2025 Graduate!!

 Kade did it! Despite some huge barriers put in his way, he made it through high school. I said in my last post that 7th grade is a tough year. It was tough for Kade, starting in 7th grade and continuing up to his senior year (actually, it was probably before 7th grade, but 7th grade was really hard for him, and I still don't think we fully understand how hard it was). His senior year was definitely the best, so that's a great way to finish up high school. 

The festivities started with Kade's graduation from the Arts Academy, a couple of days before Prom. Kade was involved with the Arts Academy for all 4 years of high school. I gave more details in the Art Symposium post from a few blog entries ago. They held their own graduation for those kids. Each student recorded a little blurb about themselves that included their favorite part about the Arts Academy (which was the friends Kade made for him) and what they're doing in the near future. They played the recordings as each student crossed the stage to receive their certificate and graduation rope. They also showed these cute pictures of each student. 

A screenshot of Kade's baby picture and a senior picture..

Dr. Jackman, the head of the Academy, taking a selfie with the group.

I already posted about Prom, so I'll move on to graduation itself! There's actually not much to say about it since there were so many graduates and they just moved them through. However, my friend Jennifer is on the school board and requested that she give Kade his diploma at the ceremony. Also, we had Jason's parents and cousin, and my mom here to show extra support. They also got to attend some end-of-the-year activities and, of course, join in our Puerto Rican meal that has become a favorite of Victoria's and Kade's. 

Kade decorated his cap. 

The fans!

We finally located Kade, and he finally looked up!

I moved to the other side so I could get better shots of his face.

Jason got this great shot of him receiving his diploma. 

Here's from my angle again. 

Puerto Rican meal!

Five days later was Kade's graduation party. We purposely scheduled it to be Friday, the 13th, since Kade loves that kind of thing. It's the only one this year, too. We learned a lot since Victoria's party, and since having gone to more of them, after hosting one ourselves, we picked up some new ideas. One thing I learned is that simple is great. So, since Kade loves hot dogs and Doritos, that was what we served. But, since we are a healthy-eating family and don't skimp on our fruits and veggies, we served watermelon, carrots, cucumbers, and Ranch, which Kade loves too. We had a vegan option for the hot dogs, and they were greatly appreciated by those who came and needed that option. We also had Coney Island chili sauce and diced onion to give the dogs a Michigan spin, if desired. (Coney Island hot dogs are extremely popular here and are associated with Detroit). I actually ate one myself, and it was very good!

I also learned that lemonade is just as popular as soda, so we served that with the different flavored additives that are also popular now. You either recycle cups or cans, so we opted for cups this time instead of cans. We'll definitely do that again. I didn't get good pics of the drink table, though, because there was a misty rain going on the whole time, so the drinks and desserts were squeezed under the tent in the back instead of being on the deck like we had planned. The rain wasn't really a problem; we just couldn't have the drinks and desserts getting all wet from the constant mist!

The other thing I learned is that almost everyone eats dessert at these things, but not always the food. So I got a big sheet cake from BJ's Wholesale, had about 45 huge homemade cookies, and 24 little cakes from Nothin' Bundt Cakes, but we still ran out of dessert. I'm pretty sure everyone got more than enough, but I still worry. The good thing behind that is that we had many more people come than we really thought would. So many people love Kade and wanted to support him. They were so generous and happy to be here celebrating Kade. Kade had a fair number of friends show up, and a couple of people commented on how many friends he has. Kade is a wonderful friend and is well-loved.

And if you're wondering why this random pic is here from the yearbook, it's because Kade's chemistry teacher came at the very end, and I totally forgot to take a pic of them together! Mr. Clanton is the reason Kade loves science so much now. Kade had him last year, and he visited him in class all this year. He's an inspirational teacher that we'll never forget!

We had corn hole, badminton, chalk, and the trampoline. Kids still enjoyed those activities in the misty rain. (We went to a party yesterday with a 100-degree real feel, and I definitely think the mist is better than the heat!!)

I am so happy we could celebrate Kade and his job well done in high school! He'll be attending the local community college, Schoolcraft, this fall, and it's going to be fantastic! It's an excellent school and it's free! When Kade gets his associates, he can transfer and work toward his meteorology degree!

7th Grade

 I will get to all the bigger happenings with Kade in my next post, but I don't want to neglect a little post about Erik, who just completed 7th grade with flying colors. Let's be real, 7th grade is never an easy year for anyone. It was hard for me when I was that age, and it was hard for each of my kids, too, except for Erik. (I actually think 6th grade was harder for Austin than 7th, mostly because half of that year was remote learning, which wasn't great for him.) 

I mentioned in a previous post that Erik was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society, which allowed him many opportunities for service with his schoolmates, like tying quilts for hospitals, helping with various fundraisers at the school, and volunteering at elementary schools in the area with some of the after-school programs. The members of NJHS were awarded with a 4-hour activity at Urban Air, which included rock walls, ziplines, trampolines, basketball, and other various active games, including virtual games. 

I also mentioned his involvement in Religious Diversity Journeys. Remember I said their visit to the Hindu Temple was cancelled due to a snow day? Well, they were able to reschedule! So, they got to visit a Jewish Temple, a Christian Church, and a Hindu Temple. A bonus was their field trip to the Henry Ford Museum. RDJ was a wonderful opportunity for Erik. It gave him a deeper understanding of culture and religion, which was really good for my brilliantly minded 7th grader. 

I don't have any pics of his service at school or the RDJ field trips, but I do have one of his "Mental Math" award he received in his advanced math class. 

Erik also completed another successful year of playing the trombone in the school band. He even went so far as attempting to play some of his tunes on the piano, which he did decently well at, though I don't think he'll ever want to take piano lessons. 

He's in the back, with a nice big smile!

Menchies after the concert!

He got to join the track team for the first time. Austin gave him some good tips, and he was able to get a PR of under 6 minutes on the mile in the district meet!

He's the smaller one in gray.

His soccer teammate attends a different middle school.

And one of his best friends from church. This is when Erik got his mile PR. 

We had Jason's parents and cousin with us for that final meet!

Finally, he completed his full year on the Plymouth Reign Soccer team. It was a rough fall and winter season. They managed some wins at their first tournament in early spring,  but weren't so lucky in the Canton Cup. Those teams they played were big and tough! I also learned that some of them weren't even on our level; they were two levels above, so I don't know why we had to play them. They pulled off an excellent win in their last game of the spring season and looked pretty good during some of the previous games, even without wins. Erik always plays his heart out. He's a dedicated player who's not afraid to get in there to win the ball. He was captain of the team, which we didn't even know until the season was over! He has always been encouraging his teammates and reminding them of where to be, but he actually had some authority! We had all gotten our hopes up that at the yearly try-outs he would be moved up a level (rumors were spreading that he waas for sure going to move up along with his defensive partner), however, no one from our team moved up except for a player that we were suprised by and one we weren't surprised by. We've decided that since pretty much the whole team is together again, they're going to be much better because they already played a whole year together (minus two summer months). They learned so much, and they have a new coach who will challenge them in different ways. The coach from the level above did talk with Erik and told him she is still watching his progress and will probably call on him to sub in for their team when they need it. I think he's pretty happy about that, and he's definitely happy to be out of school! For someone who does well in school and has lots of friends, he sure is excited when it's over!

Going for a header at try-outs.

After the last game.