Summer Fun

The kids are beginning their second full week of summer vacation, and we've packed lots of fun into summer break so far.  This weekend we returned to Blueberry Hill, which is our favorite place to pick blueberries each summer.  As we drove up to the farm, Leah exclaimed, "Wow, the blueberry bushes sure have grown since last year!".   A moment later, the farmer who owns Blueberry Hill saw Luke and Leah and told them, "Wow, you guys sure have grown since last year!".  Too cute! 

These children are excellent blueberry pickers (and tasters!), and we're excited to have a giant container of delicious sweet blueberries in the fridge this week.  We've already made blueberry crisp and muffins, and treasure this sweet taste of summertime.  

Another one of our favorite summer activities is Kids Bowl Free.  Children can bowl two free games every single day in the summer through this program, and it was one of the first things that L&L wanted to do last week.  Bowling is such a lovely, air conditioned way to spend a rainy or hot summer morning, and we're thankful for this program each year! 

Another top item on the kids' Week 1 Summer Bucket List was to visit Krispy Kreme.  They never tire of watching the donuts being made, and this was a yummy way to start our day!

 

L&L have also attended two weeks in a row of evening Vacation Bible School.  The local church where Leah attends her Girl Scout meetings held its VBS the first week of summer, and the kids loved being in groups with many of their classmates.  (Mommy also loved that the crew leaders were all parents that we know!).  Our church's VBS was the following week, and the theme was "Deep Sea Discovery" this year.  The decorations were amazing, and the kids created cute crafts and came home singing adorable songs.  Mark and I had a few fun Date Nights and even had the rare opportunity to go out to a child-free dinner with friends, so we are declaring VBS 2017 a win for everyone!      

Luke attended his annual Snack Basketball Camp this past week (see this link for a reminder), and his team won the tournament for his age group.  He had a blast, and has come a long way in his snack choices/basketball skills:

During the mornings while Luke was at camp, Leah and I played at home together.  We built a fort, snuggled, read books, and completed puzzles.  It was a sweet, sweet reminder of our Mommy & Leah Days before kindergarten started, and I savored every moment with my precious Peanut.  

Bubbie also solved his Rubik's cube for the first time last week, and asked me to take a picture of this special moment.  We're so proud of him for sticking with it and not giving up.  Luke has been determined to solve the cube for months, and I have a feeling that it won't be the last time that he does it!

One other fun summer activity to note:  We went golfing last weekend, and returned to the Par 3 golf course that we visit each June.  We joked that we never, ever see anyone else on the course.  We always begin playing right when the course opens in the morning, and think our strategy is brilliant, as we avoid the afternoon heat.  This year, I mentioned to Mark that maybe the joke's on us, as it's possible that the rest of the world sleeps in on summer Saturday mornings...  Nevertheless, our early birds enjoyed this special outing and were very cute in their golf attire:

It's been so much fun to kick off summer with so many of our favorite activities! 

School's Out for Summer!

Due to snow make up days, the last day of school was moved to Monday, June 12.  This seemed so silly to us... to be home for the weekend and go back for one final day.  Over half the school was absent on the last day, as people had travel plans, scheduled summer camps for their children, and decided that it was ridiculous to send their students to school to watch a movie.  The previous week, the children had emptied out the entire contents of their desks and cleaned their classrooms, so I wasn't sure what the teachers were planning on doing on that last Monday.  Nevertheless, L&L weren't about to miss any Last-Day-of-School fun, and Mommy was thrilled to have one final day to prepare for summer.  We took our annual pictures on the porch, and these 2 kiddos certainly look like they've grown up since the first day of school last August: 

 

Winnie sits on the front porch most mornings and watches as L&L wait at the bus stop and get onto the bus.  She's such a sweet, loyal furry sister to these children, and we love her so much!

 

In the afternoons, Winnie waits to hear the sound of the bus, and she and I watch for "Sissie and Bubbie" to come home.  On the last day of school, the kiddos ran at full speed toward us, and positively quivered with excitement!

Mommy had a surprise waiting for Luke and Leah, and we made ice cream sundaes to celebrate our official beginning of summer!

We're so proud of these kids and are celebrating a great school year by exclaiming,

"School's Out for Summer!"

End of the School Year

The end of the school year has been a whirlwind of wonderful activities in our house.  Last Thursday and Friday alone, both kids had Field Day, class parties, awards ceremonies, and End of the Year school celebrations.   Luke was recognized on stage for being on the all A Honor Roll for the entire year, and this picture cracks me up.  Remember how Luke was the only one facing the opposite direction at his preschool Christmas program one year?  Some things never change!  

2016-2017 3rd Grade All-A Honor Roll.

Our Bubbie was also named Terrific Kid last month, and was recognized by the principal in a separate awards ceremony.  Luke's teacher wrote a beautiful, heartfelt message stating the reasons that she nominated our special boy, and this mama had a few tears when I heard Mrs. Price's words read aloud.  We are so lucky to have had a wonderful 3rd grade year for Luke, with a teacher who allows him to truly shine.  

Leah was recognized at the K-2 Awards Ceremony for having perfect attendance this year (which is amazing, considering that Luke missed 9 days due to injury and illness), and was part of a very small group of kindergarteners who apparently have immune systems of steel!

Perfect Attendance Award Recipients! 

 Peanut also received an award for being an outstanding Technology Lab student.  One boy and one girl in each grade are chosen by the "Specials" teachers, and this was a big honor for Leah (and a complete surprise!).

So proud of our girl!

 I was in charge of Leah's class party on Friday, and created a "red carpet" for the kindergarteners to walk down as they received their present/award from their teachers and officially became first graders.  This turned out even cuter than I could have imagined, and all of the students cheered for and gave high fives to each other:

Leah's class party also happened to be held on "pajama day" (hence the interesting outfits), and this adorable class was FULL of energy and excitement as they concluded their last week of kindergarten!

Another momentous end-of-school-year event occured as graduating high school seniors returned to Oak Ridge Elementary to parade down the halls of their alma mater.  Leah's class made a sign and pom poms for this exciting occasion, which was filled with pomp and circumstance:

It's moments like these that reinforce how much we love our little community.  Teachers held up elementary school yearbooks, artwork, and photos of the graduates, and hugged/remembered their former students.  There were balloons and music, and since I'm Room Mom, I was able to be with the kindergarteners for this special celebration as they cheered on their high school role models.   Our local newspaper came to cover the event and this picture "got me".  I can not imagine the day when my babies will return to ORES to find their tiny handprints on the walls...  

With one day of school left, we are immensely thankful for a wonderful year for our two special students, and are ready to say, "Hip, Hip, Hooray for Summer!"