Thank you gifts

As the school year was winding down, so was dance. We try and give our teachers at the studio an end of year thank you as well. This year, we had more teachers than we've had in the past, so I wanted to do something fun and cool that wouldn't cost me too much money. I also wanted it to mean something. An acquaintance of mine from home (someone my mom goes to church with) had a great idea that she was using for her school teachers. She posted it on her blog with the contact info and everything. After a lot of looking and thinking, I decided to order these for our dance teachers. I decided to use frames and went with the studio colors. Even though these went to dance teachers, the message is the same. I hope (and think) they all enjoyed them.

Catch up

Ok, today I finally got caught up with my blog. I've been busy (no real excuse) but the weather hasn't been very cooperative either. Sometimes I would sit down and get ready to blog only to hear some thunder. We try and turn the computer off during our thunderstorms in hopes that our computer will stay safe. So, rather than do one VERY long post, I actually posted as the events would have happened. Due to that fact, there are 6 posts below this one. I always laugh when one of my friends does this, but sometimes you just can't help it. Enjoy catching up with us!!

Summertime

Summer is here. Well, at least it is because school is out. Now we have a few months of trying to figure out what to do with the girls. At least we have a start. Yesterday, Riley went to a pool party thrown by one of her friends' moms. She had a pool and pizza party for everyone in Riley's class, plus friends of her other children. Even though it rained most of the time, all the kids had fun. Too bad I couldn't take Kamryn anywhere due to the rain, but she helped me around the house. Starting tomorrow, they both have swim lessons in the morning (I'll try and get pics this time) for the next two weeks. Then, we have dance almost every day next week as we get ready for recital next weekend. After that, I'll be looking for activities and summer camps for the girls to keep them busy. I'm sure Kamryn will go to camp at her school sometimes and Riley will go to the camp the city of Clermont is running. We also have dance (national competition) and movies to see. Plus, lots of friends to try and see. We also need to make sure we do some reading, keep up with our writing, practice our math, etc. For Kamryn, we can work on writing her letters and her blend sounds as she'll be learning to read next year. I'm sure we'll also have to hit Disney a few times, not to mention the water parks. Plus, Riley wants to play some golf. I guess I already have a good list of things to do with the girls. Let the summer begin!!

End of the School Year

Another school year has come to and end. This time, we had two kids ending their years with programs. We are so proud of Riley and Kamryn and the work that they put in this year. I borrowed an idea from a friend and made a crayon wreath for both of our teachers and they loved it. We also had each girl write a note and draw them a picture. We're thankful that they both had great teachers and learned so much, especially Kamryn.

Riley and her awards

Riley finished up all her stuff and spent basically the last two and a half weeks of school just playing around. She had an awards ceremony were we found out that she made the Principal's honor role (all A's) for the nine weeks and the year. We have a deal with Riley that she has to keep her grades up to get the Christmas present she wants (a wii). She had also gotten little awards for reading and math as school was ending. I think she read the most books or scored the most points on AR tests (questions on books they've read they answer on the computer) for her class because she got a really nice hat from her teacher and she said she was the only one. We can really see a difference in her reading. She's always been a good reader, but we weren't sure she would make that leap to chapter books since they take longer to read. So far, it hasn't been a problem. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep it up through the summer. I'm up for suggestions on books she might like.

Her class had a great end of year party. We had a luau theme and one of the moms had awesome decorations. The girls all had grass skirts and some of the boys wore Hawaiian print shirts. They made bracelets or door hangers, colored pictures, ate pizza and chips, and played games. Then we went outside for ice cream and the limbo contest. I do have to say that I did as well as most of the kids, but had to eventually stop as they got too low. They really enjoyed their day and it was a fun way to end a wonderful year. Even Riley's teacher Mrs.Powell had fun!

Kamryn was in an end of year program at her school on Friday (the last day of school). She learned all kinds of songs, verses and poems to perform. Her class (pre-k 3) was very cute and they all knew their parts. I'm sure it's daunting to be up on the 'stage' in from of all the parents for their class and those for k-4, but they did great. Kamryn was in the center and was the loudest it seemed like (taking after her sister I suppose). It's amazing how much kids can retain! While Riley would always do the whole program for us in the weeks leading up to it, Kamryn would only do parts and pieces here and there. Actually, it turned out that she knew parts from the k-4 class presentation as well as hers.

Kamryn and her class saying a poem

Singing a song

Kamryn with her best friend Taylor

Kamryn getting her awards.

She received an award for Bible, letters, phonics, numbers and counting. She also got one for getting all 'outstanding' in her subjects all year. Then, she got a surprise award - the citizenship award. We are very proud of her for this. This particular award only goes to one student in each class. Kamryn's teacher. Mrs. Wise, said that Kamryn was the recipient as she was most teachable all year, was a good listener as well as a good student, and was a good friend to all in the class.This is one area where she is definitely diferent than Riley.

Old Friends

the old gang and their kids

May brought several old friends of mine from NC down to Florida. Well, actually, one lives in Tampa with her family. Due to Facebook, I've reconnected with lots of old friends and as they've come to Orlando we've been able to get together. My kids think it's funny and really only have fun if my friends have young kids too. Thankfully, some of them do. The most recent visit was from Stephanie and Brian and their sons Turner and Will. Our mutual friend Britt lives in Tampa with her husband Doug and son Cole. These are women I have known since I was in 8th grade or so. We were in 4-H together, we all rode horses and we all went to the same junior and senior high school (they were all younger than me though). They are Britt and Cole came over one Saturday and we met Steph and her family at the Polynesian where they were staying. We spent the afternoon in the pool catching up with each other. Mostly it was me catching up since I had gone to college out of state and then moved down here. I hadn't seen Britt until very recently and didn't even know she lived in FL until a few months ago. Steph was down here on business but I hadn't seen her since our wedding in '96. It was so fun to meet their kids (Turner is Riley's age, Will is 15 months, and Cole is 23 months) and spend time together. I hope we'll be able to get together again. It would have been even better if Steph's twin sister Jenn had been able to come, plus our other friend Wendy. I'm excited for the next time I go home as I have even more people I need to see! Plus, I'm sure living in a vacation hot spot, I'll have even more opportunities to get together with old buddies!

Steph and her family

Britt's son Cole
Turner and Riley - once they got over being shy and the whole boy/girl thing they got along great and had SO much fun in the pool and on the slide

Memeorial Day

Memorial Day was pretty uneventful for us this year. Usually we go to the beach with friends and spend all day. We used to spend the night, but have had to stop that now that the kids are in school. We've had this tradition since before we had kids so it was sad that we couldn't make it this year. The main reason was that Doug had to work. Plus, most of our friends had other plans or no longer live on the area. So, our day was spent hanging out at home so the girls could play with friends, doing a little shopping, and seeing a movie (Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian). Not as great as the beach, but still fun. Sunday, however, we had a wonderful evening with friends. There are several of us who used to work together at Disney at the Brown Derby who still get together. Times have changed since we all have kids now. We've gotten together a couple of times and it's really fun just to hang out, catch up, let the kids play, and trade fun stories. We're really lucky that Nancy has become quite the entertainer, and that Kristine's husband James entertains all of the kids (basically they attack him and he puts up with it). It might be a little more difficult when the two youngest start joining the mix - right now it's 4 on 1 but it will eventually be 6 on 1. We're thankful that we're all still friends and enjoy each other's company since it's been almost seven years since we all worked together.

Kamryn the fish

As summer is fast approaching here in FL (already here if going by temps), the girls are getting ready for swim lessons. Kamryn will take 2 sets of lessons and Riley one set. Kamryn's first set were in May and were twice a week for four weeks. Somehow, we managed to avoid most of the rain and only got rained out once. Of course, that was the last lesson and the make up day even got rained out. So, a full week later they finally had their last lesson and took their "test". I wish I had some pics to post, but alas, I was a bad mom. I'll do better next time. The American Red Cross changed their lesson criteria this year so I wasn't sure how it would work for Kamryn. She did great!! She passed "Pre-school Level 3" which is the highest they have for that age group (3 &4). I have no idea what that means for her summer lessons, but I'm anxious to find out. She can swim the whole way across the pool (25 meters) as long as she flips on her back to rest and breathe. She does breathe by lifting her head up, but then she starts laughing which makes her swallow water sometimes. I think it might take a bit to learn to breathe to the side, but I'm impressed with what she can do. She is definitely further along than Riley was at this age. Of course, if she's in water where she can touch, she just puts her feet down as she breathes. They both have lessons starting soon (June) and will go for four days a week for two weeks. then, the rest of the summer will just be for play and for me to push them to continue to get better. I guess I really better pay attention during their lessons so I know what to work on with them.