After our Art Show Friday night...

I raced to Gustavo's graduation...

then enjoyed a late night meal at IHop with his family, which provided a great time to catch up since they had moved out of the neighborhood a few years ago.

I got up early in order to attend Katrina's graduation at 8:30 a.m....

went to a meeting... went to work out... then joined their family for an afternoon bar-b-que, which was another great opportunity to reminisce about old times, talk about the girls' college plans, and just hang out.

I left there to meet Tiffany (a "kid" who is now a near-graduating college student...a young adult), who had agreed to save me some time by picking up some of the kids. After dropping them off at the house, she went to pick up her nephew and cousins so that we could all go to the 22nd Annual Invitational Black Rodeo together...

which gave the younger ones the opportunity to see horses, cows, and cowboys up close for the first time. The three youngest kids we took were all children of kids I used to have in our different programs. I laughed as 6-yr old Anasia was quick to tell me how she should act around me and wondered if, though I haven't spent much time with her, if her mom and dad had relayed that message to her.

And that was just Friday and Saturday!

Sunday, Nathan and Vanessa came to the house so that Vanessa could use the computer and the internet to make her Power Point presentation for her class. Since the computer was already taken, Nathan agreed to make monster cookies, which we did together -- learning how to pack brown sugar, level off baking soda, and use the mixer in a way that didn't splatter cookie dough all over the kitchen.

Then, though most of today has been restful, I went to visit Tracey to make sure he got all of his paperwork filled out for the Sight and Sound technology program that he will be enrolled in this summer. In the process of getting he and his mom to sign papers, Tavies and I were able to reconnect and catch up. It's always nice working with parents who encourage me to get their kids involved in anything possible... and trust that whatever I send their way will be beneficial to their future.

Though most weekends I enjoy having time to myself, weekends like these help me to realize the friends and the blessings I have in my life. I realize how much my friends mean to me... and how much I mean to them. It's nice to connect with people.