We Interrupt this Summer to Bring You the Youth Rec Program

Guess what we've been doing all month?  I'll give you 3 guesses....

Wow.  You guessed it right away.  Good job!!

Aside from the 6-hour nights away from home and the gas guzzling road trips, there are a few endearing things about softball/baseball season.  One is playing against our cousins!

Shae, Catherine, Paige with Amy & Julie

Julie & Amy with Gabe & Cy

 Another fun thing is watching your kids struggle and overcome obstacles to improve on something.  Ally has been pitching for 5 summers now and it's really neat to see her have some success!

 The girl is QUICK around the bases.  Softball is a game of frequent stealing, and Ally loves to get in on that!

 You can't see it, but she was SAFE!

 The boy has vastly improved over the past few years, in attention span (to the game) and ability.

 This was a joke.  He doesn't actually do this when he's batting.

 He's one of the biggest kids out on the field.  You should have seen him at football camp this week; I thought we were in the wrong age group because he towered over the other kids!

 I really don't know how he grows on his diet.  His food groups are meats-sweets-cereal.

 It's fun to watch the development.  I could do without the 4-games-a-week-not-including-weekend-tournaments schedule.  But you have to stick with the positives, right?

Dancing Queen

Wynne's first grade teacher confirmed that we have a little dancer on our hands.  So I signed her up for a little one-week camp in Platteville.  Here's the big "recital" (she's back left)!

 Definitely has the hip movements down.

 Wynne was the youngest in the class (ages 7-10); she kept looking over to her left to watch the big girls who remembered all of the moves.

 The final pose!

 One more time...

 Okay girls, would you all hold that pose and scoot in so us moms can get a better picture?  Thanks;)

With their instructor, Miss Megan.

Nice job, ladies!  It was definitely right up Wynne's alley.

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.--Psalm 149:3

Congratulations, Nick!

Okay, these high school graduations are getting a little too close for comfort...this time it's "Nis-luss" (remember that, Kaycie?) my birthday buddy!!

A very cool photo display of the graduate's childhood and school achievements.....

 It was nice to see family, if only for a short time...

 ...and of course if you're at the Tashner's house, there will be a basketball game going on.  Cousins and neighbors galore!

 Why do our nieces and nephews have to keep growing up?  Once they hit college, it's like they turn into grown-ups overnight.  I have a sneaking suspicion that is going to happen to our own kids, too..

 I wish they could all stay this age.  And freeze my age, too, while you're at it, okay God?

No More Homework, No More Books..........

No more STUDENTS' dirty looks!!

Schoooooooool's out for the summer!!

Who's more excited, the kids or the teachers?? !

Well, school's not officially "over" for me because I just signed up for my next graduate class (sigh), but at least this one is of interest to me (writers' workshop) and can be done on my own time.  Time.  TIME!!  Maybe just maybe I can have a little "free time" to think, breathe, relax between cooking/cleaning/laundering/chauffeuring duties.

Did I mention that we have a ball schedule from *ell again this year?
Oh well, at least there's no SCHOOL to go to every day!!  No wrangling kids to hurry up and get in the car every morning.

We won't mention ball practice, summer classes, swim lessons, piano lessons, camps, weight room hours, etc.
I'm in denial on that and just focusing on the bright side :)

But here's the really, really scary thing.........we have a HIGH SCHOOLER on our hands now!!  (Shown here with some friends and their very young student teacher.  Ally is the one on the right, thankfully not wearing a scantily clad show dress like *ahem* other girls her age.)

I really enjoyed teaching Ally and her class this year for 25% of their day.  I hope it wasn't too painful for her.  Ally excels in darn near every subject, so it wasn't like I had to motivate her to complete her English work, writing, or reading.  She has a small class (only 18) of fairly strong students, so it was a pleasure for me, really, to have them on my first year back into full-time teaching after a decade off.  I give her lots of credit for putting up with me and probably being embarrassed by me a few times throughout the school year.  Her dad and I couldn't be prouder of her!

Okay, here's the other scary thing:  Cy is going into 7th grade, the twins will be in 5th grade already (nearly out of elementary school!), and the baby will be in 2nd grade.  Yes, she is still our baby.  SECOND GRADE!! jeepers!!

As I was reflecting on this school year and giving thanks for making it through, I realized that God has given us a lot of little things to be grateful for.  I have been so busy with writing lessons, creating curriculum, grading student work, helping with homework, doing my own graduate homework, and parenting in general that I forgot to stop and practice some gratitude.

Remember my Thankful Thursdays?
Me too.  Shame on me!

Okay, just a few things here off the top of my head...I'm thankful for....

*Living and working in a small community with friendly people who care about my kids

*Ally's slow but steady return to good health

*God's provisions

*Only ONE case of head lice as opposed to SIX cases in our house last school year!!

I hope to enjoy a few more weeks of springlike weather (because I really haven't had the time to get outside and enjoy any of it till now) and then, bring on the summer~!

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.--1 Thessalonians 5:18