Road Tripping

We've just returned from our annual trek to visit Brian's family in Dover, DE.  The drive is always a long one, but the kids have done it many times and are pretty good at sitting in the car for extended periods.  On the way up, we split our travel time over a two-day period.  This gave us time to stop at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and enjoy a sit-down meal at our favorite little Italian restaurant on the Delmarva peninsula.  We arrived in Delaware just in time to see American Pharaoh win the Triple Crown- how exciting!  On the way back home we just did one long driving day.  We did a lot in our time up north, so I will be doing extra posts on those things.  Here I have posted pictures of us road tripping and of our stop at the bridge-tunnel.

Blast to the Past VBS

Our church held its VBS during the first week of June. Somehow I ended up being the VBS director this year, and I now have a new appreciation for all of those who have done this job before me.  Our theme was "Blast to the Past", and it was a really well put together program. The kids "traveled through time" to learn about God's love.  All week long, the kids participated in games, crafts, Bible learning, snack, and missions activities.  All of the mission projects were aimed at helping our church and local community.  The kids wrote cards to elderly/ shut-ins, planted trees, helped to re-decorate part of the Sunday School building, and made large snack boxes for community workers.  On the last night, the firemen, police, and EMTs arrived to pick up their snack boxes and brought all of their vehicles for the kids to check out.  That was a definite hit.  We had a good turnout- especially considering that a lot of other churches in town were having their VBS the same week that we did.  I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful church family.

Lil Lady Gator Basketball Camp

It is common for many of the athletic teams in our school district to hold day camps during the week of post-planning.  Most have a minimum age limit of 8, so Olivia was finally able to participate this year.  She (along with Ava and Claire) attended the Lil Gator's Basketball Camp.  This was a three-day camp.  On the last day, there was a little awards ceremony where all of the girls received a t-shirt and certificate.  There were also a few individual awards.  Ava and Olivia both received a few of these.  Olivia got candy for winning the dribble game, and she got the hustle award.  The prize for the hustle award was a basketball, so she was really excited about this.  Olivia had fun at this camp, and it was a good way to keep her occupied while I was at work.

Bailey's Graduation

 Talk about feeling old- last year my ring bearer graduated- this year it's one of my flower girls.  Brian, the kids, and I attended Bailey's high school graduation last weekend.  Bailey is graduating from the high school where I teach, so I got to take this great shot from my seat (on the field).  We are so proud of Bailey and all of her accomplishments.  She has dedicated herself to academics and to her golf- and both are paying off for her.  In the week leading up to graduation, her golf team won the state championship.  She will be attending Armstrong State on a golf scholarship next year.  I am so proud of my baby cousin.

Honor's Day

 Olivia and Owen's school recently held their Honor's Day Program, and both kids were recognized.  Owen received an award for having all "A" honor roll.  He also got a t-shirt for having perfect attendance.

 Olivia received awards for having all "A" honor roll and perfect attendance.  She also scored the highest in her class on the end of the year math and science assessments, so she was recognized for that as well.  We are proud of the academic accomplishments of both of our kids this year, and we hope that they keep up the good work.

Softball / Baseball

 We have just wrapped up our softball / baseball season.  Both kids were on the pitching machine this year.  This was Olivia's second year on the machine and she did pretty well.  She hit more than she missed, and got on base most of the time.  She volunteered to play catcher, and she loved playing this position. She was also really happy to be on the same team as Ava and Claire.

 This was Owen's first year on the pitching machine, and it was a definite learning experience for him.  A lot of the boys in his age group are already playing year-round or travel ball, so there were lots of kids in his league with more experience than him.  Still, he enjoyed himself and did get better as the season wore on.  Owen played in the outfield and did a good job of fielding the ball when it came to him.

Both kids received a trophy for participating in ball this year.  They have both said that they would like to play again next year, so I guess that means that they had fun this year.

Blast

 The kids participate in the church's Blast program on Wednesday nights.  During this time, the kids attend a class and choir.  The focus of the class this year was the Parables of the New Testament.  The kids learned about a new parable each month and completed activities related to each story. The kids also completed several service projects this year- including goody bags for the nursing home, raising money to buy a sheep for a family in a developing country, and donating teddy bears and blankets to a local home for abused women and children.  Even more recently, the Blast kids hosted a car wash to help raise money for redecorating the Blast room.  The kids raised over $400 at the car wash, so it was a success.  Olivia and Owen had such a great time at Blast this year and can't wait for it to start back next school year.