Leah Lately

 

In the midst of this very unique season for our family, I am elated to report that L&L are thriving.  The best way to share some of their spring activities is to create a post for each kid.  Here are some of Leah's highlights lately:

Leah just wrapped up another great soccer season. We LOVE watching her play, and I think her coach is pretty great, too!

In February, Leah fell and hurt her knee, which meant several weeks on crutches and wearing a knee immobilizer.  Luckily, this didn't slow down Leah at all, and she healed quickly:

During this time, Student Council officers delivered Valentines to residents at a local assisted living facility.  This was a sweet afternoon for both the senior citizens and the kids, who delivered over 700 handmade cards drawn by ORES students:

Our Hamilton-loving girl received tickets for Christmas and couldn't wait until the April show date.  The verdict is that Hamilton lived up to all the hype and Leah absolutely loved it!  

In the Room Where it Happened...

Not throwing away her shot!

Grandparents + Hamilton = One happy girl!

Leah also celebrated her first communion in April.  We are so proud of you, Peanut!

A few hodgepodge pictures from this spring:

Leah is the best snuggler!

She's a pretty good baker, too!

Holding her class flag for the school BoosterThon Fun Run!

Leah was chosen to be on her school's Battle of the Books (BoB) Team this year.  The group met weekly and memorized details from the 15 books that they read.  In March, they competed against other schools in a virtual competition and they placed first in their division!  They advanced to the next round and competed in the district finals, where they placed 4th.  This is an amazing accomplishment, and Leah was the speaker for her BoB team, which meant that she announced the final answer for each competition question:

Our spring piano recital was the first in-person recital since the fall of 2019 (due to COVID).  Leah played three pieces and did a beautiful job.  It was wonderful to hear the musicians perform in front of an audience again!

Camp Hanes is the 5th grade field trip that students at ORES look forward to the most, and is legendary at our school.  Luke's class is the last group that was able to go to Camp Hanes due to the pandemic, and we were so fortunate that field trips returned this spring and that Leah had the opportunity to go.  She had the BEST day kayaking, exploring water ecology, zip lining, and leading team building activities:

Leah was the first one in her class to do the zip line!

Jump Rope Club held its spring performance and showed off a special routine set to music.  We are always so impressed by what tricks these kids can do, and Leah had a lot of fun in Jumpers this year:

ORES Running Club met weekly after school this spring to train for a 5K. They held their race in May, and Leah was awesome, crossing the finish line with her best 5K time to date:

ORES Running Club

Crossing the finish line!

The race was fun, but Kona Ice afterward may have been the best part!

Field Day was back this year, and always seems to fall on a 90+ degree day.  Thankfully, there were lots of stations that included water fun, and the kids were soaked by the end of the day.  Leah loves Field Day, and it's hard to believe that this is her last one:

As ORES Student Council Vice President, Leah sat on the stage with teachers/administrators for the school's two awards ceremonies this week.  She led the Pledge of Allegiance and was recognized for many club awards, including Safety Patrol, Morning Show, Running Club, Battle of the Books, Jump Rope Club, and Student Council.  I don't think we realized how many extra curricular activities Leah participated in this year until we heard her name called repeatedly at her awards ceremony:

ORES Student Council Officers on stage.

Student Council recognition.

Leah was also one of two 5th grade students chosen for the Library/Media Outstanding Student Award.  This honor is so fitting for our voracious reader!

5th graders leave their mark on the walls of Oak Ridge Elementary, and when they return as graduating 12th graders to do their Senior Walk, they find their handprints.  I can't imagine the day my baby walks down these halls in her cap and gown!

Leah received the Peace Maker award at her class awards ceremony.  She is beloved by all of her classmates and teachers, and has certainly had a wonderful spring.  5th grade graduation will be included in a separate post, but it has been a remarkable year for our little girl!

Leah with her wonderful teacher, Ms. Boggess.

Easter, Spring Break, and a Birthday Boy!

 

Easter weekend fell at the beginning of Spring Break this year, and the Easter Bunny remembered to stop by our house:

We watched online church outside on the porch, and Millie seemed enamored with the Praise Band:

The kids were excited to do "Mimi's annual Easter Egg Hunt" in the afternoon:

Dying Easter eggs is still a fun activity for L&L, despite this completely teenage face that Luke is giving the camera:

Leah was invited to several egg hunts with friends in the week leading up to Easter, and her basket always seemed to be overflowing with eggs:

We canceled our Spring Break trip to the Grand Canyon (AGAIN!), and will hopefully reschedule when Mommy is well.  Instead, we drove to Grandpa's house in SC and had a great few days there.  On Tuesday, we took the kids to the Broadway Grand Prix Family Race Park for a day of go karts and mini golf:

This was the first time that Leah has been old enough to ride in a go kart by herself, and she cracked us up with her fearless driving.  Here she is, smoking the rest of the competition, and leading the entire pack:

L&L pulling out of the start.

Mini golf.

Luke's 14th birthday was Wednesday of Spring Break week, and it was fun to open presents at Grandpa's house:

Chocolate cake for our choco-holic!

We took our birthday boy to Top Golf for a morning of golf games, and went to the beach in the afternoon.  Not a bad way to spend your birthday! 

On Thursday, we took a day trip to Charleston.  We rode the ferry to Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired:

The U.S.S. Yorktown is docked in the Charleston Harbor, and is a legendary WWII aircraft carrier that participated in 3 wars.  The kids' great-grandfather was the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Yorktown during the Pueblo Crisis in the Korean War, and it was special for us to see this ship in person:

We walked through the Charleston City Market, ate lunch outside, and took a guided horse-drawn carriage tour of the city's charming historic district:

Such a fun Easter/Birthday/Spring Break week!

Cancer, Now What?

 

We interrupt life as previously scheduled to share the news of Carrie's breast cancer diagnosis.  Never in a million years did I think I'd be typing these words.  This seemingly came out of nowhere and has rocked our world.  However, we know that cancer is just a chapter in our family's story, and I hope to resume blog posts documenting brighter days in the future.  In the meantime, I have set up a Caring Bridge site for family and friends to follow my cancer journey:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/carriewinterhoff

We are asking that you pray for our family during this time.