Well, we are finally coming to the end of the school year. Lots of things going on that may take more than 1 update to cover, so here is the first installment... Erin- Erin has had a great year! She just went on the trip for kids that earned at least 200 AR points. They got to go to Austin Park & Pizza. She had a great time with her buddies, but reminded us that you go for the park and NOT the pizza. Erin is really enjoying cheer practice and getting the "hang of it all." It sure helps they practice over with the high school cheerleaders, so Em is around to help out when she needs something. Erin is really excited about getting to go to cheer camp...it's at Temple High School. Erin finished the year with 563 AR points....YEA!!!! She was 2nd in her class with the total. One kid beat her with 603 points. She set a goal of 1,000 AR points for next year, so he keep the suggestions coming Moni & Callie!!! Erin got her braces off just in time for Elizabeth's graduation. Amazing how the braces off can make her look so much older...scary! Emily - Em is "winding down" from her freshman year. She put a lot of pressure on herself with her grades and class rank. We are working on doing our best and enjoying the results...regardless of what they end up. Em is loving cheer and excited to go to the coast for cheer camp. Em was really thankful for the rain this past week...running the mile and sprints was a little easier without having the Texas sun whip you along with sadistic coaches. Em and Dad went to the state track finals in Austin to see this little girl Emily ran against from Rogers run the 100M & 300M hurdles. This kid blew away our district and Em got know her some at the meets. Keep this kids name on your radar, Lauren Bedrich. She set state records in the 100M and 300M both at the meet. She is going to Texas A&M on a track scholarship and will compete in the heptathlon. She also finished second in state in the long jump and 5th in the triple jump. Em and Dad manage to get a nice sun-burn while they were yelling for Lauren at the track meet. Em is looking forward to next year (sophomore), but not too soon. Em has a vision of the summer of nothingness...I believe the quote is "I did nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be". Em has swimming, sleeping, and getting next year's AR points all finished this summer. Look out sophomore year, Em is gonna be coming for ya...... Elizabeth - - E finished her college English class and got an A...Yea!!! Starting out college with a 4.0..not too shabby. She had a great instructor, and to her surprise really enjoyed the class. We had the senior awards ceremony and scholarships a couple of weeks ago. E will be graduating top 10%, Honors, and Distinguished. She informed me that she was the only one in the top 10% to be graduating Distinguished!!! She gets to wear all 3 medals during the graduation ceremony. There is gonna be a whole lot of noise when that kid starts to walk. E is kind of sad her reign as National Honor Society President is coming to an end. She really enjoyed running the meetings, and coordinating community projects (Ronald McDonald House, etc.). E played powderpuff football with some other senior girls against the junior girls to raise some money for the folks in West. E got comfortable in the second half and started playing a little aggressive...she put a smile on Emily's face bumping into girls and throwing elbows. The juniors barely won, but it was soooo much fun to see the girls enjoying themselves on the football field. E picked up her cap, robe, and stuff for graduation. Is it really here already? E did find out which dorm she will be in next year...Rudder Hall. Rudder wasn't her first pick, but it's still a good dorm from what we hear. E did get Hannah Seela as her roommate. E and Hannah have already discussed getting together once exams are finished to plan how they will decorate their room...guess my suggestion of National Lampoon's "Animal House" didn't go over...and that's how you keep yourself out of these planning sessions, evidently. Melinda - Melinda had a challenging, but great year. She had a group that really struggled, but she was able to get a huge number of her students to pass the latest state testing. Many of the kids passed this year with Melinda that did not pass last year. The year was a bit draining as you can imagine, but Melinda loves the kids so it's a labor of love. I think we are both coming to grips that E will be off at school next year. We are planning to make this the summer of fun, so anyone wanting to join in...Come on down!!!!!!!!!