The first month of summer vacation

What have Emory and Ellie been up to this summer?  Well, in a word....lots!  The first month of summer vacation has officially come and gone and the kids have managed to pack lots of fun activities into it.  So far a few of the things that they have done this summer are...

• Emory attended Band Camp at PBMS where he is now in the Advanced Band.  They put on a great concert on the last day.  It's amazing how much they learn in band class in just a year!
• Ellie has had three different friends from her class last year come over from other neighborhoods for playdates.  They won't be attending the new school with her next year and they are such sweet girls and good friends!
• Ellie and Hannah attended another painting class at Yes You Canvas and they painted a whale this time.

• The kids visited a local candy shop called Sweet Pete's for a little class on how gummy candies are made and were able to create a few of their own.



• Ellie went to her end of year soccer party at a local pool with her team mates from last season that she hasn't seen in a month.

• We all went to the beach on Father's Day!
• Ellie attended a cooking camp at First Coast Technical College with her friends Kimberly and Samantha.  They learned to cook foods from a different country each day of the camp.  On the last day, they invited parents to come in and the kids served us Italian food that they had prepared.  They served ceasar salad, deep dish pizza and tiramisu.  It was really yummy!



• Emory has already started practicing soccer with his teammates at PBMS and has started speed and agility training with his new Creeks team.  All of this in the "off season".
• Ellie attended a Bricks 4 Girlz camp at the new Bricks 4 Kidz store in our neighborhood. 

• Emory has started playing in a jazz band on Monday afternoons that was started by his band director at PBMS.  At the end of the summer they will get to play at the opening of Ellie's new school and a couple of other places too.
• Ellie attended a bridging ceremony for Girl Scouts.  She has moved on from Brownies and is now
• a Junior.

• The kids had their first bucket of KFC with all of the traditional sides.  I'm not sure that they would ever do it again but it seemed like something that they needed to say they have done once in their lives.  Next it's the dreaded tv dinner!
• Emory has taken up fishing with his friends in the neighborhood in our ponds and the intracoastal.
• Emory is attending Marine Science Camp for the second summer in a row.  He's decided that he loves the stand up paddle boards.

All of this from just June 6th until the end of the month!  There will be lots more fun to come in July and August too!

4th of July

This year with July 4th falling on a Wednesday and Emory having Marine Science Camp all week, we stayed in St. Augustine rather than going to Richmond as we have for the past several years.  It ended up being a really enjoyable day as it gave us time to head to the beach and also to see the fireworks on the bay over the Fort, which we have missed and had really forgotten how amazing they are to see.

We headed to the beach in the late afternoon and decided to take Owen and Piper with us this trip.  They don't love the waves from the ocean but were very happy being in the calmer waters at Matanzas Inlet.  It was low tide so it was perfect swimming for little pups!  Even Owen got into it and really seemed to love being in the water this time.  I think that temps in the 90s might have helped!

There were lots of chases after the tennis ball.  It's easy to see who won those with her long legs but Owen gave it his best shot.  I love how all four of his little short legs are off the ground in this picture!  Go Owen Go!

Owen tired out long before Piper and was more than happy to be held for a few pictures if it meant he got a little rest.

The kids didn't even complain (too much) when I asked them to wear these silly hats.

Around dusk, we headed down to the bayfront in St. Augustine to get ready for the fireworks.  It was packed with people!  The paper said that they estimated the crowds to be around 100,000 people and it definitely seemed like there were that many.  We have never seen so many people in town at once!  We found a new shop with frozen yogurt and then headed off to find the perfect spot to view the fireworks.  This year we chose a spot farther down near the Bridge of Lions and it was great.  The fireworks did not disappoint either.  The favorites were smiley faces, hearts and three different fireworks that spelled out U - S- A. 

 I finally found the fireworks setting on my camera (totally by accident) and it's amazing how much better the pictures turned out.

Father's Day

We enjoyed a fun and relaxing Father's Day at the beach again this year.  It's become our tradition to spend this day at the beach and this one was extra special because it was our first trip to the beach of the summer.  We started the day off with breakfast and presents for Dan.  Even Owen got into helping to open the presents since he now thinks all presents have treats in there for him!

We went to the beach at Fort Matanzas and had a great time.  The tide was out so we were able to walk out to the sandbar easily when we arrived. 

We found a great spot to sit under some cedar type trees when we arrived that provided our own little hideaway.  It was the perfect spot with shade from the bright summer sun for our little picnic. 

While we were eating the cutest little fiddler crab came out to see us.  He ate an entire piece of pineapple before disappearing.  He must have gone to tell his friends because at one point we had at least six different crabs walking around, digging holes and popping up out of them and enjoying the different foods that we gave them.  It was all very entertaining.

It was another wonderfully relaxing Father's Day spent with the BEST father around! 

Ellie's Spring Piano Recital

Ellie played in her spring piano recital for parents and friends in early June.  This year she played two songs:  Get a Clue! and the Dandelion Song.  She played them both perfectly and it was a wonderful afternoon of music.

Each year at the recital Mrs. Patterson gives each one of her students an award for their practice and dedication throughout the year. This year Ellie received a music trophy.

.

End of School Grades

The end of school came on June 6th this year.  At least for me, it was a fast one!  The kids were super busy with not only school but all of the extra curricular activities that come with being a twelve and nine year olds.

Emory finished up his first year at Pacetti Bay Middle School and he really made us proud with the transition from elementary to middle school.  He continued to play soccer in the fall and spring for a Creeks travel team, he played soccer on the PBMS team in the fall, learned to play the alto saxophone in band and did all of this while maintaining honor roll, only getting two Bs all year long.  He ended the year with a high B in math and the rest As.  Great job, Emory!

Ellie had a fantastic year too!  First, she loved her teacher Mrs. Stecher so much.  That makes such a huge difference in how the year goes so we could not have been more pleased.  She did great in school making all As and Bs throughout the year, even making straight As a couple of times.  She ended the year with all As for her final grades.  Way to go Ellie!!!  Ellie continued her piano lessons, attended two afterschool art camps, played soccer in both the spring and fall and also was a Girl Scout.  It was a busy year but she is very organized so she handled it all without any trouble.  This was her last year as a Mill Creek Mustang as next fall our new neighborhood school will be open.

Mother's Day Weekend

This year Mother's Day took us two Richmond for two important reasons:  first, to celebrate Mother's Day with both of our moms who we love very much but also to celebrate my mom's retirement back at the end of April. 

It was a beautiful weekend that was super busy but we had so much fun squeezing in as many activities as possible!  We were able to spend an entire day with Kenny, Leigh-Emma and the boys which hardly ever happens but was such a nice surprise since they took the day off from work.  We started the day at Maymont and then went back to see their new house that had just moved into a couple of weeks prior. 

The kids are just so cute together and they really do enjoy each other's company.  They had lots of fun running around Maymont looking for animals, playing ball and just being silly together which they get to do so rarely.

 Max is even big enough now to really get in there and be a part of it all.  His smile is just the sweetest!

The kids were even really agreeable about stopping and sitting all together for pictures on this day.  They are such a cute and photogenic group!

 Ellie enjoyed getting a few extra hugs from Ga as the only grandaughter in the bunch!

The cutest part of the entire weekend might have been seeing Ellie and Max together.  Ellie had so much fun looking after him, holding his hand and playing ball with him.  It was the sweetest thing to watch!  I wish we could just pack him in our suitcase and borrow him for a few months!

And of course Dan and Emory still did what Dan and Emory do whenever they get a chance.  Not even a beautiful day at the park could stop them from that. 

The next morning was the surprise part of the trip.  Mom thought that we were there for Mother's Day  and that was why we were meeting Kenny, Leigh-Emma, Jack and Max at Strawberry Street Cafe for brunch.  She would soon find out that we really wanted to honor her and celebrate her retirement from the State of Virginia.  Mom and Dad O' joined us for this special event too.

Mom was very surprised to see a replica of the brick that we ordered for her that will be placed outside of the Capitol building one day soon.

It was a tight squeeze in the booth at SSC so I didn't get very many pictures at all other than these cute ones since they were sitting directly across from me. 

The day did not end with brunch at Strawberry Street.  Next we were off to see the exhibits at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art.

Our last stop of the day was to have afternoon tea at The Jefferson Hotel to celebrate all of the grandmothers, moms, daughters and grandaughters.  This was so much fun because we had Mom, Mom O', Ellie, Leigh-Emma and her mom and grandmother join us.  We were served two types of tea that were really good, little finger sandwiches and lots of assorted scones and pastries.  Unfortunately this is the only picture that I took that afternoon.

Happy Retirement and Mother's Day Mom.  I love you!!!

Ellie's 9th Birthday

Ellie turned 9 on April 11th and it was all about pandas this year.  Even though it was a busy school day morning, we still started the day off with lots of panda fun.  First, it was pancakes in the shape of a panda.

There was just enough time to open a couple of birthday presents (a panda necklace!) before slipping out of her panda pjs and into a panda shirt for school.

Afterschool Ellie enjoyed opening the rest of her presents and having panda cupcakes for dessert.  We surprised her this year with the re-lighting candles and she loved them.  She was all giggles as they kept re-lighting  and by the time she finally got them all to stay out, she asked us to get more so she could do it all over again!

She was so excited that she finally got them to go out...and stay that way!

Ellie's party with her friends was a few days later at a neat art studio called Yes You Canvas.  Here the girls got to paint...take a guess...a PANDA!  Ellie was so happy that her best friend Hannah was there beside her.

Aunt Tammy came down to share the Ellie's special day with her.

At Yes You Canvas, each girl started with her own white canvas and followed the artist's step by step directions to create their own panda.  It was really fun to watch them each come to life and be a little bit different.

Even big brothers painted a panda!

After all of the pandas were complete, we sang happy birthday to Ellie again and enjoyed her panda cake.

All of the finished pandas.  Super Cute!