Baseball / Softball

The kids participated in rec baseball/softball this spring.  Olivia moved up to the 9-10 year old division of softball.  This is still played with the pitching machine.  She did a pretty good job with her hitting and fielding this year.  She spent most of her time at catcher- which is her favorite position.  

 Owen played on pitching machine in the 7-8 year old division this year.  He played third base, and he really liked this position.  He got better at batting as the season wore on.  I think he goes to live-pitch next year, so we'll probably need to work on those batting skills a little more before next year.  Both Olivia and Owen continue to enjoy playing baseball/softball.

Battle of the Books

This year Olivia was a member of the Battle of the Books team, and at the beginning of May they had their one-and-only competition.  During the school year, members of the BotB team read ten assigned books and then they have to answer very specific questions about the books at the competition.  It's really harder than it sounds because the questions are so specific.  There were sixteen teams competing in the 3rd-4th grade division.  Olivia was the captain of the Wacona 2 team, and they came in fourth.  Most of the kids on her team were 3rd graders, so they'll have another year to compete in this division.  I do not have a picture of Olivia's team.  I thought I had one, but I can't find it.  What I do have, though, is a picture of Olivia with her cousin Ava.  Ava was also the captain of her team, and they finished in third place.  Hannah noted that she loved how these girls are so supportive of each other even though they are on separate teams. They really are.

Olivia participated in a lot of clubs this year, but this one was probably my favorite.  I liked that she was made to read books that she may not have chosen on her own.  If left to her own devices, she would just read those "Wimpy Kid" books over and over.  It also made her read books that were more challenging.  Because she read these books, she was able to earn a lot of AR points and ended up winning the high point trophy for her grade at Honor's Day.  She really liked Battle of the Books and has declared that she wants to do it again next year.

Honor's Day

 Both Olivia and Owen have had really good school years.  They have been blessed with good teachers and have performed well academically.  Their accomplishments were recognized this past week at their respective Honor's Day celebrations.  Owen's Honor's Day was on Wednesday.  He received awards for having all A's, perfect attendance, for having the most AR points in his class, and for having the highest grade on the end-of-year language arts assessment in his class.  He also received the citizenship award.  To me, this is the most important of all of the awards.  

Owen was excited that his grandparents were able to come to his awards ceremony.  Olivia's was on the following day, so Gigi, Papa, and Granny Mel had to come to the school on two consecutive days.  What dedicated grandparents!

 

Olivia's Honor's Day was on Thursday.  It was set up differently than Owen's.  Instead of being organized by the type of award being received, each student was called to the front where they received all of their awards at once. The things they were being honored for were read aloud and were also displayed on a screen.  Olivia received awards for having all A's, for having the most AR points in her class, for the various academic teams that she participated in, and for her Young Author's story.  

 There were a few "special awards" that were given at the end.  Olivia was also called up for this where she was recognized for having the most AR points in her grade.

The kids work really hard all year on their school assignments.  It's really nice that their effort and successes are recognized.

The Burgess Nuptials

 Quincy and Chase's wedding was just lovely.  Quincy looked absolutely beautiful and Chase was very handsome.  They were surrounded by friends, family, and other well-wishers.  Owen donned a tux for his job as ring-bearer, and Olivia finally got to wear the fancy dress that her Nana bought for her.

I know that after organizing four weddings, Mama and Daddy are happy to have done this job for the last time.

 The wedding reception was also lots of fun.  Quincy had arranged for a band to play prior to the entrance of the bride and groom, and then a DJ picked up with the music afterward.  All of the kids got on the dance floor early and we had to practically drag them off.  The festivities lasted well into the night.  We, however, headed home early. It was a happy day for everyone.

Wedding Ready

 Last weekend my baby sister Quincy got married to my wonderful new brother-in-law Chase.  We have been looking forward to this event for some time now, and it was an absolutely wonderful weekend.  The festivities began with the rehearsal and dinner on Friday.  Aunt Libba has been the stand-in at the rehearsal for myself and all of my sisters.  This is the last time that daddy gets to "walk her down the aisle".  Actually, this is the last wedding that Mama and Daddy have to plan- and they couldn't be happier about this fact.

 Following the rehearsal, the families of the bride and groom and the large wedding party (16 bridesmaids and a bridesman!) went to Blueberry Hill restaurant for a meal.  The rustic restaurant was decorated for the event, and their was a great piano player who kept everyone entertained.

 The kids were excited to see their Quarnaccio cousins from Texas.  The kids' tables were full of activity.  It's rare that we get to see this side of the family, so we had to take lots of pictures.

The rehearsal dinner was wonderful and it was a great way to kick off a fantastic wedding weekend.

Rebounderz

We did something a little different for our end-of-the-year Blast celebration this year.  Instead of renting inflatable waterslides like we normally do, we took the kids down to Rebounderz- an indoor trampoline arena- in Jacksonville. The kids got to jump in the big trampoline arena, play dodge-ball on trampolines, jump into the foam pit (a popular activity with all of the kids), play trampoline basketball, do the ninja warrior course, and they each got a pre-loaded video game card. They were also able to choose two additional activities among bowling, laser tag, and laser maze.  The laser maze was the most popular of these activities.


We had a party room rented for three whole hours- and we still had to drag the kids out of that place.  They had a ball.  It was great to see these sweet kids have fun after a year of working hard at Blast

Blast

The kids had a great time participating in the Blast program at church on Wednesday nights this year.  This year's focus was on learning about the twelve disciples. Each month, the kids focused on a new disciple (or disciples) and had a new mission project.  Some of this year's projects included raising money for Stop Hunger Now, sending cards to our servicemen overseas, donating food and supplies to Hooves for Freedom therapeutic riding, making homemade doggy biscuits for service dogs, making crayons to be used as stocking stuffers for the Sycamore Tree families, and collecting cans for the local food bank.  They also "adopted" a great white shark. We are so blessed to have wonderful ladies leading the program.  The kids really did learn a lot this year.  The last Blast night was this week and the kids put on a performance telling what they had learned about the disciples.

Olivia's Wild Adventures Field Trip

 Olivia's class field trip this year was to Wild Adventures.  She was chaperoned by her uncle Sam who enjoyed "watching kids get on a ride and instantly regret it". Olivia was not one of those kids.  She rode all of the rides- including the Twisted Typhoon.  This was the first time that she's been tall enough to ride that.  She's says that it is "the funnest ride ever".  Olivia and Sam had a great time.  When they got home, they both looked like they were ready to collapse.  It was definitely a fun day.