Lilacs are my Favorite Flower, you know!

If you really know me well, you know that I absolutely love lilacs -- especially the dark, dark purple ones! I watch out my kitchen window with great anticipation for the blooming of my lilac bushes. It is a happy day when I can fill my house with the aroma of fresh lilacs. Well that day has come, and it is now almost over. The redbud trees are finished blooming, and mine was spectacular this year. I wish I had many of them planted in my yard! The magnolia and dogwood trees are now in bloom. It is a beautiful time of year in Ohio.

Track Meet at Morgan High School

I wasn't happy to be headed to a track meet this evening! It was 45 degrees at noon today and we have had a record amount of rain for a May 3rd. Water is running and flooding EVERYWHERE. The ground is absolutely soggy. Walking anywhere that is not paved means that you will be up to your ankles in sopping wet! As Lyle and I were driving to McConnelsville for Sean's track meet the rain did stop. Thank goodness! It was still very cold.

The cold, wet conditions did not stop Sean from performing extremely well. He ran the 110 High Hurdles in 16.0 seconds and Won! Then on a whim he decided to run the 100 Meter Dash. They put him in the slow heat and his time beat everyone elses - 11.5 seconds - He Won! He Won the 300 Hurdles in 42.3 seconds. His 4 X 400 team also Won first place! So, four 1st place finishes again! He came home feeling pretty good about things!

I believe the best part of his day, however, came later tonight when he got on the computer and saw that his AP Calculus teacher had posted his test grade from Monday. He got a 56 out of 50 possible points! That should secure him an A as a final grade in AP Calculus. Maybe now he can sleep a little better and breathe a little easier.

CONGRATULATIONS, SEAN, on yet another terrific day!

Lyle's 57th!

I'm not a very good birthday party 'thrower'... maybe occasionally. This year Lyle didn't get very much attention from his family (he even had to make his own birthday cakes to take and share at work). His co-workers took him to lunch, though, and they partied!

Track Season

Aaron Berry, Sean, Clay Scott, and Cy Kinkead ready for the 4X400 at Crooksville, OH.

We have been into the track season now for over a month and I haven't posted anything about it, so let me do that now. Sean is running well, but he wishes he was running a tiny bit faster! Our weather has been absolutely horrible for track season. I don't think we have had more than two dry days in the last month and a half. It makes it a little hard to be excited about practicing or performing (or sitting in the rainy, windy, cold watching)! Regardless, we do love to watch Sean run. Several of his meets have been cancelled because of storms.

He has had three 'relay' meets which I think are nearly worthless. One is fun -- three, well that is just way over-done! It means, for example, that four hurdlers from our school have their hurdle times all added up to come up with a final time. Well, we don't have any real hurdlers except Sean, so they don't end up with a very good time! He wishes Nic, Matt, and Tanner could be on his team! (They would be all of the great hurdlers of the last decade at West Muskingum High School!)

Last Thursday night he had a meet at Muskingum College. There were 24 teams at the meet! He decided that instead of running the 110 Hurdles he wanted to Triple Jump. Most meets don't have a triple jump event. [A few weeks ago at the Circleville Relay Invitational, which is huge, there was a triple jump and he had the individual longest jump. Our other jumpers didn't do well, so as a team I don't think they even placed. But without ever practicing or competing in the event he jumped a 37'. He loved it.] Back to Muskingum College Invitational..... he ran in the 4X200 relay with Aaron Berry, Cy Kinkead, and Clay Scott. They placed 8th! In the 300 Hurdles against 39 other hurdlers, Sean placed 7th! Then his 4X400 team with Aaron, Cy, and Clay placed 5th. As Sean was running his leg of the 400 at 11:45 p.m. they called for all of the boy triple jumpers to report to the long jump area! He decided that he was tired and spent; it was cold and slippery; he didn't want to injure himself, and everyone (including the coach) wanted to get on the bus and go home, so he did not triple jump.

In the meet against Crooksville and New Lexington he placed 1st in both the 110 (16.4 secs.) and 300 (43.2 secs.) Hurdles, the 4X200 team placed 1st, and then the same guys again in the 4X400 placed 1st. So he, and we, were pretty happy.

One more thing that we are going to miss..... sitting at track meets watching our kids!

DOESN'T HE MAKE THIS LOOK EASY? 110 High Hurdles

300 Hurdles

Easter Happiness!

Matt and Katie invited us to spend Easter Sunday with them. They fixed a fabulous lunch! Yummy homemade rolls, grilled turkey, mashed potatoes, spinach salad with homemade dressing, limeade made from scratch, and a delicious pie. They really out-did themselves. (And all of that the day after they returned on a long flight from Utah!) I ate my heart out! We had so much fun watching Averi hunt for Easter Eggs and open her Easter Basket. She is just delightful when she discovers gifts! She always says, 'Wow!' with great excitement. It makes watching her open gifts almost as much fun as getting one yourself! It was such a fun, exciting, and relaxing day for us. Thanks so much Matt, Katie, and Averi for a Happy Easter!

And Those Awards Keep Rolling In!

"More awards?" you ask. Could there possibly be any more? Well, yes! Sean is the recent winner of the Outstanding Student Musician Award. The Rotary Club of Zanesville recognizes and salutes the outstanding student musicians in Muskingum County. Sean's choir director nominated him as West Muskingum High School's outstanding musician! So Sean, Lyle, and I enjoyed breakfast with all of the Rotarians at the Zanesville Country Club as well as all of the other high schools' outstanding musicians and the Superintendents, Principals, Music Teachers, School Board Members, etc.

It is a nice honor, once again. Sean is such a well-rounded individual! Have I said before... very talented? I know I have, so let me repeat myself! We wish we would have encouraged this music thing a little more and little sooner! However, it was really our new choir director at our high school that has made the difference! Mr. Whetstone has been really terrific. All of the students love him. He has made music fun and cool! (Probably him and "GLEE".)

Great job and CONGRATULATIONS, Sean! Keep it up!

Sean's 2011 Prom

On the way out the door to pick up his date. Sean looks so handsome!
Date - Emily Martyn
Sean & Emily; Ross Watts & Tara Pumphrey, Cy Kinkead & Aryan Moarefdoust
Good friends!

Having a hard time being serious...

Prom was held at Eagle Sticks Golf Course.
Emily & Sean, Tara & Ross, Brian Stout & date Lisa, Paul Wilson & date Kacie
Sean and Adam Wilson
Sean walked in the door after prom carrying this! All of the juniors and seniors vote during prom and the winner is announced! It is a nice honor. I will give you one guess who was the Prom Queen! .....and of course you are right - Tara Pumphrey!

Sean took Emily Martyn from Granville, Ohio, to prom. (They were on the Stake Youth Council together and are good friends.) They had a fun time especially with all of the other kids from church! After prom was over, Sean, Emily, Cy, Aryan, Tara, and Ross came back to our house and watched the newest Harry Potter movie. I think things died down around 4:30 a.m. Not much time to sleep before church. Ross spent the night at our house. Aryan and Emily spent the night at Tara's. Sean will take Emily back to her house after church and lunch.

Can't believe it is the last prom we will deal with as parents! So many chapters ending.......