Tennis and B-Ball

Nothing says summer in Ridgecrest like taking advantage of the city's Parks and Rec summer course schedule!  They really go all out, offering everything from ping pong to jump-roping to cooking to chess to soccer with British coaches, and everything in between.  For such a small town, it's really impressive!

Rhiannon's sport (class) of choice is consistently tennis.  I'll ask her if she wants to try this or that, and she says, "No, just sign me up for tennis in the summer."   She enjoyed doing it the past two weeks and her coaches, Yoko and Riley, told me they appreciated her good attitude and the fact that she listened to them when they offered suggestions and help.  (I think there were a few kids with some big chips on their shoulders!)

There were a few kids in the class who had been taking tennis year round since they were 5 or so, and there was a big difference in how they played!  That may inspire Rhiannon to try taking the fall tennis class this year...and for us to get out early and practice!!!! 

The class started at 7:15am each day, which was rough, but we had to take advantage of the cooler weather.  By 10:00am it was close to 100 degrees some days!

Rhiannon with Coach Yoko

Coach Riley with Rhiannon--she said he was pretty funny!

Wade tried something new--basketball!  He loved it!  The class was taught by the coach of the local high school's girls basketball team, and members of the team were the counselors.  Coach Campbell and those high school girls were SO GREAT with the kids.  I think Wade and I were bummed that the camp was only 4 days.

Watching Wade learn some basketball basics was very entertaining for me.  The first time they played a "game" with kids in his age group, he would get the ball passed to him and he'd pick it up, hold it tightly in his arms, and then run around with it.  He had absolutely no idea what traveling was, and he wasn't the only kid with this issue.  He just needed a quick reminder or two and he was dribbling like a pro!  I asked him what he did when he didn't make a basket, and he said he told himself, "Well, there's always next time!"  I was happy about this because Wade wants to be perfect at things the first time he tries something, and it's been encouraging to watch him "fail" at something and keep trying, instead of giving up when he can't do it right the first time.

"Mom, will you please get this one printed so I can put it on my bulletin board?"

Wade said Coach Larson was really nice, too.  He asked specifically to get a picture with her.

Swim lessons will come later in the summer.  For now we are going to enjoy actually sleeping in for a couple days and then hop a plane to TEXAS!

Must be summer

Gross:  I went the entire, busy day without a shower.  I will try not to repeat that tomorrow.

Fun:  ladder ball for our family home evening game, followed by a family swim in the pool once it got dark outside.  Our excuse was to make sure the pool light worked.  It was great not having to worry about putting any sunscreen on!

Surprising:  Wade had his first day of basketball camp today and did very, very well.  They played this game called "dribble war," where you have to keep dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, and if someone taps your ball, you get out.  Well, Wade was the last man standing on one of the rounds and got a big ovation from the pack of kids.  He was excited!

Quiet:  We had a very quiet dinner tonight, which is not the norm--there was hardly any conversation because we were concentrating hard on devouring the yummy dinner Mom made tonight--angel hair pasta with this chicken/broccoli/carrots/cheesy sauce on top.  De-Lish. 

One way to practice:  For Jason's Father's Day gift we bought some badminton stuff and had a great time shooting shuttlecocks around the yard Sunday night.  This morning Rhiannon's tennis teacher remarked on how much her hitting had improved over the weekend, and Rhiannon told her about the badminton!

First week of summer vacation

Our summer is off to a good start:
3 groups of friends over to swim
Dinner at the park with friends
Breakfast at McDonalds with friends
Massive bedroom clean-out (filled 2 large trashcans and took 2 large bags to Goodwill)
Start of tennis class for Rhiannon
Daily chores ("work first, then play!")
Visited a nursing home
Played with dogs at the local animal shelter
Went to the library
Lots of movies at home
Swimming, swimming, swimming
Enjoying a later bedtime!!! (the kids' favorite!)

Rhiannon has one more week of tennis, and Wade gets to do a 4-day basketball camp next week, too.  After that we will be gearing up for our TEXAS TRIP!!!!!!!  We are so excited!!!!!!!!!!

School's out!

It's always a shock when the school year ends.  The year seems to drag, and then suddenly it's over and you think, "Wait, didn't we just start a few months ago?"

Both Rhiannon and Wade were very sad about having to say goodbye to their teachers.  These wonderful women definitely prepared our kids for the next grade, but they also were loving and very, very caring.  

Here's Rhiannon with Mrs. Knehans on the last day of school.  This woman is tough, sassy, superbly funny, and, boy, does she know how to handle pre-teen 5th graders!  I will be forever grateful for her quick responses to Rhiannon's needs and her watchful care.  And getting to spend 3 days with her on the 5th grade field trip was a major highlight of MY school year. :)

Mrs. O'Gara is a very different teacher from ones we've had in the past.  I'd heard that kids cried when they had to move on to 2nd grade after having her for a year, but that she wasn't very warm and fuzzy with parents.  I was never asked to volunteer in her room and only walked into her classroom 5 times all year--on the first day, the last day, parent conference day, to drop off Wade's science project, and one afternoon when I subbed for her.  Honestly I just let her do her thing and tried not to bug her!  But I loved her, too, because I could tell how much Wade liked her.  Several times a week he'd tell me some new fact he had learned about Mrs. O'Gara.  The last couple weeks of school he would often comment how he was going to miss her.  I remembered how she IMMEDIATELY responded to some bullying concerns we had the first month of school, too.

On the last morning of school, I asked her if I could take her picture with Wade.  She was so sweet and responsive as I thanked her for all she'd done for Wade.  She got emotional and commented on how hard the last few days of school were for her, because she always felt like each of her classes came together and became a family.  It was hard for her to say goodbye, and hard for us, too!

Rhiannon and her fellow 5th graders participated in a "Moving On Ceremony."  They did a nice job.  A couple girls passed out on the risers, too--that was exciting.

Rhiannon got an award for academic excellence--way to go, sis! 

Can you see Rhiannon on the back row?  I'm secretly jealous--I've NEVER stood on the back row ANYWHERE. :)

So glad Dad could make it, too!

Love ya, sweetie!

 Rhiannon with her friend Kiki!

It's been a great year!  Congrats to Rhiannon for finishing up elementary school and having a super report card, and congrats to Wade for having a "perfect" report card!   Dad rewarded the kids with a HUGE dinner of pizza from Pizza Hut--we got at least 2 days worth of meals from that extravaganza! :)

Lookin' good!

I'll admit it, I'm a $10 haircut kind of gal.  I hate spending lots of money for something that's going to grow out in a couple months or be put in a ponytail anyways.  I'd rather take that money and go spend it on a book!

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered Jack and Jill's here in town--I'd heard they specialized in kids' cuts, but I ignored them, assuming they were pricey.  Well, last week a friend mentioned that they were actually pretty affordable and did a good job, too.  I made an appointment for this afternoon (one downside of the place is that they are BUSY) and took Rhiannon and Wade in.  They both loved it and thought the XBox game system in the corner was pretty cool, too.

Hurray for summer/end-of-school haircuts!

 

She's not sad--I asked her to give me a serious model pose

Rhiannon was thrilled with her cut and styling.  She's got crazy gorgeous THICK hair, but she's also very, very, very low-maintenance (like her mom).  She's a wash-and-go girl, but she wanted her hairstyle to have a better shape to it and look smoother and not quite so thick.  I think we have a winner!

A nice bonus was that the woman doing the kids' hair happened to be an old Moms Club friend of mine--I hadn't seen her in 4 years, and it was fun to catch up!

Apparently they do adult cuts, too--I may be next! :)

Rhiannon turns 11!

Thank you SO MUCH for the phone calls, messages, and happy thoughts sent Rhiannon's way for her birthday.  She loved it all!

Rhiannon turned 11 on Memorial Day.  We went to a ward pancake breakfast and then came home and put her to work helping us assemble the new solar cover for the pool.  Not the greatest birthday activity, but we sure appreciated the help!   

In the afternoon the whole family went to see Thor at the movie theater.  It was pretty good!  (Thanks, Dad, for the movie treats!)  Rhiannon was very gracious and didn't mind Wade going to a friend's b-day party that afternoon, too.

Howard and Sandi joined us for a Pizza Hut dinner that night and more birthday celebrating in the evening.  Rhiannon was excited about the books, clothes, and birthday money she opened!  She also had a great time opening up an oyster from Howard and Sandi and finding her first pearl.  The pearl fit inside this cute turtle necklace. 

The next day Rhiannon took cupcakes to school for her class and said they all enjoyed them!

Then yesterday we concluded the birthday festivities with a swim party.  Her guests were her excited brother Wade and friends Sophia, Nick, Kyler, Keagan, Natalie, Janelle, JenAi and Halle.  The kids were WONDERFUL!  We had an owl theme and made some fun pins (thank you, Oriental Trading) and decorated cupcakes.  We played one game that we borrowed from our friends the Evans family, where you take turns chipping away at this frozen candy bar and let someone else have a turn when they roll doubles.  It was perfect and EASY and the kids loved it.  I sure was glad when Rhiannon gave me the hint about playing the game outside--I'd been really worried about banging on any of our tables indoors--it was painless out on the patio cement! :)  The rest of the time the kids enjoyed swimming, swimming, and more swimming.  (Can I just say right now how much I love the solar cover?  Not only does it keep a LOT of debris out of the pool with the never-ending wind we have, but it also made the pool water temperature bearable.  It's been unseasonably cooler here--I'm not complaining about it!, but without that cover on the pool, I'm not sure a pool party would have ever happened! :)) 

Our party guests and birthday girl looked like they had a wonderful time.  It is always a pleasure having kids over who are polite and know how to have some good, clean fun! 

Rhiannon is a loving daughter, kind sister, and loyal friend.  She brings joy to our home and really makes life easy for her parents!  Happy birthday, sweetheart!  We love you!!!!!!!!!!! 

Piano! Baseball! Science Fair! Medal! Trophy!

It's time for a massive blog update.  What can I say, life gets a little busier (if that's possible) in May!

Rhiannon had a piano recital on May 21st (Happy belated birthday to Uncle Jordan and cousin Alex!).  She did a fantastic job playing "Red Robin Rag."  I'm sorry--I didn't get video this time. :( 

Our sweet girl is making good progress in piano.  Her teacher paid her a compliment at her lesson this week--she hadn't been making notes like she usually did because she was enjoying Rhiannon's piano playing too much!

Wade's team finished up the season on Tuesday at the championship game.  It wasn't a pretty game (the other team scored a LOT and the Dodgers didn't get any runs), but the kids were pumped about making it that far and were excited to get some nice 2nd place trophies.  After listening to the other team's coaches, I was again thankful to Coach Jones and Coach Martin for their efforts--they did a good job keeping the kids positive and didn't bark at them too much.

Wade got his first HIT of the season at the last game, too.  Even though it was a foul ball, the whole team AND his coaches were excited for him to make some contact!!! 

Baseball started for us back in February--it's been a long 4 months, but it's been full of great memories, too.  Will Wade want to play again next year?  Stay tuned!

 

Rhiannon made a model of the heart for her science fair project this year.  There were some wonderful resources online--once she took the time to study all the materials her mother had gathered for her, she was off and running and had a good time with it!

Rhiannon also won some awards at the last school assembly yesterday.  She got a third place medal for AR points for the whole year (translation:  that means she read A LOT of books) and also was honored with her 4th million "dollars" for reading that many words over the school year.  Congratulations, sweetie!

I hope she won't kill me for the bedhead pic--I wanted to get this blog updated quickly! :)