May 2024

 

May has been a month of celebrations and has included lots of End-of-School-Year events!  We kicked off the month with Leah's confirmation at church.  For the past 2 years, Leah has attended weekly confirmation classes, done service projects, served on ministry teams, and completed weekly discussion guides.  Her confirmation class includes some awesome kiddos (and instructors!) and we are so proud of Peanut for her declaration of her faith:

Confirmation class and teachers

Leah's confirmation verse

Rite of confirmation

Pastor Elliott with our family.

It was extra special to celebrate with family, and we hosted a taco bar lunch (for Cinco de Mayo!) to celebrate our sweet confirmand after the service:

Playing cards with Bean & Poppy.

Luke was inducted into the National German Honor Society this month and received several awards.  The German program at NWHS is one of the largest in the state (with over 300 students) and Frau Worthington & Herr Bowden do so much to make German fun and engaging for the kids.  There are some exciting travel and cultural opportunities next year with the German Club and we can't wait!

Luke received the highest honor (Gold Award) for scoring in the top 10% of the country on the Level 2 National German Exam this spring:

2024 National German Honor Society Inductees:

Luke was also one of 4 students in the state of North Carolina to receive the National German Exam Book Award.  Way to go, Bubbie!

May brought spring band concerts and recognition for both kiddos. A friend was able to get some great shots of Leah playing her French Horn during her performance:

Leah also plays in the NWMS Jazz Band and has gone into school early 2 days/week since January for morning rehearsal.  She plays Grandpa's trumpet in the Jazz Band, and she had a solo in one of the pieces:

Leah received awards for being selected for All County and All District Band this year:

Awesome job, Leah!  We love listening to you play!

Luke was recognized at his spring band concert for his participation in All County (1st chair), All District (1st chair), and All State Band (4th chair), as well as UNC-G Honors Band (1st chair).  Our music man continues to amaze us with his talent and love of tuba.  

Luke's Spring Rowing Banquet was held in mid-May.  This is a special evening with dinner, a slideshow of photos/videos, and a tribute to the graduating seniors on the team:

 One of their favorite traditions is the Seniors' "Last Launch" in the barge, where the team takes them onto the lake for a final row:

As the parents stood on the shore and watched, the barge seemed to  lower and lower in the lake.  We realized that there was too much weight in the boat and it was taking on water with each stroke.  In a Titanic-inspired moment, the rowers playfully shouted, "I'll never let go, Jack!" and huddled together on the last section of barge that was not submerged.  They ended up treading water (wearing dress clothes and shoes) and holding their phones above their heads until the coaches were able to power up the launch boats to rescue everyone.  Many kids on the team are lifeguards and they are well trained in water safety as rowers, and all ended up safe and sound on land.  This unexpected twist ended up being one of the best/most memorable parts of the spring season and the kids had a blast.  Here's a little collage of the series of events:

What an eventful end to an epic rowing season!

We visited Grandpa for Memorial Day Weekend.  Luke started work at the pool, so he stayed home in NC while the rest of us had a beach weekend in SC.  We played mini golf and enjoyed a relaxing couple of days over the long weekend:

Leah finished her spring soccer games this month, and this was the first season that Mark didn't coach.  He thoroughly enjoyed being a fan on the sidelines and we love this special team of girls.  Many of them have been playing together since they were itty bitty, and we recreated this sweet soccer memory of Leah with 2 of her friends:

As we wrap up May, we are counting down the last few days until school's officially out. Bring on summer vacation!