Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Stories From The Dirt Road
The girlz are back at school for camp this week. One of my most favorite things about the drive to school is that it's easy and relaxing... no traffic, no stoplights, and lots of beautiful scenery to enjoy.
The best part of that drive has always been the dirt road about two miles from the school. I always saw it as a reminder to slow down and enjoy the rural landscape. And I found it funny to tell people that the girlz travel a dirt road to get to the school.
Our last trip to the school was about a month ago, and I could tell the county was about to do something with the road. I thought it might be a new grading technique or possibly a different soil that would better preserve the integrity of the road during rain.
I was all wrong. It turns out, they were prepping the road to be paved.
My favorite dirt road is now concrete. It gives me the sadz just to think about it.
That's not dirt, y'all.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Monsters University Day
Today is Monsters University Day at camp. The girls were asked to dress like their favorite Monsters from the movie. They recently saw the movie with their Nana, but I haven't seen it so I wasn't really sure what to do.
Google came to my rescue, and a quick search showed that Monsters University has Greek Life. I'm not much of an artist, but I've been drawing greek letters on stuff since 1993. Even with time in very short supply, I knew I could make them a set of letters.
I won't go into detail on how I did it, but I got it done. Cassidy is a sister of Python Nu Kappa, and Campbell wanted to be Squishy from Oozma Kappa. I wasn't sure if anyone would get it, but they started getting comments on their shirts before they left the check-in table this morning.
Winning!
We'll see how the shirts do when we wash them. I would be fine with throwing them away after today, but I suspect the girlz will want to wear them again!
Google came to my rescue, and a quick search showed that Monsters University has Greek Life. I'm not much of an artist, but I've been drawing greek letters on stuff since 1993. Even with time in very short supply, I knew I could make them a set of letters.
I won't go into detail on how I did it, but I got it done. Cassidy is a sister of Python Nu Kappa, and Campbell wanted to be Squishy from Oozma Kappa. I wasn't sure if anyone would get it, but they started getting comments on their shirts before they left the check-in table this morning.
Winning!
Take 1
Take 2
Take 3
We'll see how the shirts do when we wash them. I would be fine with throwing them away after today, but I suspect the girlz will want to wear them again!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Summer of Loss
This has been a summer of loss for our family. I haven't written about the deaths here, because I really didn't know what to say. It's starting to affect the girlz. And since this blog is about them, I figure it's time to bring it up.
The first was our neighbor's father who died of cancer on June 13th. He was a kind, gentle man with a herd of Grandchildren. Even though he was sick, he graciously offered to help Ms. Connie coach Cassidy's soccer team last fall (his Granddaughters are close friends with our girlz, and they were also on the team). In the picture below, he's the man keeping goal, wearing a white shirt and blue hat. He was nothing short of amazing.
Next was my brother-in-law, who hit a pothole and fell off his bicycle on June 21. My sister and nephew took him off the life support on June 23. It's hard to understand, even weeks later. He was a Navy Seal who loved to sky dive. How does someone who has jumped out of an airplane thousands of times die from a 3-foot tumble off a bicycle? It's ridiculous, and yet it's our reality.
This is a very old picture, but it's always been my favorite. I was a little girl when they got married, and I honestly thought my sister had married Superman. He looks like Clark Kent, doesn't he?
One of my Mom's most favorite former coworkers passed away on July 17th. He was a kind-hearted man who challenged my Mom and groomed her to take his position -- which she eventually did. I don't believe the girlz ever met him, so I'm not bringing it up with them right now because...
My Aunt Henrietta passed away today (my Grandma's sister).
When I look at her face, I see my Grandma staring back at me. Henrietta lived to be 101 years old! I took this picture at a family reunion about 2 years ago when Cassidy was missing her top teeth. Campbell was being obnoxious and wouldn't get in the picture, so this is all I have.
The first was our neighbor's father who died of cancer on June 13th. He was a kind, gentle man with a herd of Grandchildren. Even though he was sick, he graciously offered to help Ms. Connie coach Cassidy's soccer team last fall (his Granddaughters are close friends with our girlz, and they were also on the team). In the picture below, he's the man keeping goal, wearing a white shirt and blue hat. He was nothing short of amazing.
Next was my brother-in-law, who hit a pothole and fell off his bicycle on June 21. My sister and nephew took him off the life support on June 23. It's hard to understand, even weeks later. He was a Navy Seal who loved to sky dive. How does someone who has jumped out of an airplane thousands of times die from a 3-foot tumble off a bicycle? It's ridiculous, and yet it's our reality.
This is a very old picture, but it's always been my favorite. I was a little girl when they got married, and I honestly thought my sister had married Superman. He looks like Clark Kent, doesn't he?
One of my Mom's most favorite former coworkers passed away on July 17th. He was a kind-hearted man who challenged my Mom and groomed her to take his position -- which she eventually did. I don't believe the girlz ever met him, so I'm not bringing it up with them right now because...
My Aunt Henrietta passed away today (my Grandma's sister).
When I look at her face, I see my Grandma staring back at me. Henrietta lived to be 101 years old! I took this picture at a family reunion about 2 years ago when Cassidy was missing her top teeth. Campbell was being obnoxious and wouldn't get in the picture, so this is all I have.
I'm hopeful this is the end of the death streak for a while. It's been a tough summer for us, but I'm thankful for the tough times because they make the great times even sweeter.
Cassidy has had bad dreams about Mama and Papa moving away and not telling us where they went. Campbell asks daily how we know who will be the next to go the heaven. Last night, Cassidy explained in detail how Jesus comes down and pulls you up to heaven by your back belt loop when you die. And before you ask, no - I don't know know where she got that idea. It doesn't take a genius to see the losses of this summer are taking a toll on them, too.
I totally understand that the girlz need to talk about death in order to start gaining an understanding of it, and I really try hard to honestly answer every question they have. But I don't really know how many more times I can calmly explain why nobody knows who will be the next one to die.
I'm more than ready for this season of our lives to end so we can move on to the next big thing!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Catching Up
It's been nearly a week since I've written anything here, so I thought I should drop in to at least say hello. Last week and this week are two of the three most hectic weeks of our summer. The girlz are at a summer camp 30 minutes away that focuses on keeping the kids outdoors and in motion. Their days are long and hot, and then we follow it up with dance classes at night. My trunk is full of dance gear, snack bags, and drink coolers. Unpacking and repacking their camp bags each day is a job in itself!
The Dance Team is switching things up this coming year - we'll be attending a few more Regional Competitions in the winter and spring, but no National Competition next summer. I'm thinking we might take that opportunity to switch up our summer camp strategy and avoid putting the girlz in physically demanding camps during their 6 weeks of summer dance classes. Hopefully we can figure out how to make that work... they've really loved this camp!
In other news, we FINALLY had family pictures made. It's been nearly three years since we sat for pictures! In our last family picture, Campbell still had her curls and Cassidy still had all of her baby teeth. An updated picture was looong overdue. We even got a few pictures of LT in his uniform!
Here are a few of my favorite shots. Photo credit goes to Erin Daniel Photography!
The Dance Team is switching things up this coming year - we'll be attending a few more Regional Competitions in the winter and spring, but no National Competition next summer. I'm thinking we might take that opportunity to switch up our summer camp strategy and avoid putting the girlz in physically demanding camps during their 6 weeks of summer dance classes. Hopefully we can figure out how to make that work... they've really loved this camp!
In other news, we FINALLY had family pictures made. It's been nearly three years since we sat for pictures! In our last family picture, Campbell still had her curls and Cassidy still had all of her baby teeth. An updated picture was looong overdue. We even got a few pictures of LT in his uniform!
Here are a few of my favorite shots. Photo credit goes to Erin Daniel Photography!
Erin did an outstanding job. And I LOVE the fact that they were all taken right here in our own neighborhood -- super-convenient and meaningful!
So now we're set for another 2 or 3 years. HA!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Riding In The Golf Cart
Day 2 of the new camp was another success. The girlz are having a GREAT time, and are completely wiped out at the end of the day. I'm so glad they get to spend this time outside - learning, swimming, running, singing, and playing.
Dance classes start at 4:15 on Tuesdays, so I had to pick them up shortly before the closing ceremony today. They were all kinds of excited because they got to ride in the golf cart.
They thought it was the most outstanding thing EVER.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Bright Pink Cheeks
GOOD NEWS!
I held my breath as I waited for the girlz to come to the camp office yesterday afternoon. There was no mistaking the big smiles, bright pink cheeks, dirty hair, and stained clothes... their appearance told the story before they had a chance to say a word.
They had a terrific day!
The girlz found a few kids they know from school at camp yesterday and made several new friends in their tribes. Cassidy got to climb the Alpine tower and both girlz spent time in the pool. Cassidy took the swimming test and passed, and Campbell was excited to sing one of her favorite songs during the opening ceremony.
There were no bad dreams last night. And this morning brought no dramatic sighs and no commentary about depression.
Success!!
I held my breath as I waited for the girlz to come to the camp office yesterday afternoon. There was no mistaking the big smiles, bright pink cheeks, dirty hair, and stained clothes... their appearance told the story before they had a chance to say a word.
They had a terrific day!
The girlz found a few kids they know from school at camp yesterday and made several new friends in their tribes. Cassidy got to climb the Alpine tower and both girlz spent time in the pool. Cassidy took the swimming test and passed, and Campbell was excited to sing one of her favorite songs during the opening ceremony.
There were no bad dreams last night. And this morning brought no dramatic sighs and no commentary about depression.
Success!!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Camp and Cupcakes
Today was Day 1 of a different camp for the girlz -- it's a local camp, but one they've never attended before. It's the closest thing we've found to an overnight summer camp experience, but without the overnight part. It looks like BIG fun!!
And Cassidy, in her true fashion, was completely excited until the nerves set in yesterday afternoon. So I decided to make them some cupcakes and let them decorate.
Cassidy was in charge of the icing. Pink of course!
And Campbell was in charge of the sprinkles. More pink of course!
They were beautiful and tasted delicious!
Cassidy had a bad dream about Mama and Papa last night and woke up crying. And this morning she said she was depressed. I asked her what "depressed" means and she said it meant sad and scared.
My sweet, concerned Cassidy was so stressed about the unknowns of today. I've been thinking about both girlz all day and praying they've had a fun day. I want them to be learn how to be confident going into new situations, but the painfully shy child in me recognized the familiar look in Cassidy's eyes. She went with the camp counselor without protest or drama this morning, so I took that as a good sign.
I'll be crossing my fingers for big smiles at pick-up today!
And Cassidy, in her true fashion, was completely excited until the nerves set in yesterday afternoon. So I decided to make them some cupcakes and let them decorate.
Cassidy was in charge of the icing. Pink of course!
And Campbell was in charge of the sprinkles. More pink of course!
They were beautiful and tasted delicious!
Cassidy had a bad dream about Mama and Papa last night and woke up crying. And this morning she said she was depressed. I asked her what "depressed" means and she said it meant sad and scared.
My sweet, concerned Cassidy was so stressed about the unknowns of today. I've been thinking about both girlz all day and praying they've had a fun day. I want them to be learn how to be confident going into new situations, but the painfully shy child in me recognized the familiar look in Cassidy's eyes. She went with the camp counselor without protest or drama this morning, so I took that as a good sign.
I'll be crossing my fingers for big smiles at pick-up today!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Art Camp!
The church hosted an Art Show tonight to display all the pieces the children worked so hard on. This is an event I look forward to each summer -- I love to see how the personalities of each child comes out in their art work! They can all work on the same project, but every one turns out differently.
As usual, Cassidy ROCKED Art Camp. That girl got all the artistic genes that missed me - she's a wonderful little artist!
Campbell loved Art Camp, but for different reasons. Because I was teaching, she was one of just two KinderArt kids that got to stay at camp the whole morning. Art Camp was social time for Miss Campbell!
What a great week we've had!!
As usual, Cassidy ROCKED Art Camp. That girl got all the artistic genes that missed me - she's a wonderful little artist!
Campbell loved Art Camp, but for different reasons. Because I was teaching, she was one of just two KinderArt kids that got to stay at camp the whole morning. Art Camp was social time for Miss Campbell!
Cassidy's Cougar Painting
Cassidy's Weaving Project
Cassidy's Butterfly
Cassidy's Fish
Cassidy's Shrink Art Sunset
Cassidy's Duck Mask
Cassidy's Art Book
Cassidy's Dolphin
Campbell's Watercolor Project
Campbell's Butterfly
Campbell's Fish
Campbell posing with her artwork
What a great week we've had!!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
The Hazards of Art Camp
I've been helping with Art Camp at church this week. I was assigned the KinderArt group (Preschoolers and Kindergarteners) and my domain is the "Messy Centers". Pretty much anything artsy that can create a mess is set up in the Fellowship Hall for the kids to enjoy.
Today's top mess-maker was a table of shaving cream and drops of food coloring.
To draw the boundaries on acceptable behavior, I gave the kids very specific instructions before we started. And out of 21 kids, who do you suspect is the ONLY kid to not follow the directions?
Yep. Miss Campbell.
She ended up getting shaving cream all over the linoleum floor, which I promptly slipped on.
Yes, my own child tried to kill me. At church. With shaving cream.
I've been popping Ibuprofen all afternoon, so I should be good as new tomorrow.
Who knew Art Camp could be hazardous to your health?
Today's top mess-maker was a table of shaving cream and drops of food coloring.
To draw the boundaries on acceptable behavior, I gave the kids very specific instructions before we started. And out of 21 kids, who do you suspect is the ONLY kid to not follow the directions?
Yep. Miss Campbell.
She ended up getting shaving cream all over the linoleum floor, which I promptly slipped on.
Yes, my own child tried to kill me. At church. With shaving cream.
I've been popping Ibuprofen all afternoon, so I should be good as new tomorrow.
Who knew Art Camp could be hazardous to your health?
Monday, July 8, 2013
Christmas in July
Campbell got some old dance recital costumes out of the closet this weekend. This one has always been one of her favorites - it's from Christmas 2 years ago. She was a Christmas Tree in that recital (the cutest tree you ever did see, by the way).
It's Christmas in July!
Friday, July 5, 2013
4th of July
The 4th of July is a really, really, really big deal in our community - we have an opening ceremony with guest speakers and musicians, a community parade, bounce houses and activities for the kids, food sales, a raft race on the creek, and a HUGE fireworks show after the sun goes down.
We didn't participate in the parade this year, but we're already formulating our 2014 Parade Plan. We're going BIG next year!
The girlz had a GREAT time and were completely exhausted by the time we got home. What an awesome day!!
Waiting for the parade to start...
We found the ice cream truck while we were enjoying the kid's activieis on the soccer field!
Campbell enjoyed her snow cone with her whole face!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
What I Learned At The Jersey Shore
2. A U-Turn in New Jersey is not the same as a U-Turn in Virginia. Virginia U-Turns look like this: U. A U-Turn in New Jersey looks more like this: &.
3. It's against the law to pump unleaded gas in New Jersey, but diesel is self-serve. Why?
4. Atlantic City is a city of extremes. Extravagant decadence one block away from destitution. Quiet wait staff serving rowdy Jersey boys. Passing by the Peep Show booths to get to the children's carnival rides.
It was definitely a learning experience. Even though Atlantic City isn't a place I would have chosen, I'm still glad we went. One of the original Minis is moving this summer, so this trip was a last hurrah. And what better place for a last hurrah than Atlantic City?!? We're going to miss our friends so much!!
Gas and tolls for a never-ending road trip: $183
2-night stay in an overpriced New Jersey hotel room: $618
Emergency stash of sweet tea: $8
One last dinner with friends we may never see again: Priceless
Yep... it was worth every last penny!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Nationals - Atlantic City Weekend
We're back!
We made the very loooooong trip to New Jersey this weekend for Nationals. I wasn't overly thrilled about the trip, and smuggled a jug of sweet tea across the Mason-Dixon Line to remind me of home. Our hotel was super-nice and came with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, and microwave. We had the option to move to a cheaper hotel down the street, but I'm glad we stuck with our original plan - spending the extra money was definitely worth it!
The dance team did OUTSTANDING. There are no words to describe how deeply proud I am of our team, their talent, and most of all - their sportsmanship. We're so thankful to have the girlz at a dance studio that focuses on the development strong talent and character.
The competition was tough, but we pulled through. Here's a rundown of how Cassidy's routines did:
Trio: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall
Mini Group Routine: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall, Most Entertaining
Production: Diamond adjudication, 1st place in category, 1st place overall, Highest Score of all Junior Group Routines
Cassidy's routines didn't have to re-compete Saturday night, so we went to the boardwalk for dinner with our friends.
We made the very loooooong trip to New Jersey this weekend for Nationals. I wasn't overly thrilled about the trip, and smuggled a jug of sweet tea across the Mason-Dixon Line to remind me of home. Our hotel was super-nice and came with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, and microwave. We had the option to move to a cheaper hotel down the street, but I'm glad we stuck with our original plan - spending the extra money was definitely worth it!
The dance team did OUTSTANDING. There are no words to describe how deeply proud I am of our team, their talent, and most of all - their sportsmanship. We're so thankful to have the girlz at a dance studio that focuses on the development strong talent and character.
Trio: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall
Mini Group Routine: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall, Most Entertaining
Production: Diamond adjudication, 1st place in category, 1st place overall, Highest Score of all Junior Group Routines
Cassidy's routines didn't have to re-compete Saturday night, so we went to the boardwalk for dinner with our friends.
The Steel Pier
Campbell on an airplane ride
This is on the stage at the end of the pier. It was breezy and cool, the kids were having a BLAST running around on the stage...we could have sat here all night!
Leaving the hotel with all of our stuff!
Stir crazy at about 6 hours into the very long ride home...
Surprise pit stop for ice cream!
Using the big binoculars to check out the boats and shoreline...
Seriously bored about 8 hours into the long car ride home... where's Campbell?
Driving all the way to New Jersey and back in one weekend was kind of a pain, but I'm glad we went. Atlantic City has never been on my list of things to see, so we probably wouldn't have taken the girlz there voluntarily. Nationals made us step out of our comfort zone... now we've experienced it, and the girlz have great memories of our fun weekend!
We get one week off, and then we're back to the dance studio!