Sunday, June 5, 2016

School's Out for the Summer (for almost all of us)!!


Hello All!


I could not be more thrilled to mark the beginning of summer break. It is always nice to slow down and have more time to enjoy the kids.


The last week of school was a short but very busy one.  Wednesday was Field Day at the school. This year the PTA dads were in charge of organizing. Moms still came to help, but it was so nice to not be “in charge” of anything but rather to just show up and lend a hand. The dads did an amazing job incorporating new fun activities and one even hauled out a huge sound system and played 80’s music the whole time. It was awesome. The kids loved it.


Thursday Tennessee and I walked with Eva’s class to a park a couple miles from the school. Once there the kids played a softball game and had lunch.  Then we walked back. It was hot, but very fun. Tennessee loved every minute and enjoyed being the center of attention.  Eva was a trouper because, after walking 4 miles, playing softball and practicing their grade-level dance, she went to soccer try outs for 2 hours.  Quite the feat since temperatures are hitting the 90’s already.


Naiya also had try outs, but for her it was more of a practice since her coach already invited her to come play up a year on the 04 team for next season. Both girls played hard in the heat and collapsed into bed (after a quick cool shower) when we got home.


Friday was the last day of school.  The tradition at Quail Hollow is that in the morning the kids meet their teacher for the next year and then they have a dance festival where each grade performs a dance.  Naiya’s class got to watch a movie while he other kids met their teachers since they will be moving on to middle school.  Eva was a little disappointed because her teacher was probably her last choice if she got to choose, but honestly I don’t think there are any bad teachers in the 5th grade and I am certain she will have a good year even if “all” of her friends got into one of the other classes together.  I think she will survive.


After school on Friday we met up with a friend of mine to have a late lunch and celebrate her birthday. Tennessee was pretty much over all of the activities for the week. I tried to get him to take am early nap, with no luck so by the time we got to lunch, the last things he wanted to do were to sit still, eat, or pretty much cooperate in any way. So yeah, not the best lunch, but you win some, you loose some.


Saturday was jam packed with fun stuff again. Eva had he last game of the season that morning. After that her team met at a local splash pad for a lunch to celebrate their season. Naiya had been getting too much sun and I didn’t want to over-book Tennessee again, so they stayed home with Jared and I got to have some Eva-mom time. It was fun!


After the party, the girls both had their second day of soccer try-outs. It was crazy hot and the try outs were in the middle of the afternoon for 2 hours.  I sat cowering in the shade feeling bad for them, but they were amazingly chipper and energetic despite the heat.


When we got home from all of our activities, my friend dropped off her Bernese Mountain dog, Bear. This is the same family that owned Diesel. A few months after he died last summer they got Bear. He will be one at the end of the month so he is still a bit of a puppy, but he is a great dog and all 3 kids love him. I love that we get to have a dog for a couple week, and Jared loves that we get to send him home after a couple weeks. 😊 Today we started the day off with a nice family (+ Bear) walk nice and early before it got too hot.  I love that having him here encourages us to get out like that early in the morning when the neighborhood is quite and calm.


This afternoon we got word that Eva made the team, but that they would like her to play up to an 05 team instead of the  06.  I told you that she has been a little wishy-washy, and when I saw her face as I read her the e-mail I knew that this team would not be for her. They are planning on playing 3 tournaments this summer and playing through the winter as well.  Eva enjoys soccer but is not that committed and was really hoping to slow down over the summer. She really didn’t want to be the one to make the decision. I helped her list some pros and cons of accepting the spot on the team and then had her read it over and think about it reminding her that she could still play on a rec league or the AYSO league that is not comp and just plays fall and spring.  After some thought, she decided to go with the AYSO regular league. We let them know right away so that they can fill her spot still.


I won’t lie and say that it is not a little bit of a relief to me.  I love watching my girls play soccer, but if she had joined the comp team, we would have pretty much lived soccer all summer between the two girls and 6 tournaments. Plus I just don’t think soccer is a LOVE for Eva the way it is for Naiya.  She made a good choice, and I am proud of her for putting careful thought into her decision and making it for herself.


I am about a quarter of the way through my last class of the term with hopes of being finished by the end of June. That will get me just past the ½ way mark in the program and allow me some time to study for the Praxis that I will need to take in August.  Fingers crossed that I will stay motivated and on track despite the draw of fun times in the sun.


Jared is working hard not to be too bummed out about all the fun things he misses out on in the summer. I feel bad that his busiest season is when the kids and I have time to go on adventures and kick back a little more.  It doesn’t help that he usually works Saturdays and ends up pretty spent when he is home.  The girls and I have a secret project in mind to quietly work on some of the yard projects that Jared has planned to do so that we can free up some of his time and maybe fit in a camping trip or two this summer.  (shhhh!)


Other than that, we are ready to jump into summer in full swing this week. I sat down with each girl this evening and wrote some summer goals.  They have big plans. It should be fun!


Hope you all are doing fantastic and are finding ways to beat the heat. We need to plan some fun cousin get-togethers (for the Utah families) and take full advantage of the season.


 XOXO

Lucie et al.
 

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