Ranch's Focus This Week

I'm getting out my best apron, and donning a trusty Italian mustache this week.
"Why?" you may be asking....

Well, Mini-Me's 8th grade class is in a bit of a pickle.  Normally at the end each school year, the 8th graders who are "graduating" and getting ready to head into high school the next year have a couple things happen:

1. they make an epic journey to some waaaaaay fun place (like an amusement park, etc) 
2. there is an 8th grade graduation party & dance that's thrown right after the graduation.

Sad thing, and the entire reason for the pickle?  The school has decided not to fund the party shindig, nor sanction any such trip.

Now, this is a little aggravating since these traditions go even further back than when Mr LKP & I both were 8th graders at this same school!  And each class, every year, looks forward to this last middle school hurrah.  Come to find out, Mini-Me's class (in the few years we were away, living in Idaho) seems to always be the class that gets the butt-end of the deal when it comes to stuff like this.

So, when the school told us upset parents that if we wanted our kids to have this experience then we were going to have to fund it, we parents formed a committee and have been after this HUGE task.

For the party and the trip, it's going to cost over $11,000.  (Luckily whatever we make past the magic number necessary to cover what the school won't will follow these kids up through their high school years and go towards their high school after-graduation party.  That will be VERY helpful in the long run.)

Why so much?

Well, when they say they're not sanctioning a trip, the school MEANS it!  They won't even give the kids a 'ditch' day or excuse any notes in the last few days of school if all the 8th graders' parents were to write notes.  Add to that, they won't allow us to use the district's buses or drivers.  AND, icing on that bad-boy-cake, the kids aren't supposed to do the fund raising cause any of that money could be considered ASB money!  Hence the reason we parents are faced with such a huge number to hit.  Since we've got to do all the arranging, all the meals for the trip, all the decor for the party, the refreshments for the party, we have to charter a private bus for the trip....and the list goes on & on.

So, where does that leave us this week?  It leads us up to MY brilliant fund raising scheme, since it was my idea (Thanks to my big fat trap that I can't keep shut.):
a community spaghetti feed!  

I'm not complaining.  Not at all.  Things are kinda falling into place.  I'm just tired and not getting the sleep I wanted to get.  Yeah, safe to say that pretty much my scheduling goals have had to take a back seat in the end, and I won't be able to pick those up until NEXT week....including my sleeping goals.

Sleep deprivation aside though, look at what I'm MOST excited about for this week's spaghetti feed:

THE PRE-SELL TICKETS!!!

They turned out so great.  They took a whole night to design, produce, trim down, perforate, bundle, glue, and number....but they're soooo worth it!  (Each ticket can be sold as either an individual ticket or a family ticket, the seller just has to mark the ticket.  So either a single bundle of 10 tickets can be worth $50 or it could potentially be worth $200.  Or anywhere in between!  So, even if people can't make it, perhaps they'll purchase a ticket to support the kids.) 

I'm also excited, cause we're getting some of the local businesses (whose owners live in our community) to donate family board games for raffle prizes.  Which is perfect, because aside from our focus being to raise money for the kids, it's also to encourage a family night...complete with a family meal, and then all sorts of family games to play in the other room + the raffled game prizes!  (Super great on the scheduling too, since there aren't even any high school games or other activities going on that night.  Which is extremely rare!)

So, please excuse us if we're not around much besides this week's three regular posts.

Know that we're with you in spirit, but my brain will be solely occupied by this spaghetti feed.

P.S.  
If an 8th grader happens to come past your front porch, cubicle, garage, or cart at the super market and tries to sell you a ticket, buy it cause they're: so cute, they're possibly the bi-product of one of my recent sleepless nights, and because--by golly--its for a really great cause!  Can't wait to see you and your family there.  :)