From Kindergarten to High School

It's 6:00am in the morning and this is my son all dressed in a suit heading off to his first day of high school... yes, HIGH SCHOOL! How did that happen?


He's taller than me, obviously stronger than me... and according to him, smarter than me too. :)

In early August, Zach started 9th grade at Lakeshore High. It's brand new for all of us -- even the school is new! The facility is beautiful, the faculty great, and the kids are all excited about starting new traditions. With only 9th and 10th graders at LHS this year, there's only 452 students, but each year it will grow... Zach will be the second gradutating class at LHS -- but will be the first class to have attended LHS all four years.

Why the suit? The football coach requires the players to 'dress' on the first day of school and on game days -- Go, Coach!

Four days later, Mia started Kindergarten! More familiarity here, at least for Mom and Dad -- we've been Woodlake Elementary parents before... and Mia had several visits to the school to check things out and meet her teacher, Ms. Neville, prior to the big day.

Here's my sassy girl about to head out the door...

I think she was most excited about riding the bus and seeing Sara and Chloe at school... She climbed on that bus without a care in the world... pony tail just a swinging!

Can't you just see the delight in her eyes?

I couldn't wait for her to get home to find out how much fun she had... She was so proud of herself!

A special day deserves a special treat... she was SOOO excited to see this balloon waiting for her as she got off the bus. It didn't hurt that everyone else saw it too! Best $10 I ever spent...

Super Girl!

The Silver Stars -- Lakeshore High's dance team -- held a fundraiser right before school... It was a one day dance camp for kiddos between the ages of 5 and 12. Mia was excited because her friend Katie was going... Mom was a little worried about how she would do being dropped off at the gym. Mom was also a little worried about how they would get in touch with me if Mia needed me... Yes, we filled out a form, but one can never be too careful! Need Mom?

But the dance team girls did a great job greeting the kids, registering them and taking them by the hand as they arrived. In fact, Mia was greeted with a big hug from Beth -- a friend of Zach's who he has known since Kindergarten!

There was a parent show off that afternoon at 2:30pm where the girls, well showed off, what they learned that day at camp. Mia's group did a routine to "Super Girl" -- no, I have no idea who sings that song or any of the words, but apparently it's cool. They even made their own props and costumes during the day.

Tony noticed that the older girls must have had better instructors as they knew their routines better... he's soooo corny!

God Bless You, Little One!

Make a Smilebox photobook

They All Ask For You

We played hookie from camp and work last week -- just in case my boss is reading this, I really did take a vacation day :) -- and met some friends at Audubon Zoo. It was a great day -- not too hot, not too humid, and the animals were... Well, just take a look and see!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Princess Room

Pink, pink and more pink... that's the theme of the girls' room. Recently, Emma moved to a 'big girl bed' -- complete with comforter and sheets to match Mia's. She's so proud to have a bed just like her big sister!

Blueberries...Yum!

We went for our second annual blueberry picking adventure in June! The girls and I loaded up in the new "Tulli's On Tour" bus along with our good friends, Maris and Lily and headed over to Blue Harvest Farms for a day of picking and picnicing. I must say my girls aren't into sweating and after an hour of plucking those sweet berries, they were ready for the shade. Thank goodness for the picnic pavillion where the girls played on the swing while Maris and I chatted the rest of the morjing away. Once home, most of our berries got eaten before they even made it to the freezer -- but Dad still has a few blue ones to throw in his Sunday morning pancakes every now and again.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

May Happenings

My goodness, May was full of all kinds of crazy stuff!

We went to Cincinnati early in the month – just me, Tony and Emma. Tony and I decided one child is EASY!!!! Especially when neither of you is working, the maid cleans your room and a breakfast buffet is waiting for you in the lobby! While we went there for some medical tests for Emma, we were able to sneak in some fun too… We took her to the Children’s Museum and she had a ball.

While we were gone, Zach attended his first Athletic Banquet with his Memee at his side. At Mom’s request, he wore a sport coat and tie! He liked the look so much, he did it again for 8th grade day at Monteleone Jr. High. Next year, Zach will be going to high school – he’ll be attending Lakeshore High School. He’ll be playing in the band as well as on the football team again – and he’s already started the summer weightlifting and speed & agility training …. GO TITANS!
We attended Meghan Brown’s high school graduation – and were honored to be a part of her family dinner celebration that followed the official ceremony. Meghan is such a wonderful young woman – she’s been part of our lives for so long now, we do consider her family. Congrats, Meghan! BTW… she graduated with Honors!

Mia sang at her school’s Spring Concert – she finished her final year at New Covenant Weekday School. She’ll be going to Kindergarten in the fall and will be attending Zach’s alma mater, Woodlake Elementary School. She’ll be one of three Tulli girls attending WES – Sara will be in the 2nd grade and Chloe will be joining Mia in Kindergarten.

Emma was so excited to see her 'Na' (that's Emma speak for Mia) on stage!

Sadly and unexpectedly, PawPaw Mike Matheny passed away on Sunday May 17th… He died of a heart attack within hours of giving his testimony to the congregation of his church, where Michael (his son) is a pastor. The day before the services, Tony piled us all into the car and drove our family the 12 hours to Leesburg, FL. Michael and his church provided the most fitting and beautiful ‘Homegoing Celebration’ at which we got to see a film of PawPaw’s testimony. It was a blessing to see Mike so vibrant just hours before he passed. The church services were followed by a military burial at the Florida National Cemetery – and our motorcade was lead by several Vets on motorcycles carrying the American flag. It was all done beautifully. We will miss him…

So the five of us spent Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth! When we got there, they asked if we were celebrating anything special. I said, “Yes, Life.” PawPaw Mike would have really liked that… And yes, it was hot, and yes, it was crowded… but it’s Disney! The pictures say it all!

And finally, Peter and Tony built the girls a swing set in the backyard – You guys rock!