Space Camp

 The kids had their first sleep-away camp experience this summer.  Brian and I decided to send them to Space Camp Robotics in Huntsville, Alabama.  We were all a little nervous because this was their first time away from home- and they were very far away.  I took me nine hours to drive to Huntsville.  All of our worry was for nothing, though.  The kids adjusted well to being away from us and had a a great time. 

 I dropped the kids off on Sunday.  After check-in, we headed to their dormitories to help them set up their bed.  Owen was in habitat 2, which was obviously the older of the dorm buildings.  He was in the Orion room with about fifty other boys. It sounds like he had a typical camp experience with other excited boys.  He said that some of them would cut up and make "pooting" noises after lights out and that counselors would have to come in a check on them with some frequency.  Good times.

 After setting up Owen's room, we headed to habitat 1 where Olivia's room was located.  Habitat 1 is the newer building and the rooms here are set up like suites.  Olivia shared a room with six other girls- all of whom were on her robotics team.  They had a nicely painted room, individual storage closets, and places to sit.  In other words, Olivia's room was much nicer than Owen's.  When we walked in, Owen was like "what the heck?"  Because her room was so much smaller, Olivia was able to develop friendships with her bunk mates more easily.  There's one friend in particular that she hit it off with, and they've even called each other twice since they've been home from camp.

 The kids participated in many space-related activities throughout the week, but the main task was for their team to develop robots that could accomplish a series of tasks.  The teams were set up like businesses who were trying to win a contract.  Olivia and Owen were both on team Gear, but were assigned to different parts of the overall task.  Olivia's robot had to push buttons while Owen's had to knock down a wall.  Other members of their team worked on additional parts of the overall task.  In the end, their team was successful and beat the other teams to win the contract. 

I liked that the kids worked with the Lego robotics system at camp.  They use VEX at school, and I think that it was good for them to have to try something new.  The camp also introduced the kids to binary code, working with drones, and working with SeaPerch underwater robots.  I thought that, curriculum wise, it was a very well-rounded camp program.  They also got to meet an astronaut, which is pretty cool.

 Both kids had their ipods with them and could use the Wifi to text me during their meals.  Owen apparently forgot this because he didn't send me a single message all week.  Thank goodness for Olivia- she sent me a message almost every day.  I missed them and kept wondering how things were going.  Hearing from Olivia was reassuring for me.  I think the kids took being away from home better than I did.  They may have been a little homesick at first, but got over it quickly once they got involved with all of the camp activities. Either way, I was glad when Friday arrived.  I drove back to Huntsville to attend their graduation ceremony and pick them up.  The graduation was held in the museum right underneath the Saturn V rocket.  The kids had their name called and walked across the stage where they received a folder which contained a photo of their team, a graduation certificate, and a discount coupon to register for next year's camp.  They both dug the coupon out first and handed it to me before we even left the building.  I think that's a hint that they want to go back next year.

Olivia's 5th Grade Graduation

 Olivia's last day of elementary school was marked by a graduation / honor's ceremony.  Prior to entering the mulit-purpose room for graduation, the students marched down the halls of their school one last time where the kids in the lower grades lined the halls to give them a proper send-off.  The graduates then entered the mulit-purpose room where they sang their class song (Hall of Fame), heard from a guest speaker- their teacher Mr. Bell, and received their awards and certificates.  Olivia wore a yellow cord around her neck because she "graduates" with an A average.  She also wore an academic tribute medal for finishing in the top 10% of her class.  Olivia will certainly miss her elementary school.  We have had nothing but positive experiences here.  She has had fantastic teachers and has made some great friends.  It's a little sad that we have to move on, but at the same time she is lookig forward to middle school.

Owen's Honors

 Owen had a great year in fourth grade.  He had amazing teachers and great friends in his class.  He learned a lot and received honors at the end of the school year.  He was recognized for having all A's, being in the honor society, and for the various activities that he participated in.

 Owen was also recognized at the academic boosters ceremony and received an academic letter.  If he continues to participate in school competitions, he may eventually earn a letter jacket.  We sure are proud of our little buddy's hard work.

End of Year Church Activities

The Blast children's program at church is winding down for the summer.  The kids learned about the fruit of the spirit this year.  Each month they focused on a different "fruit" and participated in a mission project.  They also preformed several plays for the church during the year. To reward them for their hard work, they took a trip to Rebounderz.  The kids spent a couple of hours jumping on the trampolines, playing video games, and doing the ninja warrior course.  They had a blast for sure.

This is Olivia's last year participating in the Blast program.  She will be moving up to Youth next year. (!!!!) .  On the last Wednesday night supper of the year, the "senior" blast students were recognized and were presented with a devotional.  She is certainly going to miss her Blast group.

Spring Sports

The kids both participated in a spring sport this year.  Olivia played softball with the rec. department.  They had games both in town and in Alma.  She mostly played catcher, which is her favorite position, and she even caught a pop fly in one of the games. When she wasn't catching, she was in the outfield and she did a good job playing in that position as well.

 I had planned to sign Owen up for baseball again, but he let me know real quick that his baseball days were over.  His age division in baseball is live-pitch, and he is not a fan of that.  The rec department had so much success with the soccer program in the fall, that they decided to do a spring soccer league.  Owen likes soccer a lot, so he decided to play that instead of baseball.  The only downside was that his games frequently coincided with Olivia's softball games, so I only got to see Owen play a few times.  Brian went to all of the soccer games, though, and gave me a full report of each one.  Owen played goalie and improved a lot as the season went on.  He started kicking the ball much farther and he blocked several important shots. 

Relay for Life

 It has been a tradition for the Brian's Toys R Us store to "do it up big" at the Valdosta Relay for Life.  Even though his store closed it's doors in late April, the employees were still determined to have one last hurrah at the cancer walk.  Their theme this year was "Al's Toy Barn: Putting Cancer Out of Business".  Clever, right?  They used all of the sale signs to help decorate their area.  Olivia and Owen also got to attend this year, and they had a blast.  Olivia won the hula hoop contest- which lasted for fifteen minutes.  Owen won the scavenger hunt musical chairs.  The TRU area took home the top prize (again) for having the best area.  I think that it is so amazing that the workers stayed committed to this event despite all that had been going on at the store.  We are sure going to miss the TRU family!

Spring Family Time

 We have been so lucky to get to spend lots of time with our family this spring, and that makes us really happy.

We have taken every opportunity to hang with the babies.  Maren is close by, and we love seeing her precious little face.  We also had a visit from the Berks in late April and were able to celebrate John Daniel's first birthday with him. 

We go see Granny and Papa about once a week.  They get lots of company and are doing well. 

Melanie bought a house that is about mile away from us.  She is in the process of furnishing it and then she will be over here a lot more.  We are all excited about this.

 My cousin Bailey and her boyfriend Blake have gotten engaged and will be married next March.  It is a family tradition that we all go wedding dress shopping together, so she made the appointment and we packed out that little wedding boutique.  She found a dress, and it looks amazing on her.  She is going to be a beautiful bride for sure.

Our town sponsored a "Beats and Eats" event in early May.  A large number of our family members showed up with our lawn chairs, ate a variety of food from the delicious food trucks, and listened to a really good Journey tribute band.  This such a fun event, and was so successful that they are planning to do it again. 

 We have had a great spring, and are looking forward to a fun-filled summer.