The Week that Was

Two weeks ago we headed into the craziness of Homecoming Week at our high school. Since it left me with no time or energy for blogging, I'm playing catch-up now!
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The best part of the week was starting off with a visit from my Uncle Neil and Aunt Susan, who now live in Utah. Although we keep in touch by email, I hadn't seen them since my mom's funeral 6 years ago, so it was fantastic to have them here!

My dad and Uncle Neil have been best buddies as far back as I can remember. Neil is married to my dad's sister Bonnie, who passed away in 1976. (Dad has 8 older sisters and 2 older brothers--the baby of 11!).

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Neil and Bonnie had 6 children. Here they are with 5 of them on Christmas Day 1968. (Their son Wayne had passed away in his youth.)

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From age 5 to 17 I grew up in Fresno, California, where Neil and Bonnie's family also lived. (Many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends still live in the Fresno area.)

Neil and my dad were always together in those days, usually fixing up a car or working on home maintenance projects. They still get together whenever they can.
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After Bonnie's death, Neil married Susan and adopted her son from her first marriage. They went on to have 2 more children of their own.

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That's my step-mom Kathy and my dad Myron with Neil and Susan at right.

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I always think of Neil as "the funny uncle." As a child, to me he was just another one of those big people who told us kids what to do. That is, until one day when I sneezed at a family gathering. We kids were playing at one end of the room while the adults chatted clear over at the other end. When I sneezed, Uncle Neil shouted, "Eewww!" and started shaking my imaginary spit off his hand as if my sneeze had sprayed him across the distance. It cracked me up! I've appreciated his sense of humor ever since. It was so fun to see him and Susan again!

The following week was Homecoming week, with activities, assemblies, and dress-up days. At left are Jacob and Dylan, ready for "electric shock day" (this year's theme had something to do with electricity). They definitely looked like they stuck a fork in a light socket!

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Can you guess which band instrument Dylan has recently taken an interest in? He's studying flute, but he also saved up to buy these drumsticks. No flat surface in our home is safe!

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I'll add a picture below of Jacob taken this week with his new haircut. I think the 'do at left helped convince him it was time to mow the long locks!

As a teacher, Homecoming week can be a challenge, but this one went pretty smoothly. It was also my week to do lunch duty in senior commons, which was certainly interesting, but I survived unscathed!

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Friday night was the big homecoming football game against Show Low High School. My nephew Marcus (Jeff and Dana's son) is on the Show Low football team, so I was sort of rooting for both teams--but we won 49-0.

Saturday night was the homecoming dance, followed by a lock-in sponsored by SADD Club (used to be Students Against Drunk Driving, now Students Against Destructive Decisions). Jacob is the president of SADD, so he's been busy for 2 months planning this event. (In this photo the kids are waiting for a band to warm up; Jacob is in the red shirt on the right.)

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It turned out well, with more than 100 students attending from 11pm to 7am. We have about 900 students at our high school. I was there from 10:30 until almost 4am as a chaperone. It's my 3rd lock-in, and I keep promising myself that each one will be the last! But what can you do when your son is in charge?

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The lock-in included $400 worth of food--with a barbecue at midnight and pancake breakfast at 6am--as well as rooms set up with several big screen TVs for watching movies and playing video games. The goal is to keep the kids inside having fun all night, instead of out partying and driving under the influence.

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There were 5 bands, too, but at the risk of sounding like my parents in the 1960's: they all sounded alike to me! It was that "screamo" music that the "emo" kids love, and half the lock-in attendees are usually the emo students. (For those unfamiliar with this demographic, these teens are similar in appearance to the "goth" kids, generally dressing in black with skin-tight pants and black eye makeup, nail polish, and hair--sweet kids, but definitely with their own look and culture!)

With this 20-second video I tried to capture a quick sense of the music and the kids. It's hard to see, with the low lights and smoke machine and strobe lights. In the flashes of light, though, you might just spy the emo kids "head banging" with the music. Watch the screen just right of center. I find it fascinating to watch, like tribal dancing!