Today was the big graduation for my cousin! We
slept in and were out the door a little before lunch time. My aunt had a
lunch date with her pals and dropped Alli and I off at the mall. We
shopped, ate lunch, and bought cinabunns!! It's a large mall, two story.
We also bought my cousin a graduation gift from things remembered.
A bracelet with a heart with the words engraved: let your heart be
your compass. We walked and went into every shop Allison wanted to go
into. Total girl time!!! We had fun chatting and teasing each
other. Ever store I went in Allison got to add a store she wanted to go
in. She even expressed to me how she no longer likes her pink room!
After shopping we went home and changed for the graduation. We also packed overnight bags because we were spending the night at my cousins. Allison was going to spend the night with my cousin’s daughters Madison (17) and Dominique (13). While my cousin Jessica, her husband Ron, and I would be at project grad with their daughter Victoria. Jessica was on the project grad committee as the hourly door prize and grand prize winner chair. She has a budget and purchase all the prizes and distributes them at project grad.
Let me back up and explain family relations. My mother’s brother Gilbert and his wife have four children. Jessica is one of their children. Jessica and I are 11 years apart in age. Jessica was one of my favorite cousins growing up. She was always nice to me, bought me bday presents and would give me lots of hugs and kisses. I remember her huge curly hair as a child. Jessica and her husband Ron have four daughters. Ron's daughter Nicollet from a previous marriage is two years younger than me, and we became good friends through my summer visits. When Jessica had her first daughter Victoria I was thrilled for a new baby cousin and began babysitting her during my summer visits, soon Madison then Dominique followed. Many summers and memories were made with the Garzoli girls! Card games, dominions, and foster freeze visit were just a few of our favorite things to do.
Back to graduation it was at 6:30 at the junior college outside. For this TX girl I was cold! I traded in beauty for warmth that night. I wondered if the CA people thought I was crazy with my scarf in the summer. There were just under 20 family members at the graduation. With a class of 400 kids it didn't last long. My cousin Jessica made these life size poster board faces of Victoria for everyone to hold up, I don't have a picture of that awesomeness! She also made candy leis for all of Victoria’s friends. I felt so blessed to be there and hear her name called and watch her receive her diploma.
After a huge picture session we headed home and picked up a pizza on the way. I settled Allison and Ron and I headed to project grad. They have it at the school and blocked off certain areas for activities. The gym had a casino theme. Tables of dealers. One room had carioki and tables, with refreshments and food. Outside they had jumpers and obstacle course type things, and carnival games, plus BBQ, and fire pits for s'mores. Inside they had a station for Starbucks, chickfila, and more food/ drinks. I also got to watch a hypnotist! The guy ask for about twenty volunteers. Just a few things he did after hypnotizing them to sleep: make them stand, repeat their names, making them raise their hands, itch themselves, clap, and run. The guy would say: the girl that I am taping your foot (he would repeat himself) ask her to sit. Then ask her to repeat her name, and then tell her that he has a sleeping gun. He would then say I am going to fire it and it's going to bounce of the wall hit the basketball goal, bounce of the celling, hit another wall, and the hit you and you'll fall over. The girl literally watched the "bullet" go every direction he said then she fell over! He would also randomly wake certain people touch them with a tap of his finger and they would go back to sleep and they would literally fall over!
Anyway after the hypnotist I volunteered in my cousin’s room with the hourly prizes. Each hour she would draw numbers and write them on the poster board. If your number was on the poster board you won whatever was allocated that hour. For example at eleven the prizes were sports bags and sports bottles with gift cards inside. At midnight the prizes were appliances: gorge forman grills, blenders, choppers, waffle makers etc. I helped draw numbers, call out numbers to be written on the poster, locate winning numbers and check them off, and hand out prizes. The school also offered several grand prizes. To name a few: tickets to a Giants game, cash prize, electric guitar, drum set, and an Xbox and game. I volunteered for a while and crawled into bed just before 2am.
After shopping we went home and changed for the graduation. We also packed overnight bags because we were spending the night at my cousins. Allison was going to spend the night with my cousin’s daughters Madison (17) and Dominique (13). While my cousin Jessica, her husband Ron, and I would be at project grad with their daughter Victoria. Jessica was on the project grad committee as the hourly door prize and grand prize winner chair. She has a budget and purchase all the prizes and distributes them at project grad.
Let me back up and explain family relations. My mother’s brother Gilbert and his wife have four children. Jessica is one of their children. Jessica and I are 11 years apart in age. Jessica was one of my favorite cousins growing up. She was always nice to me, bought me bday presents and would give me lots of hugs and kisses. I remember her huge curly hair as a child. Jessica and her husband Ron have four daughters. Ron's daughter Nicollet from a previous marriage is two years younger than me, and we became good friends through my summer visits. When Jessica had her first daughter Victoria I was thrilled for a new baby cousin and began babysitting her during my summer visits, soon Madison then Dominique followed. Many summers and memories were made with the Garzoli girls! Card games, dominions, and foster freeze visit were just a few of our favorite things to do.
Back to graduation it was at 6:30 at the junior college outside. For this TX girl I was cold! I traded in beauty for warmth that night. I wondered if the CA people thought I was crazy with my scarf in the summer. There were just under 20 family members at the graduation. With a class of 400 kids it didn't last long. My cousin Jessica made these life size poster board faces of Victoria for everyone to hold up, I don't have a picture of that awesomeness! She also made candy leis for all of Victoria’s friends. I felt so blessed to be there and hear her name called and watch her receive her diploma.
After a huge picture session we headed home and picked up a pizza on the way. I settled Allison and Ron and I headed to project grad. They have it at the school and blocked off certain areas for activities. The gym had a casino theme. Tables of dealers. One room had carioki and tables, with refreshments and food. Outside they had jumpers and obstacle course type things, and carnival games, plus BBQ, and fire pits for s'mores. Inside they had a station for Starbucks, chickfila, and more food/ drinks. I also got to watch a hypnotist! The guy ask for about twenty volunteers. Just a few things he did after hypnotizing them to sleep: make them stand, repeat their names, making them raise their hands, itch themselves, clap, and run. The guy would say: the girl that I am taping your foot (he would repeat himself) ask her to sit. Then ask her to repeat her name, and then tell her that he has a sleeping gun. He would then say I am going to fire it and it's going to bounce of the wall hit the basketball goal, bounce of the celling, hit another wall, and the hit you and you'll fall over. The girl literally watched the "bullet" go every direction he said then she fell over! He would also randomly wake certain people touch them with a tap of his finger and they would go back to sleep and they would literally fall over!
Anyway after the hypnotist I volunteered in my cousin’s room with the hourly prizes. Each hour she would draw numbers and write them on the poster board. If your number was on the poster board you won whatever was allocated that hour. For example at eleven the prizes were sports bags and sports bottles with gift cards inside. At midnight the prizes were appliances: gorge forman grills, blenders, choppers, waffle makers etc. I helped draw numbers, call out numbers to be written on the poster, locate winning numbers and check them off, and hand out prizes. The school also offered several grand prizes. To name a few: tickets to a Giants game, cash prize, electric guitar, drum set, and an Xbox and game. I volunteered for a while and crawled into bed just before 2am.
oh boy what a fun future project for changing up the scheme of her room! Man what a night to remember you had with the Garzoli's!
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