Abigail’s 7th Grade Wrap-Up

Abigail had a super successful school year – another 4.0 year in the books with a plethora of ribbons and awards to add to her collection.  She played on the school soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams – the only sport she passed on was running track this spring. 

She continues to have the BEST group of friends both members of our church and non-members.  I really feel blessed that she has such a large group of friends that love and support each other.  And they are all so chill and drama-free – love that!

One of the great things about Abigail having a phone this year is that she is documenting her life, her friends, and the things she enjoys.  She sent me a fun flipagram she created to represent her school year:

I love that Drew is her final picture – can you tell how much we all adore that kid?

Abigail grew 1.5 inches this school year and will pass me up here any day now. 

I asked each of the kids a few questions about this school year and here are Abigail’s responses:

Favorite subject? Band

What is something you did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life? “Megan surprised me with that springy chair for my birthday”

What are the three most important things you learned this year? “I don’t know”

What was the most challenging part of this year for you?  “I don’t know”

What do I want to learn next year?  “I don’t want to learn next year”

What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?  Grades

What was the best part of the school day? Why?  “Lunch, because you’re not learning”

Favorite thing to do during recess?  “I don’t have recess, but my favorite thing to do during lunch is volleyball.”

Who were your closest friends?  Morgan, Kaley, Nicole, Megan, Simone (made her limit it to five)

If you could only wear one outfit to school for a week, what would you wear?  “I have no idea.  I just know I’d wear my Vans.” (A recent splurge with some of the babysitting money this girl has been raking in lately)

What do you look forward to this summer?  Girls camp, hanging out with friends, and our family reunion

Favorite color?  Purple

Favorite TV show?  I don’t have one

Favorite food?  Kung pao spaghetti

Favorite dessert?  Oreo truffles

Favorite candy? Skittles

Baseball Champions

Jason concluded his third baseball season earlier this month by winning the Snoqualmie Valley Little League AA Championship.  Sure there were only five teams in the league, but his team ended the season on top.  Way to go Hot Rods!

Baseball can be a tough sport to watch.  The boys are still learning the game and improving on basic skills like hitting the ball.  

Mid-season we moved from coach-pitch to kid-pitch, which requires a lot of practice for the boys to get the hang of.  

It’d be hard to find a prettier backdrop for baseball!

Jason had some ups and downs this season.  He started the season strong, had a few off games in the middle, then ended the season making some great contributions to the team.  Early in the season I received an email from his coach informing me that Jason earned honorable mention for player of the week on the league facebook page.  This isn’t just amidst the five teams his age, but the ENTIRE program (t-ball through high school).

Baseball is also a hard spring sport because they don’t play on wet fields.  There were many, many last minute games and practices rained out which is hard for our large family where scheduling takes quite the coordination.  A little rain made for some beautiful evenings though.

Our whole family went to his championship game to cheer him on.   A few neighborhood friends joined us under our shady umbrellas.

Every game ends with a team rely race around the bases.

Here’s his team ready to enter the field at the start of the season Jamboree event.

Jason enjoyed playing though he says he might want to switch to lacrosse next spring – so we’ll see.  He played with a fun, crazy bunch of boys!

Carly Can Clog

Carly was able to take a casual clogging class out of the home of a member or our stake presidency.  The class started in October and concluded with a small performance on June 3rd.  Carly really enjoyed the class (and tolerated the performance).  So fun for her to have the opportunity to learn something new.

After demonstrating a few clogging arrangements they finished with a fun Bollywood dance.

Miscellaneous May

Half price Starbucks frappuccinos 

Carly had a lacrosse game in Seattle while I was in California.  Justin had plenty of friends happy to help keep an eye on the kids.

After the game the Barlows met him and the kids at Gas Works Park.

Since I wasn’t here for our annual Mother’s Day picture we took it a few weeks later

This picture looks a little deceiving since I'm not standing up straight – Abigail has not passed me up... yet.  It won’t be long though before she’s taller than me.  

Justin and Jason hiked Rattlesnake Ledge on Saturday, May 16th – too bad there wasn’t a view from the top.  

A scene like this always makes my heart happy.  

Jason actually isn’t reading – he’s had some friends recently give him some Pokeman cards so he’s flipping though those, but these two can often be found sitting on the couch reading together.

Can’t go a month without finding a few surprise selfies on my phone...

Preschool Graduate

Katie celebrated her last day of preschool on Thursday, May 28th.  Katie had such a fun year in Mrs. Hammer’s preschool.  School was twice a week for 2.5 hours and there were only 6-7 kiddos in her class.  Katie learned so much.  It’s shocking to me how quickly she picked up reading – honestly it seems she went from just knowing letter sounds to full on reading.  When it clicked, it clicked.

Mrs. Hammer put together a comparison from the beginning of the year and the end of the year.  Katie learned to write with proper upper/lower case letters and her drawings are much more detailed.  She is also very particular about coloring – she’s stays in the lines and uses lots of different colors.   Katie grew TWO whole inches in the last nine months!    

Mrs. Hammer sent us pictures of various activities throughout the year…

Katie looks so much younger here – September 2014

Playing with Mrs. Hammer’s hats for letter H – October 2014

Six little Indians – November 2014

Free time playing dolls with Emery – Early 2015

Pajama Day for the letter P – March 2015

A visit to the new neighborhood park – April 2015

The coolest Easter egg snakes for the letter S – May 2015

End of the year Hot Tub Party – May 2015

Mrs. Hammer held a graduation party with the graduate’s Moms (and younger siblings) on the last day of school.

Katie received her diploma.

And a fun alphabet book with pictures of the kids throughout the year.

The moms all went in on a beach bag full of summer goodies for Mrs. Hammer. She loved it!

I’m so glad we were able to find a preschool close to home for Katie to attend that wasn’t too expensive.  Mrs. Hammer is actually a great friend of mine and I loved watching her get to know and love my sweet Katie.