First Days of Summer

Picture highlight of the first days of summer vacation:

Two girls wanted to play tennis, so I signed them up through the park and rec. It was only four days, and it was at the park down the street, so we walked, rode bikes and made the most of it.

 We spent some of Memorial Day weekend at the cabin with family.

 Sadie and Kaleb mowed together.

They put in the window air conditioners.

We organized and cleaned the grouts. Believe it or not, the girls were excited to do this!

We flew kites with cousins.

 

Like always, I took Caramel for a walk/run.

This particular day she was super ambitious to get that squirrel.

 Maisie helped me plant my garden this year. It is a smaller, scrawnier garden, but I loved planting it with Maisie.

 We continued the tradition of painting flower pots.

 The girls helped me pick out new sunglasses. Don't worry - I didn't get those.

 I put together the summer chore chart. Old school and maybe old fashioned, but it's been effective! They have done a nice job and knew there were no screens until their jobs were completed. One of favorites was kitchen helper. One night a week on of the girls would help with the dinner prep; it was great 1-1 time together.

 I had Sadie label something for me, and it was too cute. Can you guess what is inside the container?

 And a beautiful rainbow reminding us of God's promise.

Children's Music Academy

Maisie and Sadie were involved with Children's Music Academy again this past year. We met on Monday nights for an hour of piano, ear training and music. I'll be honest - it's not their favorite, but they do like to be with their friends, and their teacher is great. They are learning skills that will stick with them forever, and maybe, just maybe one will learn to sing on key. :)

They had their music program in May, and it truly was a riot to watch.

 

Doesn't she look thrilled to be there? 

She has a little more spunk when it comes to music.

They both did well on their solos.

By the end of the night, they were both in smiles. 

Maisie's Dance/Gym

We let Maisie participate in dance, along with gymnastics this year. Something I thought we would never do. (Honestly, I never thought we'd have a dancer in our family.) She had loved gymnastics the year before, and if she ever wants to proceed with more advanced gymnastics, she needed to have dance as well. So this past year, she took a combo class. Forty-five minutes of gym, and then forty-five minutes of dance, learning tap, jazz and ballet.

 

In May, Maisie had her in house gymnastics meet, where the parents could come watch. It was fun for us to see how she improved this past year.

Maisie with her good friend, Kadi. So thankful they can be in the same class.

Maisie had her first dance recital in early June. This was a major learning curve for me - from the cost of costumes (ouch!), the schedule, pictures, expectations and more. In fact, I kind of mumbled about  it and was pretty sure we wouldn't do it again. Until...

She went to dress rehearsal. She was in full costume, with excitement about wearing simple make-up, and I watched her dance. I almost had tears in my eyes. She enjoyed it, seemed confident, and she did really well!

I don't have many pictures from her recital night since we weren't allowed to take pictures. But she looked beautiful, and she beamed with joy.



The recital was three hours. She danced in three dances, one of which was to the song "Gold" by Britt Nicole. I was thankful for that. I still have my personal thoughts on dance, but we have signed her up for another year of dance. And I think we're both excited. 

End of the School Year

*Gasp* Summer break is coming too quickly to an end, and I have yet to write about the end of last school year. Seems like just yesterday.

The 5th graders always have an egg drop competition the last week of school. They work with a partner to design something to protect an egg, and then rest of the school comes outside to watch the eggs get dropped from the roof. The 5th graders hold up a red stick if their egg broke and a green stick if it didn't break.

Mr. Seeba drops the egg while our principal (wearing a chicken hat) announces. It truly is a fun activity.

 

 He goes Analise's egg...

 It survived in one piece! They called theirs the "Flying Egg-le."

 Also at the end of the year, they have a 5th grade graduation. The kids watch a slideshow of their school year, and it also shows each student with a baby picture, followed with their school picture. The kids love it. They then get a diploma. It's such a sweet night, and I think I enjoyed it more than any other parent since I worked with these students almost every day.

After the ceremony, the kids take pictures with friends and sign books. I was happy for Analise, yet sad she had finished elementary school.

Here she is with her good friend, Ally.

 So thankful for these Christian friends.

 Oh how we loved Ms. Riley; she's moving and won't be back next year. I'm not sure who was more sad - Analise or me. I went to tell her goodbye on the last day, and we just looked at each other and had tears in our eyes. It was a quick goodbye, but I hope to stay in touch. As a para in 5th grade, I get to know the teachers well.

 Analise had Mrs. Nelson for the occasional math or SS class and loved her. Mrs. Nelson was Brandon's neighbor growing up, and she even came to our wedding!

 And the lone male teacher in the building - Mr. Seeba.

 I see these pictures several weeks later, and my heart is sad she won't be with these sweet kids every day.

 The proud parents (who had to dress like this in May because it was so cold)

 There was an assembly the last day of school. Analise got a certificate for being the top reader (most AR points) in 5th grade.

 And then the real surprise for her was when she found out the teachers had voted on her artwork to be hung at the school until she graduates.

 Here she is with her art teacher.

 Last day with Mrs. Longshore - Maisie had a great year with her.

 And Ms. Vacek will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Maisie's class voted her as the "best girl athlete." She thought that was pretty cool.

 

So as I look back to our 2014-15 school year, I am thankful. Thankful for the teachers in their lives, the friends they have, and that they don't dread school each day. I'm also thankful I get to be a part of the staff; this year had its own perk with my opportunity to teach Maisie's class for 12 weeks. I love seeing the girls throughout the day, and I am really going to miss having Analise around next year. I know it's a part of letting go, but that doesn't make it any easier.

The only thing I wish could have happened this past year was reaching 100 sub days. (Would have increased pay this coming year). I missed it by five or fewer days. :(

What a fast, fun and great school year we all had!