I've had a BUSY weekend. And for me, that means BUSY!
Thursday night was Ben's big Homecoming game. The jury was still out on whether or not he'd get to play (see Thursday's post about X-rays). Coach said he'd play, but he didn't guarantee how much.
The game was actually close for a while. Then, with the score 34-16 in the fourth quarter, Ben ran in the extra points! So fun to watch him do that, his first points ever! Ben rarely plays offense, and he touches the ball even less often. What a fun surprise.
I scooped up the little kids and took them home to bed. It was so late, and they all had school Friday. Before I even got home, my friend Mark sent me this text: "McKay (his son) scored a touchdown." Then, before I could even read the full text: "And Ben scored the extra points!" Then this one: "!!!!!!!!" I'd missed it! Mark did leave out the small detail that Ben had tried to score the touchdown, but he'd misjudged the distance of the ball and let it pass through his hands and bounce off his face mask. Wish I could have seen that so I could razz him a little.
Luckily, Mark thought to photo the after-game celebration. Can you find Ben?
Friday--I had offered to host a party for the sophomore crowd that was too young to take dates to the Homecoming dance (our Church's standards recommend dating after kids turn 16). Ben told me ten people were coming: three guys and seven girls. I planned a make-your-own pizza bar and Just Dance. How could that get messed up, right?
Wrong. One of the girls had to help set up for the dance, so all the kids volunteered to help. They came, built their pizzas, then went to the venue to help. I thought, "Pizza will cook for 25 minutes, cool for 10, then they'll be back." Nope. Almost an HOUR past when they were due back, they showed up. And there weren't ten kids. There were fifteen.
Easy enough. Pizza cuts into slices, fruit salad is served in scoops, chairs and place settings can be added, and there were a few extra cupcakes as well.
This was the first time I'd met almost all of these kids, and I couldn't believe how polite and kind they were. When the meal was gone, all of them helped clear dishes, strip the linens, whatever I needed.
Then we tried for a group shot on the stairs. Any suggestions on improving group shots in inadequate light?
Whew. What a fun few days.
So glad that they won. So glad that they came over. So happy to meet his new group of friends. I couldn't have picked better myself.
Thursday night was Ben's big Homecoming game. The jury was still out on whether or not he'd get to play (see Thursday's post about X-rays). Coach said he'd play, but he didn't guarantee how much.
The game was actually close for a while. Then, with the score 34-16 in the fourth quarter, Ben ran in the extra points! So fun to watch him do that, his first points ever! Ben rarely plays offense, and he touches the ball even less often. What a fun surprise.
I scooped up the little kids and took them home to bed. It was so late, and they all had school Friday. Before I even got home, my friend Mark sent me this text: "McKay (his son) scored a touchdown." Then, before I could even read the full text: "And Ben scored the extra points!" Then this one: "!!!!!!!!" I'd missed it! Mark did leave out the small detail that Ben had tried to score the touchdown, but he'd misjudged the distance of the ball and let it pass through his hands and bounce off his face mask. Wish I could have seen that so I could razz him a little.
Luckily, Mark thought to photo the after-game celebration. Can you find Ben?
It might be a little easier in this shot:
Friday--I had offered to host a party for the sophomore crowd that was too young to take dates to the Homecoming dance (our Church's standards recommend dating after kids turn 16). Ben told me ten people were coming: three guys and seven girls. I planned a make-your-own pizza bar and Just Dance. How could that get messed up, right?
Wrong. One of the girls had to help set up for the dance, so all the kids volunteered to help. They came, built their pizzas, then went to the venue to help. I thought, "Pizza will cook for 25 minutes, cool for 10, then they'll be back." Nope. Almost an HOUR past when they were due back, they showed up. And there weren't ten kids. There were fifteen.
Whew. What a fun few days.
So glad that they won. So glad that they came over. So happy to meet his new group of friends. I couldn't have picked better myself.
I LOVE the dinner idea! I still have a few years before I hit that point with my kids (my oldest is excited because tomorrow's her half birthday and she'll be 6 1/2. ;) ) but it's totally going on my list of things to do with my kids. I love the idea of giving them a fun alternative to going to a dance that I'm sure a lot of them would've loved to go to. And way to make the best of the night, even with extra people showing up!
ReplyDeleteSo glad so many showed up, and better late than never. Love the pizza idea- a staple at our house on Friday nights. Do you have a good crust recipe you'd like to share, I'm always up to try a new one!
ReplyDeleteThey look like nice kids. I get nostalgic when I read posts like this about entertaining teens. We had so much fun with our kids' friends.
ReplyDelete=)
Wow...wasn't expecting to get emotional, but that just brought back a whole slew of wonderful memories. Thanks for being awesome and willing to host all those high school parties. Good times. Any chance I could stop by sometime this Saturday while I'm home for the weekend? I'm coming down Thursday and leaving Sunday. Let me know! I miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteThat's so great of you to host a party for them! You're a cool mom :) Glad to see that Ben was able to play alright after Thursday. He must have felt really good scoring those extra points. (I'm so not a football person so I have no idea what that means) I find it quite refreshing to read about those nice kids you had over at your house. I feel like the news is always reporting about all the troubled teens and all the bullying going on in schools and on social networks that it makes me want to avoid sending E to school in the US. Glad you had a great time too!
ReplyDeleteAs for the indoor light photo question, I would either use a tripod, set the ISO higher, the aperture as high as possible and let the shutter speed figure it out. Of you can always try to bounce the flash so that it's not aimed directly to the front. http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-soften-up-harsh-flash-lighting I sometimes use something called the Professor Kobre's Lightscoop which reflects the flash upwards so that the room is brighter. All else fails, just use photoshop/lightroom/picnik and up the exposure level a bit :)
LOVED your idea with the pizzas and just dance ... and even though timing/head count didn't work perfectly, it sounds as though your plan still worked well!! LOVE that group shot on the stairs, btw ... even with the funky lighting, it's a keeper ;-)
ReplyDeleteDid you have the hall lights on upstairs? I really have no clue how to fix the lighting, but I love those stairs for a group shot! How fun, glad he's found a fun group to hang with in High School.
ReplyDeleteDid you have the lights on upstairs in the hall? or maybe more light on the Landing? Really, I have no clue, but I love those stairs for the group shots! Have you ever tried grilling the pizza on a BBQ? We tried for the first time this summer, and it was so easy, and so fabulous. Quick too, like 5-10 minutes quick depending on the size of the pizza.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and easy idea! I just may have to borrow it sometime :)
ReplyDeleteI love what you did for them - what a great, fun night! I miss the buzz of having teenagers over - I really liked that time of my life. So much energy!
ReplyDeleteSounds so busy!
ReplyDeleteToo bad you missed the touchdown and stuff.
Great idea to have the party for the late bloomers. Cute kids! It is nice that they were polite.
I love your cupcakes. Great idea to have the build-a-pizza thing. I bet they loved it.