End of 2nd Grade Slumber Party

We survived the End of 2nd grade slumber party...but barely! 

When Collins came up with the idea to celebrate the end of the school year with her best friends Reeves and Alice, I thought long and hard about it. It had been a very busy week, she wanted to have her friends over Friday night, we had to get up early to decorate for VBS on Saturday, followed by Father's Day and more decorating on Sunday, and then a whole week of VBS to follow. Was this really a good idea? Probably not, but of course I agreed. 

The festivities started with cannonballs onto the extra mattress, dressing like witches and trick-or-treating down Marblehead (I kid you not!), and Addie and I chasing after them with Luke following in the jeep. And this is the scene that Brian stumbled upon when coming home from work! 

Next, they bragged that they loved to eat limes...um, sure. 😂

 

 Then they literally scaled the roof....obviously things were getting out of hand!

So we brought them back down to earth with the promise of smores...

and fire. And then challenged them to sing the national anthem!

  They could sort of do it- we need to do some practicing ladies.

Darkness fell, Reeves went home early, Collins crashed onto the couch for a movie, and Alice, Brian and I sat outside talking around the fire pit. Am I describing the strangest sleep over ever? Pretty sure I am. But Collins did not stop laughing the whole night, and I know it was exactly how she wanted to celebrate the end of second grade. But man...trying to keep up with those 8-year-old girls was not easy or without stress. Here's hoping that this wild slumber party does not set a tone for our summer ahead! Because I'm pretty sure I could not handle it.

Tennis Momentum

So the girls are continuing to love their tennis lessons at Millbrook Tennis Center. Coach Nancy is fantastic, and Collins is really improving. Neither one of them complains about driving over there twice a week, and even Luke has fun running around. I was really rolling the dice to sign them up for 14 tennis classes as the summer was heating up, but it totally worked out! Now that classes are coming to an end, I'm realizing that we may (Collins especially) have been bitten by the tennis bug. Hooray!

 

 

 

 

 

 Luke probably got the best work out this particular class. :)

Diving Right In

No rest for the weary! Swim team season started the same day that school ended. So upon picking Collins up from Lacy, we had to high tail it across town for the first away swim meet. Traffic was horrible, Collins was anxious, and stresses were high. 

After a frenzied arrival, we got our girl all suited up and ready for her first race...the medley relay. And would you believe that this very first race turned out to be her most exciting of the whole season?!?

 

Collins was swimming the last leg of the relay. The first girl on her team got beat right out of the gate so the Dolphins were behind on leg two. Leg two (the breast stroke) was Anna who is really good at that stroke. She caught Northbrook up! So for leg three (the butterfly), Northbrook and Brier Creek were neck and neck. So then it was Collins's turn on the freestyle.

She dove in the water a second or two behind the Brier Creek swimmer and don't you know she swam right past her in a decisive first victory for the 7-8 girls!!!! It was thrilling to watch! I had no expectations going in on how she would swim, but to have that kind of exciting finish was SO NEAT. The whole pool was cheering her on, and she came out of the water somewhat confused and not understanding what happened. So I explained to her excitedly. :) What a way to start the swim season!

In a first, Miss Addie was allowed to come and stay the WHOLE meet. So someone got into bed very late, but we thought it would be beneficial for her to see how a swim meet was run. She was impressed, but tired and ready to go home at 9:30 p.m. Me too, Addie!

This first swim meet turned out to be the most pleasant one of the season. The weather was perfect- not hot at all with a soft breeze- and it ended much faster than most do. The Dolphins did not win, but Collins and her 7-8 girls did really well. That medley relay really set the tone for the evening. One swim meet down, five to go! 😆

Final Day of School!

Goodbye second grade, hello summer! Our girl was thrilled that the final day of school had finally arrived. It seemed like it took forever this year!

Little brother had to chase her down as she ran out of school for the last time...

And with her bestie after school...

 

Love this picture of them! Sara's phone takes such good pictures.

 

So excited to see what the summer has in store for us and to spend some quality time together!

Gardenia Love

I never knew I loved gardenias until we moved into this house. Susan planted an enormous bush in the backyard, and this year it exploded with blooms. The smell was out of this world and despite trying very hard not to cut too many branches, I had to bring them inside. What an unusual-shaped bloom which made for the prettiest (and most fragrant!) vase of flowers. Don't tell the peonies in the front yard, but the gardenia in the back yard is giving them some stiff competition!

Swimming Update

So after that swimming light bulb moment for Addie on Memorial Day, we decided to try some more lessons at Northbrook. Here she is with Coach Charlotte jumping off the block- kind of scary! But Addie is brave and did it with no problem. She made big strides in her lessons putting her stroke together and not being afraid of the water. 

After her second lesson was over, Coach Smith (swim team coach) came over and asked me, "Does Addie want to join the swim team?" I was stunned because Addie could barely even swim let alone swim half the length of the pool which is required for swim team. Smith told me that most of the 6 and under swimmers can't swim well and that he watched Addie during her lesson and thought she could do it. 

Smith had asked me this question in front of Addie so of course she immediately said she wanted to do it. I was VERY hesitant about this idea, but after talking to Brian we decided it might be a good thing. A lot of people use swim team as cheap swim lessons so we thought this might be a good way to help her become a strong swimmer and make her safer in the water.  

 

 

So we agreed that she could join the swim team (even though it had already been going on for a few weeks) and all of a sudden we had a second Northbrook dolphin swimmer...

 

The next day would be her first practice. I was very nervous, but she was thrilled! Never thought this would happen this season. Addie is a whole year younger than Collins was when she joined the swim team. But Addie has a confidence about her, and I need to start believing her when she says she can do things. Because she normally does them. So on to swim team she goes!

Gymnastics Finale

Not fun:

1) Getting out of school and driving 20 minutes across town in rush hour traffic

2) Sitting in the waiting room with wild wiggle man Luke for an hour and a half

3) Attempting to keep Luke occupied for an hour and a half and not getting to watch the girls practice

Fun:

1) Hearing how excited the girls are when they realize it's Monday and they get to go to gymnastics that afternoon

2) Watching them learn new skills/tricks that put a huge smile on their faces

3) Seeing them get stronger and more confident with these new-found abilities

Our girls love gymnastics and never tire of going. They both got moved up to an intermediate class for the first time this year which pushed them harder and faster than their previous classes had. They LOVED it! 

Here they are on the final practice...

 

Look at Addie and her strut! Totally into it. :)

 

 

 

Addie improved leaps and bounds this year. She worked the hardest on her back hip circle and almost got it! Her teacher Mallory said she is a natural. 

With Collins's long lean limbs, she has so much potential. She had a lot of fun working this year on her back hand spring.

 

 

 

I think this is so cool...how can she be strong enough to pull herself up this rope??

 

 

A job well done for both girls...so proud of them and what they accomplished in gymnastics!