End of the year fun!

A favorite...Callie, with Kyra and Whitney.
One of our favorite graduates! D with Kyra, and Whitney and a friend.

A favorite for sure! Whitney and Cass!

Really TIRED girls with their NEW shirts! The girls saran wrapped together, they boys in black, and the pie!!

The boys are ready to go!!

Learning Japanese...

I am writing this post in Canyon View Teal. The school year is over and thus means the Seniors Graduate. Our family had 3 special girls graduate on Friday. Callie, Cassie, and D all graduated on Friday. We have loved these girls for the last 4 years. They all played soccer for Mark for the past 4 years. And Cassie has been one of my "lovely Laurels". This year there has been a war between the 3 girls and Mark. It started last summer when they would leave street cones in our yard and draw pictures and messages on our driveway, porch and sidewalk. On their first away trip last summer Mark hid his famous Japanese cat clock under the bed in their hotel room. They were woken up at 3:00am by the sounds of the clock. They did not know where it was coming from and they called Mark saying, "Coach... there is a guy speaking Spanish in our room. We think he is under our bed! Help us!" Mark went to their room and took the clock. They plotted to get him back for a few months. One night in the Fall our family was woken up at 3:00am by an AWFUL beeping sound!!!! We thought at first it was our fire alarm but then figured the noise was coming from inside our walls! We found "the screamin' meanie" inside a vent. On Wednesday night we got them back GOOD! We enlisted the help of Jordan and 5 of his friends. The boys came over about 10:30 pm and we started planning the activities of the night. The boys kidnapped the girls at 3:00am. The boys ran into their room screaming the Japanese words that the clock says. They saran wrapped them and put a mask on their face. (They saran wrapped them because last summer the girls saran wrapped Whitney one night and left her on our front porch) They were then driven around town listening to Mark's voice on a cd. Then they were brought to the school and saran wrapped together and made to listen to the cat clock over and over again. While the boys smeared cheerio-cream cheese pie on their faces. (The pie is a favorite of ours.) We have made it for the girls many times in the last four years. We then brought them back to our house and made french toast for them and the boys. Mark made them t-shirts with the cat clock on the back and the words "NORAKURO" on the front. It is what the clock says. It means GET UP! The girls wore the shirts proudly to school the next day. And the whole thing was the talk of the Graduation Ceremony Friday night. Because both D and Cassie were nominated for Girl of the Year. And one of the boys that was with us was nominated and WON Boy of the Year. We had such a fun night. They are a great group of kids and we will miss seeing them at school, church, and in our home!