Birthday and Eclipse and Back to School ice cream social

Completely out of order- S's half birthday, celebrated the same day as Rocket's birthday.  Beside her is Jason.  She and Jason are dating. 

My mom and 2 of her sisters.  I could use initials, but all my mom sibling's have names that start with "J".  My mom is the oldest of the 3 pictured.  They go to lunch about every 4-6 weeks.  I got to go this time (finally no meetings on the day of their lunch).  Rocket went too since he is not back in school yet.  He was not excited to sit and listen to the conversation, so I let him play on my phone once our meal was done.  it was so nice to see my aunts.

Me with my aunts and mom.  I am definitely carrying their genes.

Rocket and S on 13Aug- when we had the family celebration for Rocket's birthday.  How in the world did he grow up so fast.  It really does go by in a blink of an eye.

Dinner was a joint choice of hamburgers.  Dessert was Strawberry cake with strawberry icing- S's pick since Rocket does not like cake.  Ice cream was "moose tracks" because S does not like ice cream with her cake.  Thank goodness they like opposite things.

Tuesday, 15Aug- the boy's birthday.  I took him out for brunch- his choice.  He choose First Watch which is a place that only serves breakfast and lunch.  We both had the same thing:

A chickenchanga= an omelet with chick, chorizo, and vera cruz sauce.  We love it.  It was a nice day sitting in the shade, watching the birds and people pass by.

Another view of our brunch.

Wednesday, I took a half day off work and took Rocket and his buddies to the bowling alley.  We were supposed to go play laser tag, but when I called to check that they had space for us, they indicated they were closed until 4 pm.  But, their website said they were open at 12 noon.  Thank goodness I called first.  And thank goodness rocket got a certificate for 10 free games of bowling. 

dancing to the music.

Buddies since kindergarten

Saturday, we headed out to park to rocket's orthodontist's end of summer bash. They treat everyone to hamburgers and hot dogs, then a movie at the park.  these are the boys after playing basketball in the hot sun before the movie started.

J and me talking while the boys were off playing

Before we went to the park, we took Lulu down to the main library and we did some wood engraving (these are going to be Christmas presents) and Rocket made some more things on the 3D printer.

Today, 21Aug- we were on the path of the total eclipse.  We were not going to be completely dark, but we would be in 91% darkness.  It looked darker than usual, but it was still bright.    I had been reading articles on how to watch the eclipse and one of the best ways was to use binoculars backwards.

This is the viewer- the large end of the binoculars are facing the sun, the smaller end then reflects the sun down onto paper or the pavement.  the cardboard acts as a frame on the ground.

This is what shows up on the ground.  this is about 15 minutes before the eclipse.

fiddling around with the view- we could get the big reflections and the little ones too

This is total of what we saw- little smiling faces. 

about 10 minutes after the eclipse- I called these smirks.

How we were set up

me and boy just after the eclipse

More smirks

Only 2 more days until school starts.  Rocket starts on Wednesday.  His school is one of the last to go back this year.  We had the ice cream social on Sunday.  It was hot, but we had a great time showing a friend around school (he is starting there this year as a 6h grader), then saying hi to teachers and finally getting all Rocket's things in his locker.  After the ice cream social- Rocket went to a friend's house for a swim party.  He was definitely tired last night.

First day pictures are coming on Wednesday, stay tuned.

Love and hugs,

Deb

Almost time for a birthday and start of school

August has started and the count down to Rocket's birthday and school starting has begun.  We have some fun events around town scheduled for the next few weeks.  We started August off with a bang--- literally!

Friday I took Rocket down to the library to play with the 'toys' in the makerspace at the library.  He worked on some 3 D printing items that he had choosed from the thingiverse (www.thingiverse.com) website.  I was supposed to work on another machine, but after reading the manual, it was not something I was interested in.  We have a plan to go back next weekend and both of us will have some things to make.

Friday night, we were invited to the parish picnic with some friends.  So off to the  amusement park for some food, rides and a good time with friends.  Rocket took off with his buddies and I sat and talked with friends.  It was a very cool night for the summer and we definitely needed jackets, though most people did not have jackets with them.

Saturday morning, Rocket and I went school clothes shopping.  Our state had a tax-free weekend for all school supplies and clothes under $75.00 (cost per item).  I had already done the shopping for the school supplies, so just clothes this time.  He needed 3 pairs of pants (I got all 3 for $19.00 total!!!), 5 white shirts, some undershirts, some jammie pants and dress shoes.  While we were shopping, we picked up his birthday gift (part of it), Christmas gifts for my sister, Christmas gift for the scout gift exchange, and a birthday gift for his friend.  It was an expensive trip, but things are bought and we are all good now- at least for the first few months of the school year.

Saturday night, we headed out to the FC game with other folks from school.  We were in the general admission section, which means whoever gets there early gets the good seats.  We got there as the gates opened and we got seats in the front row.  Unfortunately, per the school rules (the games are played on the college campus), in this section, you can not stand up at the wall.  So, we sat through the game instead of standing and cheering.  I was not happy about that.  People are supposed to stand at the soccer games, sing the team songs, and cheer on the team.  After the game, our group from school got to go down and have our picture taken in the goal.  The picture is being signed by all the team players and will be sent to school soon.  I can not wait to see it.  Then, there were fireworks!!  it was a great time.  the game was a draw which was a good outcome.

The field before the fireworks, that is the goal we stood in for the picture.

Our team defending in the second half. 

Part of the 165 school folks in the stands.  Rocket and his buddies.  P, L, T, Rocket and D.  Great young men.

First half- penalty shot on goal, it went just wide of the goal.  SOOOOOO CLOSE!!!

Lining up for the penalty shot.  Sooo exciting to be this close to the action.

Rocket before the game, wearing his "Percy Jackson" symbol he made at the library on Friday.  Definitely looking at someone behind me.

before the game started.  there were 25,308 fans at the game- a new record ofr our league.  We broke the record our team set last year.  This is only our second year in the league/as a team and we are breaking records every where. 

Momma and Rocket at the wall before the game.

Sunday, we would have liked to sleep in, but we had church.  Rocket also went to a friend's house for a birthday party on Sunday night.  The party was a sleepover, so he got back home on Monday at noon.  I think the boy had a great weekend.

Coming this month:

PTO meetings resume for me

minor outpatient surgery for me on the 14th

another soccer game on the 15th (though we will be watching the game on TV)

Birthday party for Rocket with friends on the 16th

ice cream social at school on Sunday the 20th

1st day of school on Wednesday, 23Aug.

I think we might make it through this month.

Finally, in exciting news for me- I have been accepted into the masters program at SNHU (Southern New Hampshire University).  I will be starting in February and it will take about 4 years to complete the program.  All my classes are online.  I am excited and terrified at the same time.

Well that is all for today. Hope you are having a great day.  Love and hugs to you all,

Deb