CGS2023

The girls had another best-week-ever at Camp Grady Spruce. They went back to Color Wars again this year with some same friends from prior years.

They love being at the start of the alphabet because that means an earlier arrival time and bunk selection. Emma choose one near the corner of the cabin.        

Sara chose one right in the middle of the cabin. Our goodbyes this year were pretty quick - they were ready for us to go so they could get started with their week!     

I love that CGS keeps us in the loop during the week with a photo app. We looked several times a day to see if photos had been added.

Night One! They don't spend tons of time together at camp, but I like knowing they are there together-ish. 

        

Emma and Greyson were there together again.

Color Wars!

Lake Time! Both girls did canoeing and paddle boarding. Sara also learned how to wakeboard and really enjoyed it. One day, they boated out and swam off the boat at Devil's Island.  The daily free swim is fun, too, and Emma said she had a pretty huge belly flop off of the blob.                                   

Practicing Lip Sync

 

Dancing at the Social

Games!  

Final Campfire Skit

 These faces say it all! I love these little glimpses into their personalities really coming out and shining at camp. When I ask them to take pictures, the girls are so reserved, so it's fun to see them just having fun and being kids.

     

Cabin 4 

Cabin 10

The End ... they are always so sad when it's over, but they leave tired and fulfilled, already planning for the next summer. Steve and I really missed the girls this year and realized how much our "social" life depends on their busy schedules and activities. We enjoyed our quiet time together, went to several happy hours, and ate good food ... but found ourselves always wondering what the girls were up to at camp. We survived, though - ha! - and more than anything, I'm so glad they love getting off the grid and enjoying the great outdoors at CGS. I know it will always have a special place in their hearts!

Soccer Shots

A couple of weekends ago, Emma played a *hot* tournament with her new coach (sort of the new team - it was a mix of girls). She is still not 100% happy about the move, but we really feel like it's best for her in the long run. One of the parents got some great action shots. Emma is wearing #18 in these photos ...

This girl gave it everything she got, and they just missed the finals, but had many great moments over the weekend. I always love watching her play.

When not playing a sport, Emma has spent lots of time the past few weeks playing Rummikub. In fact, the box hasn't been put away since G&G were here over Memorial Day. We have all taken turns winning, but Emma seems to have a corner on the market!

 

This summer will be filled with more soccer, plus summer leagues for softball and basketball. And probably lots more Rummikub.

Sara Spotlight

Sara has had quite a start to her summer! She spent many Saturdays throughout the school year volunteering with a special needs dance class, and their recital was the first Saturday of June. I was so proud to watch her lead her buddy in the dance - she was so poised and mature. 

This program has opened her eyes and her heart this year, and she's hoping to continue next year.

Her buddy's mom gave her a thank you gift in the form of a Lululemon gift card, which was the icing on the cake!

Sara also applied for a job with the city to work as a swim teacher assistant. There are not tons of jobs for 14-year-olds, but this is one of them. 

She filled out lots of paperwork, took it to the city, had to do a drug test, and is ready to get started after camp!

She was also super excited to get all of her high school cheer gear! Her team had a pool party with big/little reveal and gifts, and their coach handed out all of their new swag.

The girls had fun bonding before heading off to cheer camp at TCU. 

I only heard from Sara a couple of times during camp - they were up early, practiced all day, and then back in the dorms late. Sara was exhausted, but had a great time ... and was so excited to text me that she was awarded All American for the second year in a row!

On Saturday, I went over to TCU to watch the team perform. They've come a long way in a short time and I'm excited to watch them continue to grow. 

Wolfpack!

All American

Also on Sara's summer to-do list: online driver's ed (just the course portion). She works so hard and is turning into the most amazing young lady. I love being part of her journey.

Finally Summer!

 OMG - as I'm looking through photos, I'm realizing how long it's been since I posted an update ... and also how quickly this spring literally FLEW by. This is about to be SO many pictures, but for my memory - and for my girls' - I'm going to do it. Here goes the recap ... starting Easter weekend.

Emma guest-played in a tournament with a new team. It was a year up, so many of the girls were quite a bit bigger and older. As always, I was so proud of her effort on the field.  

It wasn't the successful weekend she's become used to, but it was a new challenge and lots of fun!

Jody and the girls came to town that weekend, too, and I'm realizing now I didn't get any photos. We had a lazy Easter Sunday when Emma woke up not feeling well. I guess I didn't take any photos of baskets, either. I did get a picture of Jim enjoying his Easter treats. We spent most of the drizzly day watching the Master's and getting some much needed rest!

Around that time, Emma was excited to give daily reports on the eggs that were incubating in her classroom. She was so happy to finally get to hold a baby chick!

The Diamond Darlings played another tournament. After an ugly loss on day one, they fought their way back to win it all. A little pitcher-catcher pep talk ...

Sara reluctantly showed up for the championship game (probably because she knew we'd go to dinner afterwards). She acts annoyed but I know she's proud of her little sis!

Another ring for the collection!

In early May, Emma and I took a road trip to San Antonio with her soccer team. We left school early on a Friday to make the trek south.

Our hotel had a great pool and outdoor area that we enjoyed all weekend long!

The girls played hard and dominated their bracket.

We had several rain delays resulting in lots of mud ...

In the end, they lost the final in PKs. They were disappointed, but the weekend was full of fun memories. We rolled in late on Sunday night, exhausted but glad we went.

Later that week, Emma was so excited to play in the teacher/student kickball game. This is always the 4th grade auction item, and Emma has been talking about it since kinder. Steve went to watch and got a great video of Emma pitching and then throwing out a teacher at 1st! In the end, the teachers won (but Emma says they cheated - ha!).

On Mother's Day we were excited to go see our first Rough Riders game. We enjoyed the stadium festivities for a while before the game was called due to rain.

We went out to dinner instead and exchanged our tickets for another time.

Within days, end of year festivities were happening. Sara has been over middle school for a while - ready for the next step - but she enjoyed the celebrations with her friends.

We attended the 8th grade awards ceremony, where Sara received several awards - including President's Gold Award for academic achievement, Heart of Robinson for PACE, and Most Dedicated for cheer.

Bada$$ Sara

Sweet Sara - super proud of this amazing young lady. She is so ready for high school and I'm excited to see what it has in store for her. I'm definitely not wishing away these years because I know I'll blink and they'll be gone - but I am excited to watch her experience it all!

Meanwhile, Emma's student council group put up a Little Free Library at her school as an end of year gift.

She also worked with her friends on the 4th grade green mall. They made t-shirt cinch sacks and she worked for hours on making sure their shop had a full inventory for the younger shoppers!

We ended the year with one last tournament with her team - this time as Texans instead of Solar. Her coach made a surprise change to a different club, which came at the right time as it confirmed for us that it was time to move on. Steve and I have gone back and forth on this for months - lots of tough conversations. In the end, we decided we need to take a step back from this crazy select life and evaluate what's best for Emma. She wants to continue to play multiple sports, and the team she's been with just isn't going to allow that. At ten, we're not ready to force her into a decision she's not ready to make. So, we enjoyed one last tournament weekend - it was definitely bittersweet, and then the following Monday let the team know we were stepping away. Emma has played with several of these girls for many years, and we are so thankful for all of the great memories with the awesome group of kids and parents.

Sara came along again ... she was so thrilled.

It was another final that came down to PKs and a second place finish. A tough end, but probably a fitting one.

Also confirming our decision was the fact that, later that week, Emma played in the softball league's all star game again. She dominated! She scored the first run, and then the run a little later that put the team ahead (and ultimately in the winning spot), threw a girl out from catcher to 2nd and made a tag out at shortstop!

We ended the school year with a visit from my parents. It was a relaxing weekend with some walks, some pool time, and some shopping at Scheel's!

Now we've started summer with Plano West softball camp for Emma and cheer practice for Sara. Never a dull moment!

And last night we had our Rough Riders make-up game!

Before the game, Emma hung out near the bullpen and down by the field. She got lots of player autographs and was handed the warm-up ball from the bullpen. She was SO thrilled!

It was a great, relaxing family evening.

Although I'm still working for a few more weeks, I can feel myself relaxing and I need it so badly! The summer will fly by just as quickly as the last few months have done, and the girls will be busy with camps, hanging out with friends, etc. I'm looking forward to enjoying it all. TGI finally summer!