they were too cranky to enjoy it. At the same time, I knew that when I got into a mood like that, it was hard to break me out of it too LOL!
You know, I always say, Long story short but it never is! Anyway, when we met my mom and sister at the fruit scales they had 2 bags of sweet cherries. That was a really good haul! When they weighed the bags, it came to 11 pounds! Then I weighed my 2 bags. They were also 11 pounds! I picked 11 pounds of cherries all by myself (well, Coy and True helped a little. Haha! A very little!)
I teased my mom and sister that I did the work of 2 grown women and we all got a good laugh out of that even the kids! So the tension was finally lifted. We paid for the 22 pounds of cherries and I cant remember how much it was but even with the $10 cover charge, they were still way less than what they wouldve cost if we brought them from the grocery store. My mom then saw that the blueberries were open too, and since we were all in a good mood by then
we drove down to the blueberry patch
and ended up picking a total of 6 pints of blueberries!
We went back to my house and divided up the cherries and blueberries so that everyone would have some. Next year, our plan is for all 3 of us (4 if our other sister comes) to go to the sweet cherry orchard and then go to the sour. Oh, and were leaving the kids at home! LOL! We had cherries and blueberries in everything for weeks! Back to that day, though. My sister and I went to the grocery store to pick up the food for Coys party. By the time we got back, both of my brothers and my dad were there. My brother distracted Coy for me by asking him to help him wash his car. Coy gave me this look like, Why is this dude asking me to wash his car? LOL but he helped him anyway. I was worried that Coy was suspicious and might figure out the surprise, but I went ahead and decorated for the party.
I sent my brother the all clear from my window and he led Coy inside. Coy was genuinely surprised to see all of us there ready to celebrate with him.
Sixth grade must be universally difficult- I know it is here. Jace would have been in 6th last year and Kya this year if they were still in public school so I've had the chance to talk with parents of their friends in school. 6th grade is definitely a year of adjustment for kids here as well. . 
Mom and grandpa never took us back! 
:
Anyway, I talked about education a lot with my aunts who were retired elementary school teachers and they were always nostalgic for the time when they taught because it seemed to be very different then. That's a discussion for a different time and place, though. For now, I'm just happy Coy and True are looking forward to starting school on Tuesday 
No way, Buddy! Its bad enough that we are going the week before that. I told her she could still wear her Birthday Button even if it wasnt her real birthday. I also told our other sister that she could wear a birthday button too since her birthday is in June. They both refused! 
Anyway, I wont show her kids in these pictures, but Ill show you a couple pictures of mine at the after party at our aunts house:
So the kids and I waited and waited, just knowing that we were going to be bombarded by crowds at any minute, but the crowds never came! Only a few people came in after us. I mean literally a few, like 3 or 4 people! What? Well, I guess the 10am showing was a little early for most Harry Potter geeks! Only the geekiest of fans, like myself, would drag their kids out of the house on a Saturday morning for this. We all remember the Great Cherry Picking Disaster, dont we? 
Well, maybe not THAT duck, but a duck all the same Haha! Hes now into taking pictures of things that look like other things. Coy has quite an imagination on him. Just the other day, he took this picture of some curls in my ponytail that looked like a heart:
Oh gosh
LOL!
Whoa! Sorry! Repressed anger! 
My sisters volunteered to go with me 
I didnt sneak in candy or sodas this time and we skipped breakfast to make it on time to the movie, so the kids chose nachos for brunch and I chose popcorn! Nutritious! Not to mention the gazillion ounce sodas we all had! I spent $35 on a meal that consisted of nothing but junk. Thats roughly seven times more than what my sneaky snacks cost us! Well, at least it made me feel a little better about how much an OOP meal at Disney costs! Anyway, I absolutely HATED that movie! The first 20 minutes were nothing but gross out humor amd the plot was as deep as a kiddie pool. The kids enjoyed themselves and thats all that matters, but I did notice that they didnt ask to see it again one day or even ask to get it on DVD once it comes out. LOL! I am just very partial to Disney movies and other films that have interesting plots. I dont think movies have to be dumbed down for kids. Man, how did I end up on this dang horse again? Haha!
