All the Summer Things!

Our summer has absolutely flown by! At the start of the summer, Sara completed her third year of volunteering with Dance Upon a Star, which culminated in the annual recital. I'm so proud of her dedication to this program and her heart for the dancers.

Steve rescued a bunny from the pool and nursed him back to health.

Even thought bringing him in the house was a good idea ... named him Pete.

We made Pete a cozy place to sleep in the garage, and gave him food and water. By the next morning, he'd hopped away!

We celebrated Father's Day with an at-home celebration complete with surf & turf.

Jim is happy anytime we're out by the pool enjoying the sun - although it's been less this year as we've had LOTS of summer rain. This guy loves his fresh air, though.

Sara's team completed UCA cheer camp. It wasn't quite as much fun this year because they did a home camp, but they ended with a pool party and lots of bonding time. I'm hopeful it's a great cheer year for her.

She also talked me into going shopping for Hoco dresses in June ... so early! Her school has an early September Hoco this year, and we found several she really liked. We were hungry after shopping and went for the steak frites at one of our favorite spots (clean plate club!).

Emma took a special trip with my parents to Chicago! I only have a few of the pictures - but she had the very best time! They saw all the hot spots, plus caught games at Wrigley and in Milwaukee. She really loved the Natural History Museum, the University of Chicago, and the capital in Madison. A complete highlight was jumping into 62-degrees Lake Michigan on hot days! I'm so glad she got this special time making memories.

I made a quick 48-hour trip to Minnesota to pick up Emma, and we made time for lots of fun. One of her favorite spots - rides at the Mall of America!

We loved this roller coaster back when the mall opened and it's still so much fun!

We made a trip to the MN Zoo, and Cal said he'd ride a camel if Emma went with him!

Then they went nuts playing games at The Tin Shed ... and he scored lots of treasures in the claw machine!

Emma and Whaler

Emma and I got back from MN and Sara left for camp the next day (separate camp post coming). While Sara was gone, Steve and I enjoyed having some alone time with Emma, who'd been gone for over a week! We enjoyed a Rangers game with several homeruns and a win ... plus $1 hotdog night!

I have a picture just like this of Steve and little Emma from several years ago.

We also had a fun night out where Emma mastered the pinball machine!

The 4th of July started as a pool day, and then the heavy rain came. We still grilled and enjoyed being outside, but under the porch. Thankfully it cleared up in time for fireworks.

We had to find a new spot this year because our usual lot has been developed. We'd heard good things about the top of the parking garage at a nearby mall, where you can see several fireworks displays. We did see multiple shows at once, including the one happening in the parking lot (until security came to stop it) - great while it lasted though!

It was a decent spot - not as good as our old one, so we may or may not try something new next year. We waited for the sun to go down with our usual assortment of poppers!

My firecracker 🎇

Emma headed to camp right after the 4th, so Steve and I had a quiet week. I was back at work, and we enjoyed a combo of going out and staying in. We did make Friday a full day of celebrating our 22nd anniversary!

Yesterday we picked up both girls from camp ... more photos from their favorite summer spot coming soon!

Summer Break!

 The last couple weeks of our school year were packed! The weekend before the last week of school, Emma and a friend from her team guest-played in a tournament. They made it to the finals against a really tough team, and we were proud of the effort that went into earning silver! Emma's spring volleyball season also came to a close that same weekend, and she's looking forward to playing again this summer.

Varsity Cheer had their pool party and Big/Little reveal.

Sara was SO excited to get Lyla as her Big! And I love that Lyla was one of my students at RMH several years ago ... fun full circle.

Sara's last week of school was a mix of finals, Sophomore send-off events, and daily early release (obviously her favorite part).

On the last day of school, Emma went to a friend's pool party ... for about 8 hours!

She had to be up for an 8:00 am soccer game the next morning, and after two games, she looked like this by mid-afternoon on Saturday ...

The girls played two mor games Sunday, making it to finals and winning the whole thing! 

Sara worked at both Flip Factory and Handel's on Sunday, so after the championship game, Steve, Emma, and I went to Austin Avenue (Emma's choice) and then came home and collapsed! It was a long, hot weekend after a busy week of school. Now everyone can take a deep breath and really think about summer! We are have a cooler, rainy day today, which is forcing us to get caught up around the house and relax.

This week, Sara will be working and cheering, and Emma is doing a soccer camp. They'll both stay busy this summer, but also hopefully have a good balance of quiet time ... and time to clean their rooms. I'm on contract through most of June, and then back to work in early July, but I still get more flexibility in my schedule. We're all ready for a little slower pace for the next several weeks.

Emma's Spring

Emma's spring has been busy, too (but aren't all the seasons that way?!) Sara was working, but Emma was happy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Steve and me at our favorite spot!

Spring volleyball has been fun, but a bit more challenging than last season. Last weekend, Emma's coach wasn't going to be at the game, and the sub coach was nowhere to be seen. Emma was captain and was called over to talk to the officials. Then she gave the girls a pep talk! The sub coach did eventually show up, but I think this crew had it under control.

It's been so fun to watch her improve at a new sport. She'll continue playing this summer.

Steve even got roped into being a line judge recently. He only made one call that Emma thought was totally wrong - ha!

Emma's choir pop show was earlier this week, and they did such a great job. The 6th grade girls did all the choreography for the show. Emma gets a little nervous on stage, but she plans to continue in choir next year and I'm looking forward to seeing her grow more confident in the spotlight.

We went from choir to softball playoffs the other night. Emma has done an awesome job at 2nd base!

And here she is ready to run from 1st to 2nd.

I think she's hanging up the softball equipment - at least for now. I love watching Emma play softball, and although she's a rockstar, it's fallen to the bottom of her list amongst all her other commitments. Soccer is still a favorite, and she's really looking forward to school sports next year. We're thankful for amazing softball coaches and friends over the past 6 years. 

And this team ended the season with one more championship ring ... not a bad way to end it.

Emma refuses to give me a smile with teeth these days (#braces), but Steve told a joke and managed to get a little one.

Here's the pic she prefers. #1!

And one silly one that just encapsulates her so well!

When we got home from the championship game, Emma was really reflective - and a little sad. She said, "I think it's the end of an era," and she let me give her a long hug. That is so rare, and I could tell she was really in her feelings about walking away from softball. We'll see what happens in time ... she may be back. It's so hard to have to choose, and we're really just trying to let her chart her course. She played and won a great soccer game tonight, and tomorrow afternoon is the end-of-season volleyball tournament. She's got plenty to choose from, and we'll keep cheering her on from whichever sideline feels right! This summer, Emma will do Plano West soccer and volleyball camps, along with overnight camp, and a trip to Chicago. More busy fun right around the corner!

Sara's Spring

Sara's spring has been a busy one! She took on a second job at Flip Factory, the gym where she tumbles. She is also still volunteering on Saturdays and for the past few weeks she spent several hours studying for her AP test. She's juggling all of those things along with friends, cheer, and now lots of fundraising efforts for next year's team.

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the end of the cheer season at the annual banquet. She won the "UCA Sharp" award.

Sara gave a captain's speech, and it was just so good. She was poised, well-spoke, eloquent, and made a point to personally name each person on the team. I was so proud to watch her confidently get up in front of a room of people and express herself so genuinely.

It was a fun afternoon with my girl. I did have to poke fun at all of her posing and took this pic ...

... but we got a nice one, too.

Sophomores

From there it was quickly onto all things for next year! The girls have been busy selling t-shirts, which is one of their biggest fundraisers. They had media day followed by the spring game. I'm excited to see the professional media day photos, but these candid shots are pretty fun too!

I love that Sara gets to keep cheering with her best friend.

The girls had fun at the spring game, and they are so ready for FNL!

Tomorrow is the Varsity pool party and big/little reveal. Once school is out, they will start summer practices and Sara opted to sign up for additional strength and conditioning courses. Between cheer, work, and camp, Sara will have a fun and busy summer. She is thriving, and I'm here for it!