Awards and More from the Dawn of Summer

FINALLY.

Holy God, those last two weeks of school felt like two months.  Overall the year flew by - ridiculously so - but damn did it ever grind to a halt after FCAT testing. . .

The Cannonball's last day of school (it was pajama day - we're not that bad as parents)

With Ms. Adriana, her After School teacher.

Alayna finished school on Wed-nesday, while I wrapped up with students on Thursday and had to go in today in order to submit grades, finish boxing up my room, and turning in my keys - all of which I finished by 9:30am.  The rest of my teacher workday was spent playing a Nintendo I hooked up in a coworker's office and putting together a puzzle.

Thug life.

After work myself and a few other guys I work with stopped off at a dive-pub along 192 in Kissimmee called the Fox and Hounds (fortunately that name references British fox hunting, and not the depressing Disney cartoon of the same name. . . you know, the one that make you want to kill yourself.) 

Not a stellar selection of beers on hand (mostly low ABV British ales), but decent.  And you can't smoke inside like you can at Stogies (our usual hangout spot), but the decor and atmosphere inside is awesome - very British:

 Another commencement ceremony this week that featured the Houghs was Alayna's 'patch ceremony' (I'm not sure what it's called exactly, as this is really more of Kris' thing - I'd ask her to write a blog post about it, and she'd say 'sure,' and then nothing would ever come of it.  You know how wives are.)  Anyway, Alayna was awarded her 'Daisy' peddles (patches, not real ones), and Kris ironed them on to her vest for the last meeting/award ceremony of her Daisy Troop.

Here's some pictures (that Kris took - I wasn't there, so I'm just going to go ahead and wing these captions):

Making. . . baked goods?

Ah, they're cupcakes.  I see.

(My kid's the one screwing around with her shoe while the of her platoon is focused on the task at hand.)

. . . and now she's lying on the floor, which is I guess totally permitted.

Officially a Daisy.

The Squad

. . .gang initiations?

Okay, that's weird.

. . . aaaaand, in closing, here are some random shots from around the house from the last week or two of May:

The night before her big book review project was due, Kris attempted to have Alayna pose with her finished project.

In front of Ms. Billiterri's portable classroom.

The girls being introduced to the '80s classic, The Goonies.  Abby grew bored watching it after the first hour, but Alayna sat through the entire thing and loved it.  Thank Jesus.

Abby's real birthday (5/21) fell on a Wednesday, so Kris bought another balloon and brought cupcakes into Abby's class at Sunchild.  Why Alayna's there, I forget.

After school that day, letting Abby open some presents from Grandma and Papa John on the back patio (couldn't Skype with the grandparents, unfortunately, as Mom had laryngitis and sounded like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.) 

Without the distractions of a resort hotel room and a ton of relatives about, Alayna didn't do so well sitting aside and watching her sister open a ton of presents.

I had prepared for this, so I bought them both a couple pity books.

Staying at home on a school day, taking care of a sick kid with a fever.  Of course, when she's napping, what's a dad to do?

Kris recently taught Alayna how to braid hair.  Sadly enough, Alayna's already better at it than I am.

Anyone for a gratuitous crotch shot?

Playing with dolls. . . who are taking turns puking into a garbage can.  'Cause that's how Hough kids roll.

Late-evening park session in Ginger Mill with the fam and dog

Every time I see the kids' panel, I get pissed - had I not been holding onto a squirming child, I would've put more thought and effort into this.  There's a shit-ton of negative space in that upper-right hand corner of the square.  And it kills me.

- Brian