Bible School

The girls were super excited to go to Bible School this year. Collins had been enough times to not be scared, Addie was getting to go for the first time, and I was going to be a shepherd. And most importantly- Mimi was coming to take care of Luke and help fill in the gaps! We were all excited for the week ahead.

I got to lead the "Scooters" around to the various centers (VBS was back at our church this year now that our renovation was complete). It was a cute bunch.

Addie did great with her first time at Bible School! I was worried she would be scared and not be able to separate from me, but she had no problems.

 

But she only went two days so she could spend some time with her Mimi...

I was proud of Collins because she acclimated well to a new group of friends. She didn't really know anybody in her class going in. But she had fun with the other kids, loved the music she learned, and got to make some cool crafts. VBS was a success!

 

Father's Day

Father's Day was pretty low-key this year...the way Dad wanted it! It involved a breakfast party (girls couldn't wait any longer to give him their cards/gifts), lunch out, and a family bike ride. Brian is really an amazing Dad. He works so hard to provide for us all, makes spending time with the kids a priority, and shows us so much love all the time. I'm so grateful for the wonderful Father he is every day! And Collins is grateful that he takes her to Amedeo's! :)

First Week of Summer

We wasted no time getting into some summer fun this year! We loaded in the activities the first week out of school...maybe I was a little too excited about our break together? :)

The first official day out of school, we had a wonderful playdate with the Kaspers and the Flynns at our fave, Banbury Park. All nine of the kids played together and ran wild and free around the park/woods/creek. Loved seeing how much all the kids had grown and having the chance to get them all together.

After our playdate, I decided to treat the girls and let them watch a movie that afternoon. They had never seen "Aladdin" so I thought this would be a good time to snuggle and watch it. Addie got bored somewhere near the end and disappeared. When I found her, she had painted her baby's head blue! Look at that mischievous face!

The next day, I was watering the garden, and the girls got a hold of the water hose. I knew where this was headed but just let it because that is what summer is all about!

We had Celia-Gray's birthday party at Pullen Park that week, and man was it hot. But despite the sweating, we had fun riding the train...

 eating popsicles...

and riding the carousel. Pullen Park is a summer-must, and we went ahead and checked it off the list! 

Not tired yet, the next day we headed to Coconut Charlies for some jumping. The girls don't normally get to go with just each other (they are normally there for a bday party) so it was neat to see them tag-team with each other until they were completely worn out.

Next up? The science museum! This is their favorite museum in Raleigh, and they were excited for Gigi to take them. They each got a new stuffed animal, and when they came home we made a diorama for each of them.

And almost every afternoon that week, we headed to the pool for swim team.

I'm pretty sure we maxed out that first week of summer! It was really fun having all my kids home and enjoying some of our favorite activities together. Next week- VBS!

A Trip to Greensboro

Poppy and Nana were sweet to take us to see Sesame Street Live a few weeks back. We headed to Greensboro for the show, and I'm pretty sure the girls were more excited to see Poppy and Nana than they were Elmo and Big Bird!

Luke thought the show was a bit of a snoozer, but the girls really enjoyed it. :)

Heading out of town, we had to make a pit stop so I could feed Luke and we happened to pass this cool new garden on the edge of Greenboro. The girls had fun exploring and got some energy out before heading back to Raleigh.

 

 

 It was a short visit, but so glad we got to spend some time with Poppy and Nana!

Swim Team

We tried something new this summer- swim team! We joined the Northbrook pool in part so Collins could join the Dolphin swim team. We had heard this was a great (and cheap) way to get your kids swimming really well, and we also thought joining an athletic team might be a good way to increase Collins' confidence.

I had heard lots of complaints from other parents about swim team going in (kids didn't want to practice, parents didn't want to go to the meets, too hot, etc.), but I have to say it has been a positive experience for us. Collins wanted to go to practice, loved socializing with her friends in the pool afterwards, got excited about the meets, and has significantly improved her swimming times in each event.

Of course, we did find that the meets were chaotic (so many people), that is was unbearably hot, and it was hard to entertain two littles ones for long of a time. They do seem to go on forever.

The first meet was at Greystone, and it was very overwhelming for Collins (and me too). We had no idea what was going on, and there were some tears when I forgot to pack her swim cap and she didn't know where to go.

 

But I was really proud of her...she went out there in front of hundreds of people and swam the freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke to the best of her ability. That could not have been easy for a six-year-old (the youngest division out there)!

She earned a participation ribbon (didn't bother to ask what that meant because she didn't care...it was a RAINBOW RIBBON). She was thrilled!

Her only smile of that entire meet may have been when she got a Kona Ice, but she learned a lot that night and was already excited about meet #2!

Kindergarten Comes to a Close

She did it! She finished her kindergarten year! Wow, what a year it has been. Lots of nerves going in, lots of work during the course of the day, lots of new friendships, lots of adjustment (for her and us), lots of new knowledge, and lots of gained confidence.

It was a whirlwind year, and honestly, I'm glad it's behind us because it was that much change. But I will look back on Collins' kindergarten year with pride because she grew so much and successfully tackled so many new things. She is most definitely older and wiser and ready to take on the first grade!

Mrs. Dalrymple's class celebrated the end of the year with an "Commotion in the Ocean" party. The kids were very excited about it- mainly because they got to wear their bathing suits to school. They traveled around to different stations making fun ocean crafts and getting wet doing water activities.

Collins started out by making an ocean-themed picture frame to house her class picture...

I manned the sea turtle station...the kids loved making and eating these cuties.

Collins' favorite station was the origami station...she made a really cool fish with the help of Joanna's Mom.

Outside, they got to go fishing...

 and make gigantic bubbles...

and then it was time to say goodbye. I had not expected to get sad about this moment because Collins had been counting down the days until the end of school. But saying goodbye to Mrs. Dalrymple and Mrs. Edward and leaving her class for the final time made me totally tear up. They helped my baby grow so much this year, and I will always be thankful she had such a cute class and nice teachers to help her adjust successfully to elementary school.

Collins was a little sad when we left too, but that quickly dissipated as we took a promised trip to the toy store to get one special treat.

Collins chose an origami set, and Addie got a rock pet to paint.

And then we celebrated at Gigi and Pop Pop's with Red Dragon and cupcakes! Now that school is officially out, bring on summer! So excited to have Collins back with us every day and to see what kind of fun we can get into. :)