Introducing Chelsea!

This is a picture of Anna and her roommate Chelsea.  Anna was very happy, she not only got the roommate that she chose, but they got their first choice of rooms.

This picture was taken last weekend during the UCF Lead Scholars Orientation. It was two days-first day was 8-8 and the second day was 7:30 until 1:30.  PARENTS TOO!!!  A lot of good information.  They did a really nice job of presenting their University.

Jia Thinks She is at The Ritz

Drew said that Jia was so excited by the hotel room.  They scare me, go figure?

Jia & Drew go to Disney during Tropical Deprssion Debby

We promised Jia a trip to Disney for her 9th birthday.  When Drew took Katie up to the "Hatter Trek" (more on that later.) It was all planned that since they were within a half hour from Disney it would be the perfect time to do it. Little did we know that Tropical Storm Debby would make things difficult for them.

Drew and Jia are brave soldiers, they bundled up in their rain gear and hit the park when it opened (fun fact:  They put a barrier line up, the crowd counts down, there are fireworks and then people run into Disney for the opening) Our family did not run, but one of the good spots of the day is that there were not as many people there as usual.

Drew said it went from drizziling at times to torrential downpours. The most important part is that Jia LOVED it. The rain did not distract from her happiness at all.

Ps.  I do not do "worlds" the amount of people, people standing so close, etc. is too much for me.  The good news is that as a UCF student, Anna gets a discount and can buy her ticket for $50 every time she goes there. 

Anna in Atlanta

 Anna, Fabian

and his nephews

Anna is on a 4 day trip to Alpharetta, Georgia, which is just outside of Atlanta.  She is there with Fabian and his Mom.  They are house/babysitting for Fabian's much older brother.  She is having a great time, might not want to come home.

Feelin' the HEAT!

What a series! What a final game! 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!

LOVE, KATIE, ANNA, AND JIA

JoJo

We had to say goodbye to another kitty in our herd.  JoJo was a rescue cat that we got in front of Barnes & Noble about 12 years ago.  He was always a timid cat, with beautiful markings. Good bye my little friend.

The girls were given money to pick out a significant "BIG" present by our family.  Katie chose to buy a laptop to take to school with her.  Even though she set it up, she says she is saving it to use at school.  Anna, not so much, she bought a much coveted camera like they use in her Journalism class. (she has been trying to save for this for years, but we all know that Anna and savings are complete opposites.)  Unlike Katie, Anna had the camera out of the box before we even left the parking lot! Both had money left over which will go in to their savings account.  The girls each got jewelry from Pandora and Tiffany's (!) as well.  The girls are blessed to have such wonderful gifts, but more importantly such wonderful people to call family.

Graduation Reception

The house looked gorgeous thanks to my sisters-in-law Shelagh and Moira.  They are so creative and I don't think I have a creative bone in my body.  We were so touched by the amount of people who came to the reception.

Drew and I wrote letters to each of the girl's teachers, from Verna, their first caretaker all the way up to the twelfth grade.  Everyone sent wishes and wonderful notes about the girls.

One of my biggest surprises is that Leon showed up, he has been my best friend since 1976 and I was really not expecting him, so that was a wonderful thing.

Graduation!

First picture is before the class came in.  Second picture is when the class came in, all 700 of them. Katie in the top 10 percent and Anna in the top 11%. Katie got a stole for being the National Honor Society Treasurer and cords for GPA of 3.75 or higher, community service, NHS member, and Science National Honor Society.  Anna received cords for National Honor Society, GPA of 3.75 or higher, and community service, Anna was also a member of the National Quill an Scroll Society for being Yearbook Editor for 2 years and traveling to Columbia University to receive a silver award for last year's yearbook.  She is hoping for a gold this year although she will already be in college.  Thank you for following this very important event in our family.

Sweet Picture

On The Way To Graduate

The girl are all ready to go to the graduation.  Little Jia strikes a pose too!  So Proud!

Pre-Graduation

Pictures of Anna making treats for our after graduation reception.  Then the relatives came down, including the mystery guest-SHANNON!  We went out to dinner the night before graduation.