Commence Commencement

What better way to commence commencing (can I make a verb out of that word?) than with a graduation brunch? Bill picked a graduate school based on how they fed him. Westminster is famous for feeding their students at every turn. That may or may not be true, however it didn't hurt. We, in true Barber fashion, enjoyed their brunch buffet offerings (notice for a Barber, the magic word is buffet). However, in true Romney fashion, we were there 15 minutes early to avoid any crowds by being first in line. (We realize we are a bit strange, but then again, really, who isn't?)


From brunch we headed to the graduation venue itself (again, 15 minutes early to avoid the crowds. Though it was already pretty crowded. Guess we weren't the only ones with a time neurosis). The E-Center has been home to a few of our family's special moments. Bill took me to a hockey game there the night he proposed. Now it holds another special memory. Bill officially graduated in December. We threw him a big party to prove it and every thing. But nothing makes it feel as real as putting on that cap and gown and walking across that stage. (He does look incredibly handsome in a cap and gown as well.) Our kiddos were fantastic for all 3 hours of the ceremony, dulling cheering their Papa as he had his turn on stage. (Notice I had to wear my glasses in the pictures to look smarter to try and look like I belong with Super Bill.)


There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end, it's the beginning.
-Orrin Hatch (Who for once said something worth quoting!) We are so proud of our graduate! Bill, the world can't wait to see where those "brains in your head and feet in your shoes" take you, darling! (You didn't think you could escape a whole graduation-themed blog entry without ONE Dr. Seuss quote, did you?)



This is for those of you who didn't get to enjoy seeing him walk in person.

He looks like he could burst from beaming with pride, doesn't he?

Mr.Rogers Got Nothin' On My Neighbors!

Picture this: Sunday afternoon, just hanging around getting ready for a nice scooter ride/ walk with friends when the phone rings. "You guys gonna' be around for a few minutes?", questions a cheerful voice on the line. "I want to give you all a ride in our kit car and I have some fruit tarts we made for you I want to bring over." the voice continues. Is this a lovely Sunday nap-time dream? Could be, or else we have the greatest neighbors in the whole world! These are the same delights who brought over home-made gingerbread houses for my wild guys to decorate in December. These are the same wonderful people who made our Ireland experience that much more fun by hanging out with us laughing it up in the back of our tour bus(es). And the very same neighbors we hope will NEVER move!

Art Strollin'

Art seems to be our theme for the month. (Let's even call my foray into the world of retro roller-skating "performance art") Romney's school has a fun end of the year tradition called the "Art Stroll". Also a fundraiser (Is there some tax reason all the schools have their major fundraisers at the end of the year?) the kids have a chance to show off some of the art they have created throughout the school year by turning their classrooms into art galleries. (Notice what he wrote in the last line of his "About the Artist", it is totally my favorite part from that evening!)




Romney's classroom this year was not as impressive as it has been in years past. The classroom is currently being packed up to move to a new room downstairs and I am pretty sure his teacher is sick of rearranging things. Plus the art co-opers this year have had their share of personal struggles that probably put first/second grade art on the back burner of their minds. That being said, Romney was so thrilled to take us and show us all of his hard work. His favorite object de' art: The pot he made out of clay



My favorite thing he created this year was a painting of a flower inspired by Georgia O'Keefe













The art I heard most about this year: The puppet he made out of paper mache. Details of which colors he was painting the head and how he had made the bottom of it had been trickling home for over a month. He was very proud of what he had done and we were grateful for all the exposure to different artistic mediums he experienced. Thank goodness for co-opers who are good at things that I am I not!

Arts Academy Gala

Can you imagine wrangling 300 middle school students into creating a production they wrote, composed music for, created dances for and made the sets for? Only in my worst nightmare! But that is just what happened at William's school. The "Gala" is a fundraiser for the school and a chance for kids to show off their learning from the year in "art form". They learned about ancient civilizations, problems facing the downtown neighborhood the school is housed in, and somehow tied it all together with a "dramatic debate" about restoring vs. rebuilding run down areas and what history is lost along the way. (Did I mention this was all created by 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students?)

The build up to the production was a long week of practices at the professional theater that had been rented for the occasion. You would think this might get boring for the kids. It isn't easy to learn the art of sitting around backstage until it is time to go on, but my William was thrilled. They were given learning packets from each of their classes that when finished could be handed in to exchange for an "entertainment pass". This meant they could use ipods to watch movies or listen to music on as well as personal gaming systems. For a boy who has a 30 minute per day video game time allowance to use at home, this was like heaven. In fact, William said "I would dance anytime in exchange for a day's worth of video games. " in response to the question "How are you feeling about having to dance on stage in front of a crowd in the Gala?" (Do you think he might have a problem?)

If you are wondering where William is in the photo: Look all the way to the right, he is in the green shirt behind the girl in the purple shirt. (Yeah, we can barely find him and we are his parents!)

Mother's Day Dream

Mother's Day 2010: I fell asleep on the couch for a quick mid-afternoon nap and dreamed that I was holding a giant teddy bear who hugged me back. Best dream ever!

Retro Roller-Skating

Solve this equation: Two Romney women looking for fun on a Saturday night + One husband out of town + One husband willing to let his wife dress up and make an incredible fool of herself while he stays home to watch the children=???








Answer: Retro Roller Skating (of course!)









Add to that a challenge to come up with the best Retro Roller-Skating outfit, a pack of twenty something year old men doing synchronized routines on roller-skates in the middle of the rink, plus a shout out for "best dressed" as well as every request being played by the Roller DJ and you have the makings of one very fun night out for two children of the 80's. (Love ya' Lou!)