Bubba Louie Flys the Nest

On June 12th, my little brother Brett graduated from high school. I can remember when he was born, so surely this means I am now supposed to stop telling people my real age. Just to reinforce this, even though nearly a million pictures were taken (remember, this is MY camera, so I am not really exaggerating much), this is the only one I felt I looked decent enough in to actually post. I am generally not really self-conscious about this sort of thing, but I think the fact that I actually took that shirt from my grandmother's wardrobe that very morning was making me guiltily self-conscious. Really, I did. I am not joking one bit.

Here is the whole crew--the offspring of my wonderful parents: me, Brandon, Johnny, Brett (holding my Kate) April, & Cara. All my siblings were there to celebrate Brett's special day! It was a very special day, because for most of his school-years, we questioned the reality of this day...just kidding! Brett, I am ridiculously proud of you! And, being the over-achiever that this guy is, he also received his Eagle Scout award. Way to spread those wings and fly Bubba Louie! I finally got my Eagle Scout award too, even though my husband has been insisting for the last 11 years that it would be impossible since I am a GIRL and that Eagle's are for BOYscouts. Hah. I showed him! Brett surprised me with he honor of being his Eagle Scout Mentor, and I have a big shinny gold pin that you may see me showing off on occasion. According to the speech he gave at his Court of Honor, this means that I did an Eagle Project but he got all the credit for it. You gotta loooove this guy!

Here is an overjoyed Brett hugging beloved card-sharking, slot machine-dominating, bowling ball-throwing, Grandma Siemers. I love this woman so much, and if you know her, you know how wonderful she is, and that it is an honor to even touch her clothing, let alone actually wear an article of it.