Sam started 8th grade yesterday. He said he had a great day! He forgot his school ID and didn’t want to wait in the long “no ID” line, so he mooched food off his generous friends. 😂 Otherwise a smooth day with lots of friends and good teachers.

Jack left for his first day as a high school junior this morning. 11th grade! Wow! He’s got his new jeans and sneaks, and asked “am I blinged out enough?” 😂 Hopefully he has a good day too. He’s already hard at work on his audition monologue for the fall play.

Thursday was the last day of school AND Jack's birthday! He got to sleep in, then walked to school for his last final, which was a titration lab for chemistry. Not too stressful, and he got to work a few of his friends. Then I drove him and his girlfriend to their lunch date at Red Robin.

When Sam got home from his last day of seventh grade we gathered for present opening! Later we walked down to Asuka for dinner. We did the song and candles for cake, then I took Jack to Charlie's house for his annual "book burning" end of school celebration. What a fun day!

Friday I took Jack to the mall to get some new clothes. He found some loose-fit pants that he likes, and some shirts from Macy's. They had a great jacket that he fell in love with, but we had to place an order a size-up. Later Friday night Jack had Mason, Jaimey, and Henry come over for Chipotle and MarioKart. What a great way to end his sophomore year!

Happy 16th Birthday, Jack!!

This week the middle school performed You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I attended the matinee for elementary students and the closing show on Saturday. There were difficulties with the high school reneging on letting us use their auditorium, which caused a lot of stress and radical changes by the directors. Despite all that the kids did a great job and the show was well-received!

My folks came out to see the show and we also celebrated Mother's Day. We visited Giambrocco's Saturday morning and got a lovely selection of baby plants! I got two new agastaches and a russian sage, and some fruits and veggie starters. We tried a new Italian restaurant and picnicked at the Arvada Center. It was funny to see the kids still excited about climbing the dragon sculpture. Then we went to the musical and gabbed at Amanda's house over take-out. This morning I made brunch and we exchanged gifts. The boys bought me gorgeous roses and Jack gave me a handmade card. Ben found some great leg massagers for treat my sore muscles after nursing shifts. He also made a delectable steak dinner.

The school district generously declared a snow day on this late May 6. We got a wet, heavy storm. Most of our trees lost limbs, the Ash severely so. I baked frozen croissants for breakfast. I had a massage therapy appointment (oof, my hips are so tight!). The boys enjoyed a lazy day at home with video games and lots of snacking. We got notice that Jack's final concert of the year would proceed as planned. He performed wonderfully, as usual!

Jack debuted as an actor this week in the senior-directed one act play "Our Place." He had a lot of fun in this new theatrical setting - learning lines, taking direction, costumes fitting, make-up, everything! He did a great job and had a lot of fun with the process.

Those pokemon are back in vogue at the Mason household. I briefly played Pokopia (too immersive and work-like for me). Jack is back into card collecting. He practices driving by going to different stores checking stock. He was super psyched when he got two packs from Barnes & Noble. I had to wait for him to calm down so he could focus on driving on I70 for the first time afterward. Then at home he had Sam film an unboxing ("unpacking?" "reveal?") video.

It paid off 😂

This weekend Ben took him out again and he got a couple more packs. Ben bought him a special box set that he has wait for his birthday to open. Teenagers - so weird. It's like having a child and an adult at the same time.

I was flabbergasted when Twice announced their world tour stops and Denver was on the list! We never get big-name groups! Ben is a total Twice fan, a "Once" and I told him we HAVE to go. Not only that, our friends the Walkers have daughter who is also a Once. We tempted them with a Denver visit and they took the bait! We had a great time catching up - our kids have grown so much! The concert was fantastic. Daehyun and Chaeyoung were out on health leave, but the other seven delivered. Of course Jihyo stole the show! She's sincerely the best. I'm glad Momo was there too, since she is Opal's favorite member.

I had a total blast. It was so fun to see our old friends and hear about life nowadays. It was so weird seeing a concert in my own town - no uber or hotel! Staying up way too late on a Tuesday night! 😂 Totally worth it.