The Loud Americans: March 2018

Once again the weather gods honored us with a mild day! It was in the upper 40's and not a raindrop or snowflake in sight. Perfect weather to sit around a bonfire with a beer.

This year Billy won the award for the 1st guest and most guests to arrive. He had a serious posse! School, taekwondo and neighborhood 13 yr old boys flooded our house. There was Xbox and a killer game of tag that stretched all the way to Lions Park.

Kay had her harem of girls and they congregated in her room doing hair and make up. Both theirs and Bjorns & Calvins. Another tradition. Make overs for both the boys. They also got their hair french braided this year.

Jimmy kept his invite list to a minimum with the Asian trifecta and James. (Noah & Kyle - the Kims and Jimmy's second family). They played Xbox and were great sports about the parade.

Adult wise it was a mix of neighbors, TKD parents, football parents, gymnastics parents, family, friends and anyone else we've picked up along the way. The highlight was cousin Paul and Nikki. They live in Alaska and we didnt know they'd be in town! Always fun to see them.

The parade was Grand Marshalled by Logan (5 yr old neighbor) and he did a great job of flag raising.

Tom out did himself on the smoked pork, homemade BBQ sauce and blue cheese cole slaw but ... we ended the party with more beer than we started with. Totally not sure how that happen but the Irish gods were smiling on us!

Tracy did yeoman's duty on set up and clean up. Its a lot of work but totally worth it!

Finally, we love all our friends and family. Its so fun that they celebrate with us each year. This year was no exception. In fact, Tracy's highlight was when she told our India friends that Jimmy was rebelling ....by identifying as Republican. The shock and outrage on their faces was priceless and it felt so good that they "got" it. Then Abhi asked, "fiscally or socially?" Good question (and typical of a finance guy) so far fiscally ... much easier to swallow.

Thanks all and cheers to next year!

The crew

Here comes the parade!

Logan in the lead

Awesome job!

Too cute

The girls

taekwondo

more taekwondo

jr high puppies

more of the same

neighbors

the girls

football dads

neighbors

boat people

boat people part 2

India

Work

Taekwondo parents

Asian trifecta + James

India moms

Work

TKD moms + Tom + Grand Marshal

Sunday night was the Hopkins High School gymnastics banquet and Kay ended the year in style, literally and figuratively.

She and Claire went shopping earlier in the week and she did a great job finding the perfect dress and shoes for the perfect price. It was Royals blue and she looked stunning.

Then, at the banquet, she swept the awards: All Sections, All Conference, MVP AND she lettered. She also got an academic achievement award for being an athlete with a GPA > 3.6 - not entirely sure how that happened but thats Kay ...she pulls it out in a pinch. All as a freshman. But, the best part was seeing her celebrate with her friends. She didnt want any of the attention or limelight and was so happy when her friends got their awards, letters and accolades.

Congratulations Kay on an amazing year. You are so fun to watch, you are a great team mate, a hard worker and a fierce competitor.

We love you!

LOVE Costco cake!