June Means...

Summer is finally here! It always seems to take awhile in Vermont, but it's worth the wait. Because when it's June, that means....

Playing in mud puddles...

Summer reading program & incentives at two different libraries!

Ice cream!

Going to the playground...

Camping in the driveway in our new camper...

Water fun birthday parties with friends and neighbors (These are a few girls that went to preschool with Abi last year. Bailey, the girl next to her, is our neighbor, and still invites her to play regularly.)

And making fun crafts and painting inside when it's too hot outside.

And the summer has only just begun...!

Dance Recital 2019

My dancing queens had another great year of dance this year-- both are no strangers to the stage anymore and love the thrill of the performance. I honestly wasn't as pleased with their classes this year, as they had a new teacher who was younger and less experienced as a teacher. They still had fun and learned a few things but I don't know that they were challenged as much. The show wasn't as amazing as it has been in past years. It was still a lot of fun to watch my girls shine.

Abi's tap number was Shop Around by Smokey Robinson. Her jazz number was Can't Buy Me Love, the Beatles. Abi seemed to be a bit of a leader in her class somehow-- all the girls tended to look at her feet during the dance (when they weren't looking off side stage at their teacher). She also had a big smile on her face the whole time, like she was genuinely having fun. She really made friends with the girls in her class and they were a fun little group!

One of her closest friends, Caroline, was in her preschool class last year, and was also in gymnastics with her this year. They are so sweet!

Leah's tap number was Without Me, by Halsey-- something pretty contemporary for these older, almost middle-school age girls! The jazz number was This Thing Called Love by Queen-- really jazzy & upbeat. They had fun doing that one but this group of girls in general was quiet and reserved, all so focused on dance!

We're not sure what direction we'll go with dance next year, if we'll switch to a different studio or stay the same, or if Abigail will change to gymnastics only-- we will have to see what's in store for my dancing princesses!

Gymnastics, Baseball & Taekwando

The month of May ended up being a super busy one for us, full of extracurricular activities. We usually try to limit the kids to just one outside activity, but they have all shown interest in other things and these tend to be short-term so I want to give them a chance to try them.

Abi has loved her gymnastics class and can't get enough! She has gotten to try all the different types of equipment and shows no fear!

Jacob even learned to pedal a tricycle while Abi was doing gymnastics. He loved the freedom to ride all over the gym!

And of course, spring also means baseball for this 8-year-old. He's been on a team with lots of boys who have much more experience than him this year, and he's realizing how challenging the sport can be. It doesn't come easy for him and some of the boys haven't treated him great because of it, so he's learning some hard lessons that are so good for him. He still enjoys the sport, though! Their team won maybe half of the games, but at least 3 have been cancelled due to rain or wet conditions!

Andrew is also still going strong with Taekwando and I love the sport! I love that it is competitive, but only with himself. He wants to improve himself for him and no one else. I love that his classmates are generally encouraging and they usually offer positive encouragement to everyone. I love that his instructor pushes him without being rude or even seeming pushy. I love that he can get his energy out in a positive way.

On the same day as the girls' dance recital, Andrew tested for his red belt. This is one belt before black! So if he keeps it up, he will have a black belt in a year. This will be the hardest year, though. Much more is expected of him. He has to memorize about 8-10 "patterns" of kicks & punches, plus learn harder kicks. We are so proud of his dedication to this sport. Although I still think he secretly hopes to become a ninja one day.

AWANA Games & Awards

Another year of AWANA at WCC is in the books! We had a big group of regularly attending kids this year, and though they were often loud & rambunctious, they grow on you & had a lot of fun. I think even the kids from non-Christian homes learned a lot and grew a lot in faith.

The last few Game Times of the year were pretty fun. We try to make this an exciting time in order to keep the kids excited about coming back. We bought some roller scooters to play some new games. They proved to be a little dangerous at times, but the kids liked them! (And the grown-ups too!)

They love playing games outside the last few weeks where it is finally warm enough and light enough. The boys especially like tug of war and rope games. They found out they needed some work on team work and communication.

The last night's presentation is always a good time to show off to the church family what the kids have learned. Abigail finished her first Sparks book this year (actually 2 times through!) and did an amazing job! I was concerned she would have a hard time, not being a reader, but she aced her verses each week and even went through the Review Book.

I taught the T&T group (3rd-6th grade) each week and they always ask interesting questions and really made me think through the lessons a little more deeply. Leah and Andrew both finished their books, as well-- Leah her third and Andrew his first. They love proving to themselves they can do it all the way through and working hard on memorizing each section.