Project 19 to 19: Day 14

Easier Than Breathing

From the earliest of days, Wonder Boy has been comfortable with numbers. Long before he could write full sentences, he could add, subtract, anddeal with fractions. He has always taken to math like a duck to water, or as I explained to the review board for the gifted and talented program at his middle school, math comes to him like breathing to you or I.


The Boy's prowess with numbers truly became obvious as he entered middle school. He tested out of 7th grade math and jumped ahead a year, finishing his first year of high school Algebra by the end of 8th grade. He spent a summer at Mathematical Problem Solving camp. And again, in high school tested out of pre-Calculus so he could get two years of calculus under his belt before leaving high school

His academic success in the mathematical arena has been fun to watch, but honestly, it is the countless hours of independent study he has put in over the years that always boggles my mind.


His favorite summer activity was watching math videos on YouTube and working his way through his favorite proofs and theorems. He filled his whiteboards with his favorite proofs and problems. And he couldn't wait to explain the things he learned to those he loved the most.

These days, his whole world is about independent learning. The years he spent researching subjects he enjoyed and pushing himself to understand all that he could, is paying major dividends these days. His transition to virtual learning has been much easier than many of his classmates because of this.

Even now that he is in college and already in his second semester of calculus, he happily works through this more advanced text book he requested as a gift last Christmas. He has set himself up for success all while enjoying one of hif absolute favorite topics. That sounds like a formula for a lifetime of happiness to me!

Project 19 to 19: Day #5

Focus, Discipline, Work Ethic

Focus, discipline, and a strong work ethic. If you had asked me back in the days before we transitioned from a couple to a family, what lessons I would hope to impart to any future family members, I likely would have included these 3 in the list.

There are days when I think we must have breathed that into the Boy from before he took his first breath because they are the first three characteristics that come to mind when I stop to ponder the man our Wonder Boy is rapidly becoming.

It started with focus. The Boy has always had an uncanny ability to target his mind on the task at hand. When he was small, we would see this when he sat down to draw, paint, build, or play. It was like the rest of the world was just background music and his activity was all that mattered.


Discipline is supposed to be a learned trait, but it has come as naturally to the boy as breathing. And I have always been amazed to see it when it comes to his school work. Most of us can remain diligent when working on something we enjoy, but have trouble maintaining that when it is a task we despise. However, that is NOT the way the Boy is wired. He will often knock off first the thing he hates the most. I have long admired that as I am wired the exact opposite way.


Today is Sunday, typically a day of rest. But after a full week of working hard each day, the Boy started off his day today with a chemistry pre-lab write up. He followed that up with hours of research toward putting together a degree plan for the next 3 semesters so he will be ready for a meeting with his advisor on Friday. He schedules his work himself. We know next to nothing of his assignments, test schedules, or degree requirements. We could find it out, of course, but our young man does not need our assistance. He has earned our trust in his organizational skills and we know he has things well in hand.

I hope he knows how proud he makes us!

Project 19 to 19: Day #2

Virtual Campus

School is a hot topic these days. You cannot turn on the TV or the radio or browse your favorite social media without hearing/seeing SOMETHING about school or teachers or school kids or ... well ... we'll get back to that.

All of that talk brought back the memory of Wonder Boy's earliest school days - and in this case, or course, I mean his start to preschool/day care.

The first full year, maybe even year and a half, Wonder Boy was not a huge fan of "school" and he would fuss all the way there and then do his best to convince us that we should not leave him there to fend for himself. It was hard on all of us. I want to point out that, as soon as we would leave, he would be fine and would be happy and content when we came to pick him up. We often would stay long enough to watch through the blinds to see how quickly he would settle down and sometimes we would show up unannounced to make sure all was well and every single time, he was good to go.


I am happy to say that the separation anxiety of his early years faded fast and school became a comfortable arena for him.

This summer, the Boy graduated from high schol (with honors!) and took his first college course, earning his first college "A" and coming into his first full semester this fall with a 4.0 GPA!

We had hoped beyond hope that he would be moving into the Engineering Honors dorm at TAMU this fall, but the pandemic had other plans, so instead we worked to transform his video game playing area upstairs into a workable virtual classroom.


I am oh so proud to report that the Boy is handling the string of disappointments surrounding his launch into independent living better than anyone in the family. True to his analytical nature, he has taken each situation in stride until a work-around is figured out and then he doesn't look back. He doesn't spend his time worrying about what could have been.

He has spent years learning the things he wanted to learn on-line and through books, so the transition to the kind of independent learning that is needed for distance education has not phased him too much to this point. I hope and pray that these skills will serve him well this fall and beyond!

Project 18 to 18: Day 18

Menor Mentality

Once again I find myself facing another "last" moment as I wrap up this project for the year. I've decided not to think about this possibly being the last year to do this project. Maybe I'll convince the Boy to help me continue it next year? So ...

As I think about all of the things I STILL haven't gotten around to sharing, one in particular comes to the forefront of my mind ... the Boy is a natural mentor or teacher. We first started noticing it as he worked his way through the ranks in his judo class. He didn't care to go to competitions and while he liked earning new belts, what he enjoyed the most was teaching techniques to new students. His instructor made a habit of pairing experienced students with new ones and this gave the Boy his first taste of teaching.

Since then he has put himself in a position to tutor his friends at school and he loves to try and teach his Dad and I whatever new concept he is researching.

But by far, his biggest role as a mentor has been with the UIL Computer Science Team. He lucked out and was introduced to the team by a couple of really influential student mentors that encouraged him to take an active role in mentoring as they both graduated and went on to new challenges. He took up their charge with complete abandon! He spends his summers developing training materials that he uses for weekly lessons and then tweaks those materials or develops new stuff depending on the need of his students.


His hard work has had an immediate effect as well! Last year, even with the Boy being the only returning upper class-man on the team, he led them to a 3rd place finish in district competition and qualified for region! They only narrowly missed a bid for the state level competition. He has spent his summer again preparing materials and done even more recruiting in the hopes of taking the team to state for his senior year!

As we look ahead to things to come, I could very easily see him gravitating to a field in which he can continue to develop his mentor mentality. There are so many variations in which that could come to pass that I do not want to speculate on anything specific, but I am certain, in one way or another, the Boy will find a way to continue helping others to develop shared passions.

Project 18 to 18: Day 11

Chasing Perfection

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence” - Vince Lombardi Jr.

Wonder Boy has been chasing perfection since a very early age. I can still vividly recall how frustrated and upset he would get with himself when he struggled to complete something to his very exacting standards. This goes for simple motor skills like learning to use scissors to the very high standard he sets for himself when it comes to his academic pursuits.

But as the quote above states, while perfection is never truly attainable, as long as you endeavor to chase that dream, the shortfall still leaves excellence within your reach.

In our look back to 2011 we see the Boy with the principal of his elementary school moments after the end of the annual spelling bee. You will note that there is not some huge smile on his face that should go with the medal slung around his neck. He was disappointed to not be in the top handful of students. He had worked hard and expected so much from himself so despite being one of the top students in his elementary school, he was still chasing something higher.


Wonder Boy has not slowed down on his relentless chase of perfection in the years since that first photo. In fact, I would say he has redoubled his efforts each and every year of his academic career to date!

I often marvel at his work ethic and I cannot state this strongly enough. While other students were laying pool side this summer, the Boy completed six college applications as well as a number of scholarship and university honors programs applications. Now that school is back in session, he loaded himself up with honors and AP classes while some friends decided to enjoy a respite for their senior year. With that stacked load of classes, he comes home every single day with hours of homework, projects, and research topics. And he made the decision to push himself in this manner all on his own. We do not have to remind him to complete his assignments. We do not have to drag him from bed in the mornings. We do not have to organize his materials or routinely check the parent portal to make certain that he is not only completing his assignments, but also performing to his best ability. He does all of this ON. HIS. OWN.!

It's a life lesson we could only have prayed that he would pick up before leaving home for college. He is well versed in setting priorities and giving himself a schedule so that he can complete extended assignments on time, even on subjects and assignments in which he does not excel and has little innate motivation to jump into. He just gets it done!

In our photo-of-the-day, we see our sweet Boy enjoying the rewards for some of his hard work. He was just named a National Hispanic Scholar by the College Board and one of the universities to which he has applied sent him a box of swag as their way of congratulations for his hard work. His smile is small because, truth be told, he was hoping to do even better. But he has once again caught excellence while furthering his chase of perfection.

I do hope that as he dives into the deeper waters of university life that he will continue his charge on perfection, but also that he will take at least a breath here and there to enjoy the successes his achieves while on his chase. Hard work pays off - Wonder Boy is starting to see some of the fruits of his labors and I hope that it will continue to bloom throughout this season!

Project 18 to 18: Day 7

School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days ...

Once again, as the sands in the hour glass race toward the bottom of the Boy's time in high school, I find myself looking back to those early days of elementary school.

Only for one little minute on the morning of his very first day of school, did the Boy show any trepidation at being at school. Since then, he's claimed his spot on campus and made his way through the halls of four different campuses around town for elementary school, intermediate school, middle school, and now high school.


In each case, he's waded his way through the murky waters until he was the big fish in the pond. But now, he's headed for an ocean disguised as a college campus! And he is comping at the bit to get his chance to leap off the diving board right into the deep end!

I, on the other hand, am shaking in my shoes a lot more than the Boy did on that first day of Kindergarten. I ask myself if we've taught him what he needs to know. I wonder if he will choose some place far from home. I wonder how empty the house will feel once he no longer lives there full time.

But none of my concerns truly matter. And honestly, I know that he's been preparing for that day for some time. And regardless of which campus he will call home, I know he will make his mark and find his path, just like he has in every other school he's experienced thus far.

Project 17 to 17: Day 8

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I'm not sure where that phrase originates, but some days it seems to ring a bit more true than others.

Wonder Boy only has one academic area in which he does not effortlessly succeed: language arts. I can identify - it was never my strongest subject either. But like so much about my favorite teenager, he seems to be exponentially "more" at any characteristic we might share. And in this case, that is definitely not an advantage.

He doesn't like to write. And it has been like that from the very beginning.


Even in kindergarten, he resisted any writing assignment. You can see it on his face in this flashback photo. His heart is not in the task at hand. And if you could see more of his face in the photo above, you would see the same expression of resignation on his face.

We are very thankful that Wonder Boy keeps at it, when it comes to ELA assignments. We do not have to badger him to get the work done, but it is hard to watch him struggle through each and every every assignment.

We cannot all be wonderful at everything. That is a lesson that is drummed home during the academic year for our Boy. There is no way that we have found to soften the blow. And we are oh so thrilled that Wonder Boy continues to work to improve. He HAS improved, in fact. I just hope that he can enjoy at least SOME academic success along the way to reward his effort.

Project 16 to 16: Day 9

Today has been a long day. We've all been battling some kind of a virus. The Boy and I are finally on the mend, but Wonder Dad is still somewhat under the weather. And even though I am feeling better, I am certainly not ALL better just yet.

But with that said, it's been a long day for us all. And to top things off, the Boy has a very full study schedule for tonight! Assignments in 3 classes and his first cumulative exam of the semester!

We are learning that the secret to a successful night of school work is the proper FUEL for the Boy's brain! Now, don't get me wrong, we make sure he eats plenty of good-for-you-foods during the day. But we don't mind indulging him these kinds of snacks if it helps him focus on the work at hand.


In our look back for today I wanted to share one of my all-time favorite snaps of our sweet boy! I wanted these photos to use as a special gift for Wonder Dad. But by this age, Wonder Boy was very tired of me pointing my camera at him at every opportunity. However, I was in for some serious luck this afternoon! The Boy was in a mood to tell me knock-knock jokes. And while he really needed to work on his delivery, just the act of telling the jokes had us BOTH in stitches throughout the little photo shoot!

This is one of those afternoons that I will never forget! Just the sight of his smile in this snap and I can literally HEAR him giggling as he tried to surprise me with the punchline for his next joke. He laughed before he ever got the words out and that made CERTAIN that I too would double over with laughter!

Sometimes looking back on these photos is bitter sweet, but with a memory like this one, it's just plain sweet!

Project 16 to 16: Day 8

Wow! It's hard to believe that we're already more than a week into this project. And even more unbelievable is that there is barely more than a week to go until our countdown comes to a close. That's not helping my denial any.

For today, I wanted to show off another form of the Boy's creative side.


As I have shown in years past, the Boy likes to paint, he likes to draw, he likes to build ... he just plain likes to CREATE! And that is something I truly admire!

It may be hard to tell, but in this snapshot, Wonder Boy is playing around with his Wacom tablet. He's been playing around with this toy for a number of years, but in recent weeks, he's really started trying to learn how to use it properly. I love watching him create. He gets in a zone, focused on the end result. And when he's done, he gets down right giddy until he can show off his latest work. There are not many things that bring out that kind of enthusiasm in our Boy, but creating is always a good bet!

In our look back to 2008, we get the chance to see that giddy smile on his face! This time it was due to being recognized by his first grade teacher (Mrs. Good) for being the first student in class to read 100 chapters for the school year! She gifted him with this little monkey which he dubbed "Friendly, the Monkey." He kept that monkey in his room, in a place of honor among his pillows throughout elementary school.

Mrs. Good has retired now, but she lives in our neighborhood so we get the chance to run into her from time to time when she's out walking her dogs. She will always hold a special place in our hearts for igniting a special spark in our Boy. She showed him that, not only was it OK, it was ADMIRABLE to be an academic all star! The Boy is not ultra competitive in most areas of his life, but when it comes to his grades, he takes great pride in working hard to achieve his academic goals. And THAT makes us all smile that giddy smile!

Project 16 to 16: Day 6

This is the stage of this project where, when you see the Boy in our "look back" photo, you can see at least a little bit of the "big guy" he has now become. It starts right around the time of his 5th birthday, around the time he started "grow up" it seems. It strikes a chord with me that it would be his fifth year where that he had so many milestones (the "Big 5" birthday, graduating preschool, starting martial arts and team sports) that his "big kid" personality would start to shine so brightly, but it certainly does!


I'll be honest, this was not the photo I had planned for today. I really wanted to see if I could bribe my guys into re-creating at least the pose from our flash-back photo. But in the end, I think this is the right look at today.

I snapped this right before bed tonight. The Boy had a full day. He's been helping out a whole lot around the house as both his dad and I have been under the weather. And he had a viola lesson this afternoon. And top all of that off with a good-sized stack of homework (which is certainly becoming the norm for this school year) and really, this was always going to be the photo for today.

I think it has surprised Wonder Boy that the course work has increased by SO MUCH this school year. It increases every year. He's come to accept that. But I truly don't think he was prepared for a jump in workload of this magnitude. He is beginning to adjust. We all are. But it has taken a bit longer than any of us could have anticipated.

In the end, we know this is a good thing. He needs to be prepared for when he goes off to college where the workload will be considerable, but there will not be anyone "cracking the whip" to make sure he gets it done. While I would love to lighten his load, I am thankful that working for the grades he wants to achieve will not be something new when he moves on to that next level.

Our flash back is one of my all time favorite photos of my guys together. It was taken on Father's Day 2006. Wonder Boy was at the height of his fascination with "the Incredibles" and he dubbed his daddy "Mr. Incredible" just as quickly as he assumed the role of "the Dash." We couldn't find any "Incredibles" shirts for Wonder Dad that summer, so we made our own! It became Wonder Dad's soccer jersey that fall and that made the season that much more special for Wonder Boy and for us all really. Wonder Boy really DOES have the most Incredible Dad ever!

Project 15 to 15: Day 11

For Day 11 of our big birthday countdown, I wanted to brag a bit on the Boy's organizational skills:


It's a simple little thing, but he uses a note pad area on his phone to mark which classes do/do not have homework. There is enough room to also title the assignment and even add a due date. It's simple and to the point. Nothing flashy, but incredibly useful! I have been so proud of the effort the Boy puts into making sure his academic responsibilities are met. And I am so glad that he found something, all on his own, that works perfectly for him!

In looking back to 2011, we see the Boy acting out his adrenaline seeking behavior once again:


This snap was taken a few days before the Boy's 10th birthday with one of his best judo buddies beside him. The 2 of them raced to the top of this climb a number of times that Sunday morning before the crowds made the lines too long. And when they weren't on this wall, they were racing go carts or smashing bumper boats. It was a very fun day for us all!

Project 15 to 15: Day 8

It's Day 8 of this project now and I am kind of hoping that today's picture and post will help the Boy and I do better about one adjustment he's been having with the start of high school - remembering to wear his student ID on Mondays!


It seems like such a simple thing. And Tuesday through Friday he does a GREAT job of remembering to wear it. But there is just something about the rush of Monday mornings that lends itself to him forgetting his ID. Thankfully, he can get a temporary ID name tag printed without penalty once he gets to school, but it is something we are both trying to be better at remembering!

In looking back to 2008, we see the Boy at his elementary school's fall festival working on his cowpoke skills:


This photo makes me laugh because, while the Boy doesn't consider himself "country" by any means, he is most CERTAINLY a very proud son of Texas! For many years he swore he would never, ever, ever leave Texas. Of course, we killed that plan by taking him out of the state to Colorado (with a stop or two in New Mexico) on vacation. And I'm happy to say that he has come around in his thinking when it comes to venturing out of state from time to time, but he will tell you openly and often that Texas is home. I'm glad the Boy loves his home state so fiercely, but I am also very relieved that he is learning to appreciate other places as well. Now, I hope that when the day comes that he willingly leaves home that he doesn't go so far that we fail to see him regularly. But I also hope that he gets to see as much of this world as possible.

Project 15 to 15: Day 6

Day 6 is here and I wanted to show you where you can most often find Wonder Boy these days: at his computer.


When in doubt, we know to go looking for the Boy at his computer. Sometimes he's working on school assignments. Sometimes he's pounding out a new program (he's working on making his own scientific/graphing calculator program right now). Occasionally we'll find him drawing on his Wacom tablet. And every now and then, he's just watching Youtube videos for fun. I am not sure if it is a generational thing or just a Wonder Boy characteristic, but this is his happy place. And since he, more often than not, uses his time for learning and expanding his mind, it's hard to begrudge him the time he spends on-line.

As we flash back to 2006, we see our Boy on his 5th birthday with his first favorite teacher:


The Boy has been blessed with an abundance of caring educators from preschool all the way through to his first year of high school. But this special lady was the first teacher who really connected with him. When he was at the height of his super hero phase, she let him wear his mask to class and even let him sign his papers as "the Dash" as long as he spelled it correctly. She encouraged him to express himself openly, regardless of what others might say or think. She played such a huge role in preparing him for the start of his academic career. She "graduated" from preschool with the Boy's class and we lost track of her for a number of years. But I am thankful that we now see her regularly around town.

Project 15 to 15: Day 3

For Day 3 of this project, I wanted to highlight how much heavier the Boy's load has gotten now that he's started high school:


It has amazed me how much more he seems to have to shoulder (literally) each year. Every day finds him carting around his backpack with notebooks, text books, and lunch box, then he has his viola, his binder (with the rest of his school supplies), and quite often there are extra projects and supplies that have to make their way back and forth between home and school as well. To top it all off, the Boy's school is pretty big (by my standards). It's easily twice as big as the high school I attended, maybe even more. It has 3 stories and a ground floor. And the Boy's schedule is such that he doesn't stay on the same floor for any 2 consecutive classes. Before the year started, I might have worried about him not having a PE class this year. But he spends so much of his day running up and down those stair cases that I don't have to worry about that at all! He doesn't seem to mind the load. And he does have a personal locker and an orchestra locker to help with the load during the school day. But I know a lot of kids skip the locker all together and just carry everything everywhere. I guess that is good practice for when they move on to college.

In looking back to 2003 I'm going to share a big laugh with you all:


WHAT A MESS! I don't recall the specifics of exactly what led up to this massive cereal explosion on the kitchen floor, but for some reason the Boy was left momentarily unattended not long before bed time. And in that short span when no one was looking, he managed to spy his favorite cereal of the day (Kix) on the counter. I'm not sure how he reached it - he must have jumped. But reach the box he did! And after reaching it, he proceeded to empty it out on the floor for easy access. He ate his fill until the shock of it wore off enough for us to pull him out of the middle of it and let the dogs enjoy one HECK of a late night snack! It took us QUITE a while to find every last little kernel of Kix, even with the help of the dogs. I swear they kept rolling out from strange places for days! But as frustrated as I must have felt that night, I can't help but laugh now when I see this snapshot. Just look at his face - he didn't see a thing wrong with what he had done. And I suspect a big part of him was just proud of himself for getting that snack himself. Little bugger!

Mission: Middle School - Accomplished!

Just like clock-work, another school year has come to a close. And with the close of this chapter, a new, BIGGER one is on the horizon. Today, our Wonder Boy completed his time in middle school and now moves on to the exciting world of high school!


I think, over all, this has been a good year for him. There were some hiccups along the way, of course, but on the whole it's been a very successful year, especially on the academic side of things. The Boy is looking forward to a summer of cuddling with his pups, dashing off to one camp after another, and then a family vacation to tie things up before facing the new challenge of starting his freshman year of high school.

Here's to hoping this summer will be all he dreamed and that high school will be just another chance to earn success!

Fall Premiere

Woo hoo! It's concert season again for the Boy and his pals in the middle school orchestra!

This term has seen the Boy move up to the more advanced orchestra at his school. And with that move, the music has gotten exponentially more difficult. But it has also gotten even more beautiful to hear!

2015 Fall Symphony Orchestra Concert

We have all been looking forward to this performance. I know that Wonder Boy has been a bit nervous, but the time he has spent practicing has really paid off.


The concert was just as wonderful as I knew it would be. And the only drawback is that it has me itching for their next performance (less than a month away!).

Project 14 to 14: Day 11

On Day 11 of this count down to the Boy's big day, I wanted to show you a glimpse of the Boy in his happy place - sitting at the computer.


Not only is he at the computer, but he's working on a game project. This particular game project is for school, but this is something he would never consider "work." No, this is the boy at his happiest these days. He loves piecing together all the moving parts and creating something he can't wait to share with his friends (and teammates on the Robotics team at school)!

I am always in awe of his creations. And I can't wait to see idea he works on NEXT!

Our look back today, to the morning of his 10th birthday, is one that always makes me laugh out loud!


Come on - you laughed too, right??

Does this look like the face of a boy with one of his favorite foods on the morning of his BIRTHDAY?? NO! It looks like I feel on the morning of an extra early meeting before my first cup of coffee.

But the reality is that this is what the Boy looks like most mornings - including birthdays and even Christmas! He is just not a morning person and never has been. By the time he finished his milk and started in on the cinnamon rolls, he was good to go and ready for a day of fun and celebrations and PRESENTS! But he needs that blood sugar boost like I need my morning caffeine.

Big Man On Campus

Well ... it's happened, we blinked and another summer has flown past us. And today our Wonder Boy kicks off his 8th grade year.


As you can see from this look back to his first day of kindergarten, he is no longer the shy little boy content to huddle on his mom's lap. Of course, having him on my lap these days is not quite the same experience it was all those years ago. He towers a good 6" over me now and those long legs of his have to fold quite a bit in order for him to fit.

But that shine in his eyes - that remains, as does his excitement over the start of a new school year.

This summer has been a pretty busy one for him. And while I know he might wish for a few more slow paced days, I also know that there is a big part of him that is ready to spend time with his "buds," learn a few new things, and to see what 8th grade has in store for him.

As for me, I am once again hoping to slow things down a bit. I want to savor as much of this year as possible... before I blink again and find that he's off to high school!

Another Year in the Books

As I sit here, looking at Wonder Boy's stack of graded papers, discarded flyers, and spiral notebooks on their last leg, I can't believe another school year has come to a close.

I'm not sure how time seems to fly so fast for me, but so slowly for him, but as we close the book on Wonder Boy's 7th grade year, that again seems to be the case. The Boy and one of his best buds are upstairs playing video games and "unwinding" after a final farewell to 7th grade. They spent the afternoon telling me how LOOOOONG the school year had been and how they were ready for a nice, slow summer. And the whole time, all I could think was how fast this academic year had passed for me.


It was an action packed year, to be sure. The start of 7th grade brought a new school, new electives, and PLENTY of opportunity for the Boy to both learn and grow. And I have to say, he took to it like a duck to water. And watching him swim in these new waters was a true joy for me.

When he was small, transitions of ANY kind were ... well ... let's just say they required a serious adjustment period.

But that was then.

Now, my dear Wonder Boy is almost unrecognizable when it comes to facing and accepting changes and new challenges (unless we're talking about dinner time, but I won't get on that soapbox today). This is something that has been building with each passing grade. I noticed it as he moved from our small neighborhood elementary school into intermediate school and now even more so into middle school. He has a confidence, almost a swagger even, that back in those days of dreaded transitions I wondered if we would ever see in him.

This is the best part of watching your child grow - seeing them turn into PEOPLE; people who can stand on their own; people who can blaze their own trail; people you are proud to call family. Wonder Boy takes great strides down that path these days. And this mom is sure enjoying watching it all happen.

Spring Recital

Showcasing their UIL performance pieces, this week we got to enjoy the full school orchestra playing together. That is, all 7th and 8th grade orchestra students (both Symphonic and Philharmonic groups) came together for tonight's show.

As is usually the case, hearing the full concert piece of music is quite thrilling. We generally only get to hear Wonder Boy's line during his afternoon practices, so when the full group comes together, it's always a treat. But this concert was exceptionally enjoyable since both groups played together. Below you can watch the full performance.

Spring Orchestra Full Concert

The first 3 pieces played are the ones they performed for UIL. The others were recruiting pieces they played at area elementary schools this spring to encouraging in-coming 5th graders to give Orchestra a try.


We are so proud to report that the group did very well in competition this year, earning a superior rating for both their UIL performance as well as their concert at the Bluebonnet Music Festival in San Antonio. And while we are a little sad to be attending the final show of the school year, it sure gives us something to look forward to for next fall.