Hesses Madhouse: Randomness from These Past Two Weeks

These photos of the boys were taken this morning. We made breakfast for dad. Each of the kids chose something and made it for him. He had bacon made by Quinlan, granola with milk provided by Gannon, sunnyside up eggs by Dierden, Brevin made a card, and orange juice by Aedan. After they got done making their course, they each wrapped a present and we took them up to celebrate Dad.

I think he was surprised by such a feast. I have dragged him onto the Weight Watcher's bus with me, and he has lost 8 pounds in two weeks. He gets twice as many points as I do, which is a total rag for me as I get his meals ready in the morning to go to work with him, but I'm so proud of him for doing it. He frequently asks if things are "legal." I don't think he quite has the idea yet that he can eat anything he wants it's the serving size that matters.

Okay, so some funny stories to share...
This kid is Casey. He played the tuba in Mountain View's eighth grade band. I guess Casey lives on a farm and raises a pig and rides horses. He's hilarious! While we were at Wild Waves, after the band competition last Saturday, he got ready to get in the water. It was hard to ignore how buff this kid was. Quinlan says it's just from working on the farm.

At one point during the trip, he said, "Real men don't say that they're cold." Another comment he made was, "Real men don't need a towel." A little while later he was asking for his towel and telling us how cold he was. We were razzing him about not being a "real man" (at all of 14 years of age). He turned to Tyler (the other boy in our group) and said, "Tyler, do you want to hold me?" Tyler ran away as fast as he could. I dont' think I had laughed that hard in a really long time. What a blast we all had!

The band brought home two trophies. An error was made and although the director had signed the kids up for competition, the choir director, when she signed up Mountain View's choir, signed them up only to be judged. Somehow both were entered as just going before the judges. The first trophy was for receiving superior marks with the judges. The second trophy was the biggie--the esprit de corps. It was because the band went and cheered for the choir. It was because they were respectful and kind to the other groups; kind of the good sportsmanship trophy.

That was the one thing I was more impressed by than anything else. The kids were so polite. I decided that I really like 8th graders. I thought about it later, and realized that I've really been in the right calling these past three and a half years.

As we got on the bus to come home, the band director shared the judges scores and comments with the students. It turned out that if they had been entered as competitors, they would have won the top prize. Their scores were 96/100 and 98/100 from the two judges. the other band that took home the winning trophy got 95/100 from both judges. It really has helped the kids to have band everyday. There aren't many middle schools that make that a possibility.

This is Tyler. He's a great kid! We were given a free meal at Wild Waves. It was a choice of chicken fingers or a cheeseburger. With the Weight Watchers thing, these weren't very good choices for me, so I ordered the chicken fingers and ate one of the three. I gave one to Casey and one to Tyler. I then, when she wasn't looking, took a big ol' handful of fries and plopped them into Quinlan's basket. This is Tyler helping consume the rest of my fries.

With Quinlan ending her middle school career, there were a baffling amount of volunteering opportunities. I tried my best to grab every one I could. I appreciate all those who helped with the kids, so I could do this!

Quinlan's a blast to be around and my most dearest, best friend. I hope it stays this way forever. Of course, I'm still the mom and the final word, but it's just such a bonus that we get along well.

This is my group from the zoo trip I took with Quinlan's hall. Again, such great kids! Four girls and one boy. I told Robert he was the luckiest guy in the whole school. He didn't argue with me.

These are Q's best friends:
Tracy (who has been on Quinlan's soccer team since 1st grade)

Megan (her very BEST friend)

Samantha (who lives in the neighboring ward)

Kris (the other Hess in the school; besides Gannon)

It's been so nice to see her develop some really good friendships this past year.

Dierden and her Errol Hassell Battle of the Books team--Justin Tran, Spencer Gardiner, and Brandon Mortimore--went to Cooper Mountain for their final battle against Cooper Mountain's winning fourth grade team. The Errol Hassell team won. It was very exciting. This may be the first time that the fourth grade Errol Hassell team has won against them.