Greatness

This has been a crazy, whirlwind of a weekend! On Saturday night we had Kyndal's bachelorette party and yesterday Dawson graduated from high school. Since Kyndal is getting married on Friday and my focus will be shifted to her, I'm going to post out-of-order on the weekend's events and dedicate this post exclusively to Dawson's graduation. We'll get to Kyndal's bachelorette party later.

Dawson.

He is now a high school graduate. It is so bittersweet because he so badly just wanted to get out of school that seeing him finally be done with it was not really emotional. It was just exciting! He has started his future plans and was ready to get that monkey off his back. And now it is.

We had a great day!

Here is a photo montage of the ceremony. I am going to share everything, because if you know Dawson at all (and many of you don't), you will know that he does things the "Dawson Way". This makes him extra special and just makes me so happy and entertained.

He was a tad bored and ready for the after party!

Perhaps one of my favorites ...

We got this text after the graduates went out in the hall to line
up to receive their diplomas. I would not have expected anything
different from him ...

He got back in line in time to actually receive his diploma.

We went home to take our photos because it was so crowded at the school.

Eli wore his Spiderman shirt to represent.

We are proud parents!

Had to have a photo with his very best friend.

And then it was time to party! Again, Dawson style. He was very clear that he DID NOT want any kind of party, reception, etc., for his graduation! He wanted to go to Pizza Hut. And he didn't want hardly anybody invited. He wanted our family, my mom, and Taylar's family. So that's what we did. We had a great time eating LOTS of pizza and cupcakes and watching Dawson open his gifts. At last he could relax and just enjoy his accomplishments!

This is one amazing young man.

He spent last night at a friend's house playing video games. They are a great group of guys.

He will be working three days a week this summer and next fall at an antique store where he is in charge of online advertisement and sales. He will start college in August taking 12 credit hours. He is undecided as to his major at this time so is taking general ed and elective courses (comp, math, history). He will be living at home for the next 4-5 years until he finishes school. I am pretty happy to have him around for a bit longer.

I am so proud of him, his character and his drive. I couldn't be more honored to be his mother.

Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility." ~ Peter Parker, Spiderman

CTC Math {Schoolhouse Review}

We found our groove with math this year. I found a curriculum that both of the kids respond well to and seem to enjoy (as much as one can enjoy math). We have spent the whole year learning the ins and outs of multiplication and were just a few lessons away from being ready to move onto the next year-long level on division. And then an opportunity to review the 12 Month Family Plan from CTC Math became available. To be honest, I wasn't very enthusiastic. I mean, why mess with the methods that have worked so well? When I was chosen to review the product I didn't go into it with the level of enthusiasm that it deserved. We have been using a dvd/workbook curriculum with great success. The 12 Month Family Plan from CTC Math is a web based curriculum. As we have not had a lot of luck with those types of programs, I went into this review with a negative attitude. And then my socks were knocked off by how great it is. In fact it is so great that we are going to continue to ...

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt (Schoolhouse Review)

For the past several weeks we have been reviewing Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt Flashcards from Veritas Press . As we were entering into our more easy-going summer schedule, and had just concluded a two-year Old Testament Bible course, I was happy to try out this product as it appeared to be something that Eli and Brynne could do together, alone, and would act as a review of the Old Testament presented in a different way. And I was right. Each Veritas Press Self-Paced History program includes 160 lessons teaching about 32 events in history. They are designed for children in grades 2-6, and it is recommended that the student be a minimum of 7 years of age at the time of the first lesson. What We Received We received a full one-year subscription, for one child, to the online Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt program and the accompanying Old Testament and Ancien...

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.

Aloha AcresMay 18, 2015 at 12:51 PM
Congratulations to Dawson and his sweet Mama. I remember joining you on this journey when you started homeschooling him in. (was it 8th grade?) You've come a long way. What an amazing young man. You have every reason to be proud. ((hugs))
Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan TooMay 18, 2015 at 4:14 PM
Congratulations to Dawson!
I started following you years ago, and I can't believe how quickly they grew up!
I'm sure you are one proud mama!
LaurieMay 18, 2015 at 5:00 PM
I started following your blog when you began your homeschooling journey with Dawson- and have used your American History plans that Dawson followed. It is wonderful to seem him finish up and be ready to move on!! Congratulations to Dawson!!
MicheleMay 19, 2015 at 9:04 AM
Congratulations to Dawson! Great accomplishment for you both, Nicole! Praying all the best for him for his job and college journey.
And a wedding on Friday!?!?! How super exciting! Blessings my friend!

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