Ahh- Summer!

 Now that I'm pretty much caught up with the school year, I can post about all the fun we've been having the past two weeks of summer vacation. It seems easier to keep a good summer schedule after having all that time off with covid. I mean, normally we have a transition from being so busy and then dealing with less to do and some boredom, which is always good. Now, however, we're used to being creative and finding things to do after all that time off, so it's been nice. Also, things are totally open finally and we've been able to go places we haven't been to and see friends we haven't seen much of, at least without masks. I really have been enjoying all the grad parties we've been attending and seeing people I haven't seen in a very long time!

The last week or so of school was extremely hot and humid, so I was prepared for that and noticed that the strawberry picking farm still had strawberries. Monday, the first official day of vacation, was going to be a pleasant day for picking, so we picked up Austin's friend from the Canton ward that he hasn't seen since covid hit, and really enjoyed a nice morning there. (Little did I know that the next two weeks would be pretty cool, and even very rainy, so there were other good days for picking, but at least we got it in and it wasn't too wet!) I spent the next day drying strawberries, making jam, freezing strawberries for smoothies, and we all enjoyed eating them fresh! I was able to do that (without the help of the kids who had no interest in that since they don't like to eat them anyway but in a smoothie or fresh) because Victoria had work and friends occupying her time, Karissa had color guard camp, and Erik had his first playdate at our home with his own friends from school since before covid! Austin hung out with them and went to his friend's down the street. Erik was so excited to have friends at our house again! He actually had 3 friends at our house that week, two together and then one the next day.

Austin and Tytan

Karissa now wears my overalls that I've saved since high school! I love overalls! So does my dad :) 

Erik's playdate galore!

To top that, our friends from our ward, the Dalebouts, who my boys went trick-or-treating with at Halloween, invited anyone who was available to meet at the Toledo zoo on Thursday. It turned out we were the only ones who could go, so it was just Stacie and her four kids and my boys and I since Victoria had something organized with a friend and dance class that evening and Karissa had color guard camp that week, which she loved! 

Erik, Austin, and Owen

All the kids

I love the water animals!

Austin's selfie with a polar bear.

Baby orangutan

This was Erik's first time at the Toldeo Zoo. We did go to the Detroit Zoo a couple times with him, but it has been a long time! Poor youngest child...

It looks like this sting ray is smiling!

These huge crabs were amazing!

Austins road home with the Dalebouts, so Erik and I had some time alone at the zoo for a bit.

We celebrated Austin's birthday with just 3 friends on Saturday. We had originally wanted to go to Turtle Cove water park that's nearby and somewhat inexpensive, but it wasn't open when we were trying to plan, so he just opted to have his besties at our house for 4 1/2 hours. They basically played on the trampoline, with Nerf guns, and then a very competitive two rounds of Capture the Flag. We came in for some pizza, carrots, grapes, and chips and a few rounds of live Among Us that Karissa had created for her birthday. At that point, I had to text the parents and have them come 30 minutes later so the boys would have a chance to play some video games, which was one of the reasons we decided to have the party at our house, so they could have time for gaming, but I'm glad we didn't spend too much time on screens. 

Austin got a back tuck on the trampoline and had to demonstrate!

Luke was having fun too.

Capture the Flag

They didn't even eat as much as I thought they would have after playing in the yard for 2 hours! I thought 12-year-old boys eat a lot?

All of them gave gift cards, which Austin loved!

Daisy wasn't in the pictures at the party, but we were dog sitting and she had a blast chasing the boys around the yard, until we put her in the house because she kept getting in the way of the games. 

Erik did a good job taking care of her. 

Karissa started an art class at our house for 6-11 year-olds. She had 7 kids in her first class, including two 6-year-old boys, but kept them all totally engaged for the entire hour. They all chatted and worked on their art and were so cute together. Karissa did a great job guiding them in their art and letting them explore their own styles. The next class was only 5 kids, but again, she really impressed me with her ability to engage everyone, especially those two young boys who really enjoyed the class. 

Victoria started a little dance class for 4-year-olds. She had 4 girls attend, which was perfect for dance, since our house isn't super big and it was raining outside both days she held the class so far. She did a great job as well and choreographed a number so we can have a recital at some point this summer, but we do have some vacation conflicts, so we'll see how it goes. Victoria had a few stubborn ones in her group who decided both times that they were done and too tired to continue for the rest of the hour, so I came in to give them a little "push". They showed me what they learned from the dance and somehow found more energy! 

I was so happy to have the art and dance classes here. I love when little kids are in my home. It makes me so happy!

(Next post will continue the second week)....

 

Grad and Dad

 Well, Karissa completed middle school. She's the only one of her siblings who decided to go the TAG route (Erik and Austin have been invited, but have declined), so we won't be having much to do with East Middle School anymore. We were almost thinking that we'd never end up going back at all, after the abrupt end last March. Then the school district got their plans together and she was able to go back in person for a few months. There was lots of quarantining involved in those 4 months of in-person school. Karissa had to twice because she was near someone with covid at some point during the school day. She had a little cough at the very end of the school year and had to quarantine for a few days until we received the negative test results back. Despite all that and the fact that she really didn't focus well with the virtual parts of school, as many didn't, she completed the 8th grade and even was able to participate in the school play put on by the choir. I can't believe that Mrs. Mason was able to make it work with all the kids that were quarantined even up to the very last week of school, but she did! The play was Aladdin Jr. and we got the link for it the day school ended. Karissa was cast as Babkak, Aladdin's best friend. She did such a great job and had a lot of fun with it. She's also the one who edited the play. I won't post it here because it's an hour-long, but here are some still shots I took of the recording. 

Aladdin's three friends: Babkak, Omar, and Kassim

Omar, in the middle, had a green shirt on that made her invisible on the top with the green screen behind her!

Aladdin's in the middle

Genie on the side

A little trick in You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me

Graduation was just a drive-thru with a quick stop for some pictures. They divided the 8th graders in half by last names. With their certificates, they got gift bags, a sign for the yard, and a T-shirt with the high school they will be going to next year. Since the high school is 3 in one, known as PCEP (Plymouth Canton Educational Park), the kids are randomly assigned to the high schools by a lottery, or they go to where their older siblings go. So, Karissa will be at Salem, like Victoria. She will also be in the Arts Academy. There are 4 academies at PCEP: Arts, STEM, Business, and International. Each has about 70 kids who were accepted into their programs and the 4 core classes are related to each academy. For instance, Karissa's classes will have a lot of art projects related to the subjects of science, history, and English. Not really math, obviously, but I'll see how they work that out. She's required to take electives that relate to the arts, like orchestra, which she's taking. One of the nice things about the academies is that they make the very big campus seem a little less big because they have those core classes with the same kids. She'll also be in the color guard. She's been enjoying the practices for that already. Look out, Salem Rocks, here she comes! 

Olivia and Karissa

We enjoyed celebrating Jason on Father's Day. We didn't do anything really different to celebrate him besides some yummy meals and he had fewer meetings for church that day, which is always welcome. I made French toast for breakfast and his favorite chicken cordon bleu for dinner, with a nice salad and rice pilaf. He wanted rootbeer floats for dessert. The best part of the day was that we brought Victoria's friend Sarah to church, as she has been wanting to come for a while. The talks were amazing and Sarah was very impressed by them. She's actually been before, but it's been a while and recently when she and Victoria talk about church, Sarah says she wants to join our church! So, we have to take it one step at a time. I invited her to come over after church after she assured me that her dad wouldn't mind. We did Family Home Evening and our family activity of Select and Draw with Sarah and really enjoyed it. She and Victoria painted before taking her home to celebrate with her dad and family. Hopefully, she can come to church again soon! 

Here's what we gave Jason, the hard-working dad in our home: a hairdryer! We only have one and it's technically his because he uses it, not me. Well, his teenage daughters fight over it much of the time, so we got him another one and they can keep one in their bathroom to share, or still use his, but it makes for more opportunity for one to be available. (No one uses it for very long, but it always needs to be used around the same time). We're hoping to get him a new suit soon. Just need to find a sale!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Soccer Season Success

 As you know, Austin's soccer team won the Canton Cup, which was super exciting, especially because it was his coach's final season coaching in this league. What made it even better was that the Tigers also won first place in the league! They had no losses all season! They were pretty stoked about that. Austin made the final goal for his team for the whole season. The smile on his face after that goal was the best, though I failed to get a picture of it. 

Erik's team didn't play in the Cup this year, but they also had a great season. They placed second in the league for their age group, so pretty darn good! Erik's coach said that he's like an oak on the field and is immovable when a player tries to get past him. He had some successful games as a goalkeeper as well. 

They have both really improved in their soccer skills and enjoyed getting to practice twice a week and games most Saturdays. The best part about it was they decided we didn't have to wear face masks anymore a few games before the end of the season, so we enjoyed a whole lot more freedom!

Most of these are from the same games when I brought my good camera and we were still wearing masks at the games. The weather was perfect too. The pics I took at the Canton Cup didn't turn out very well because it was very sunny that weekend, so here are the best pics in a picture dump from the season.

Erik facing us in the red mask. 

Erik the ball handler.

Erik getting the ball in position for a goal.

An assist for a goal!

Austin the ball handler.

Austin looking for someone to pass to.

Austin waiting to intercept the ball.

And... after the final win at the Canton Cup!!

More Music!

 Austin followed Victoria's footsteps at Discovery Middle School and took choir as one of his electives. I'm so happy he did and that he enjoyed it! He has a really good ear for music and has come a long way with his singing skills. There were only two boys in the 6th-grade choir, Austin being one of them. No surprise there.

 As with the dance recital, I was a little annoyed with the Covid procedures for the choir concert. Yes, we're lucky to have had a recital and everyone worked really hard but having the recital outside with the face masks on, made it difficult to hear those young 6th-grade voices. It happened to be a very windy evening, so that didn't help. After the 6th grade cleared out, the 7th grade had their concert, then the 8th grade, so we didn't have too many people there at one time.

Here is his warm-up song at the concert (you can kind of hear the song and he looks cute in it) and another song that he's featured in a small group at the beginning in the mic, but it's still hard to hear.

Around the same time, I recorded Austin's and Karissa's piano songs for their virtual recital. Here they are.

Karissa has decided that this was the end of piano lessons for her. Hopefully, she can keep up with some things on the piano. She has gotten really good!

Dance Recital

The next big event that we could attend was Victoria's dance recital. She was so excited about this, after missing last year's. Grandma Pat even came out to enjoy the show, as we were privileged to get 4 tickets, instead of just two, since Victoria is in the advanced classes now. The nice thing about the "Covid" recital was that it wasn't on Mother's day, as it usually is, she only had to dance in 2 recitals, as opposed to 4, and the recital itself was shorter since we only watched the advanced groups, plus a few classes below. I do enjoy watching all the little girls dance and the groups in between, but the show can be quite long that way. 

The big problem with the "Covid" recital was that there were only clusters of two seats together in the audience and they were first come first serve, even though there were seats listed on our tickets. So since we didn't arrive super early, Victoria's friend, Rayven, and my mom sat together and Jason and I couldn't even find a place to sit, so they allowed us to sit in a blocked off  row that was right in front of a wall, and we had to make sure we sat behind a cluster of three empty chairs, which is how many were in between each set of two. We also had to wear face masks, as did the dancers, even those of us who were vaccinated. It was very Covid safe, though some of the dancers were negatively affected by wearing masks. Victoria said a couple of them almost passed out in between dances. 

As is typical of past recitals, we weren't allowed to record during the recital, only at the dress rehearsal, which only allowed one parent in to see, so Grandma didn't get to see any previews, but she got to hang with the rest of the family while I recorded Victoria's dances. It was a tricky year with all the quarantining the girls had to do and a lot of virtual classes. I didn't think they were as prepared for the recital when I recorded at the dress rehearsal as they normally are, but at the actual recital, they all did so well!! Victoria has made leaps and bounds in her dancing skills, despite all the Zoom dance classes!

She did a tap performance, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. The ballet rehearsal, the last one attached here, was the wrong costume. The girl in the blue unitard is wearing the right one, but they were running out of time at the rehearsal and didn't change for it. 

Victoria, Grandma, and Rayven before the show.

After the show.

We had fun with Grandma the week she was here and she went along with all of our crazy busy routines that picked up a ton around the time she arrived. 

She liked meeting Erik on his bike, coming home from school. Usually, we go through the park to get home.

And as usual, she came to work with me every day and was even "hired " as my assistant for one day when mine wasn't able to get a sub. My boss gave my mom a gift card to Target and we had fun spending it! I made sure that we did our Nursery Rhyme acting week when she was here because she loves to dress up!

She was the "maid in the garden" in Sing a Song of Sixpence.

I was Little Bo Peep.

Celebrating two birthdays!

It was a fun dance week and we're so grateful it could happen and that my mom could be here for it!

Orchestra Concert

 The first of our live events occurred almost a month ago. It was a live orchestra concert at the park! During that time, our area had just started to allow people to not wear masks outside during a group event. Most people still chose to wear masks because we weren't used to not wearing them. The students had to wear them as well as their instructors. 

I actually liked having the concert outside as the sunset, though we got a little chilly, and Austin was very bothered by the mosquitos. That was when he had around 20 of them before he was outside on a regular basis, so I'm surprised he had 20 before this outdoor event.

The instructors and students were so happy to play in a real concert, together. This was Austin's first. His teacher highlighted him as being one of the only students who kept his camera on during Zoom classes. Here's one of his songs.

Karissa's and Victoria's instructor is retiring after this school year, which we're all very sad about. She talked about the sweatshirts she gifted the students that featured the famous Hammy that Karissa brought in as an orchestra mascot. Next year, when Karissa goes to high school, she and Victoria will be in the same class.

Here's one of Kariss's songs.

Victoria has improved so much this year because of her private lessons. Maybe next year she'll try out for symphony! Here's one of her songs.

While we didn't get a picture with Mrs. DePentu, the instructor who is retiring, we did get one with Mrs. Kaz, who is the beginning orchestra instructor and loves our family! She came to our house twice to help Austin with tuning his cello, when we were virtual. She is very friendly and bubbly. The orchestra instructors are so amazing!

Erik had to be with the crew too. Maybe he'll be in orchestra as well one day!