Graduating Girlfriends

Months ago, plans began for a combined 8th Grade Graduation Party with Ella and 3 of her best friends.  Of all the decisions and details that went into pulling that off, one of my favorites was the idea to take pictures of the girls on campus to use for invitations and decorations at the party.  Ansley's (one of the girls in these pictures) dad is a professional photographer, so he was happy to spend a few hours doing this for the girls!  These are just a few of the over 300 that he took!  There were individual shots of each girl and lots more with uniforms and school landmarks/signs I don't want to photoshop out! :)

I remember holding Baby Ella in my arms, rocking her in the rocking chair and praying specifically that she would always be surrounded by positive influences that pointed her to the Lord and made her a better person.  Ella has an AMAZING group of friends; they are a blessing to all around them (these pictures show just 4 of the 9 in their friend group).  They helped her thrive in and love Middle School.  One the best parts of this party we threw was having each teacher we invited show up and then hug us, bless us with compliments about our kids, and thank us for raising such good-hearted girls.  Proud!

Dance Recital 2019!

 Because Delia was a part of the opening number for this year's recital, it meant a lot of extra time practicing and being present at both nights of recital this year.  Usually we just have to be there for either the Friday or Saturday show, this year it was both.  Fourteen hours at the performance center over 3 days felt sort of stressful, especially with the hundred other end-of-May things going on, but we survived and ended recital season tired, but proud of how much Delia has grown and improved again this year.

This is Delia's "Think" group at their last practice. This class/number was probably her favorite dance to be a part of ever.  Her teacher really turned this group of girls into a team and encouraged them to encourage one another.  Delia ends this dance year with all these new friends.

And here are some not great quality pictures of her dancing at the recital rehearsals.  Good enough to keep the memories alive when we are scrolling back. :)

That high-energy curtain call after the show remains a highlight for Delia!  The auditorium is sold out each night, so taking a bow to hundreds of people screaming for you really pumps her up, as you can imagine!

One last picture with her good church friend Brittany, who is "retiring" from dance after this season.

SUPER special this year was having Grandpa and Grandma catch the recital!  They made it out for these milestone moments for our girls this May and we're so touched that they'd make the trip and endure our insane schedule to be there for their grandkids!  

Dance Picture Day

This year Delia was excited to increase her involvement at her dance studio.  Besides the normal 1 class/dance we let her take each year, she was also invited to audition for the big recital opening number and landed a part!  So, she spent 2 hours a week learning 2 dances this season!  It kept us a little busier, especially during play season and the weekend of the recital, but Delia is proud of her progress and work and both her dances were super fun to watch!

The opening number had about 30 girls in it and was to a 5 minute long montage of different songs, like "Sweet Dreams" and "Rhythm is a Dancer" and "Come Alive" and "Everybody Dance Now".  Seeing all the different waves of dancers and moving pieces to this dance on the big stage was awesome.  Delia did great in it! 

But, Delia's favorite number was her jazz dance with 7 other friends to the song "Think" by Aretha Franklin.  This song was SO CUTE with a message of empowerment about standing up for others and yourself.  Delia got to play the part of the bully through dance and just loved being a part of this one with her amazing teacher Miss Bethany.  (You can tell she is really feeling her costume in these pictures she posed for all by herself too!)

I don't ever order the pictures because Delia all dolled up in makeup, hairspray, and sequins is not my favorite way to remember her ;), but I am naughty and snap a little picture of the photos on the board at the recital.  Enjoy!

Mothers and Daughters

Here is something I posted on Instagram that I'll record here too.  "Ella shared a story that just delighted me.  She was recently walking from art class to band with some friends while the kindergarten classes were getting out of chapel.  As each kindergarten kiddo passed her, they high-fived or hugged her.  She wondered, 'How do they all know me?' and she got her answer when a girl at the end of the line threw her arms around Ella and exclaimed, 'Teacher Jen!'"

This story has a sequel too!  I was recently outside watering the plants when the group of girls who play together on our street shouted to me, "Hi Ella!"

 I had a lovely Mother's Day with lots of spoils from my family.  They cooked an amazing dinner and showered me with presents.  Fun this year was receiving a gift bag full of my favorite candy, which the girls bought totally on their own with babysitting money and a walk to the drug store.  They're getting so old!

A chapter in our lives closed at last week's Mother Daughter Night for the church girls' group we have all been a part of.  It only runs through 8th grade, so Ella is done and we'll no longer do this all together.

The 6th grade class I teach read their moms some touching and hilarious questionnaires they had filled out about their moms.  We got the dirt on the moms who cook too much quinoa for their kids' taste, who clean their bathroom to the Rocky soundtrack, whose greatest talent is scrubbing the patio, who should turn off the KLOVE and let their kids listen to fun music, and who impart wisdom-- like don't drive like them.  

As an 8th grader, Ella got to be in the grand finale fashion show.  She modeled my wedding dress, a dress she found for $3 at the thrift store while doing the Smart Shopping Badge, and her 8th grade graduation dress.  She also had an opportunity to take the stage with her classmates and share favorite memories and advice for younger girls.  Delia and I will miss her being a part of this ministry with us, but it was a neat way for her to end.

 I had a great time teaching my little students, like I do every year at Mother's Day, to see all the big and small ways their moms serve and care for them.  This year has been one of my hardest years of teaching for various reasons and I'm not super sad it's almost done.  But there have been plenty of sweet moments in my classroom that I'll hold as good memories.

And finally...the news that Almost Graduated Ella received a phone for an early present!  We set our home phone in her contacts to say "Happy Graduation, Ella", hid the new phone in the couch cushions and called her on it one night.  She was crying as she answered it and realized what it was.  So far, it's going okay!  The phone, at this point, it nothing but a communication device.  It's been fun to watch her connect with family members and friends.  And it was VERY nice to have her take her own phone to this week's babysitting job!  As scary as it is to hand your 13 year old this kind of danger and distraction, Ella has been handling it with self control and maturity.  And how cute are these texts she sends me?! :)

School Stuff

Keeping us busy this May have been school activities nearly every night!  

Our school is super blessed to have a bit of an enrollment crisis right now-- we have too many kids and not enough classrooms!  Part of the solution to this problem has been the creation of a beautiful new preschool building on campus, which will free up 4 whole classrooms for the elementary to move into when we move out.  It's been such a delight to watch the building go up right in front of our very eyes each recess.  You just can't beat the excitement of 4 year old boys who get to watch diggers and dump trucks mere feet away from them or visit with friendly construction workers! :) (The picture above shows the day our first wall was framed-- SO thrilling!)

One special night we even got to tour our new building's construction site!  This was the first time our new preschool building felt REAL to me.  We were invited to sign our names and verses we prayed over the rooms on the beams. 

 (I claimed this classroom because I liked its position in the back of the building and all the natural light; we'll see if I get it.)

Exciting things have been happening for the girls too!  Ella played in her last band concert.  Though the saxophone comes easily for her and she's even held the First Chair position all year, she did decide to give it up because there is just not enough space in her high school schedule to do ALL the things she's interested in and foreign language and art classes beat music for her.  She went  out strong with a great concert and even a little solo for one of her choir numbers.

 One week was a Spirit Week where the kids could pay a dollar each day to not wear their uniform.  The money went to our local pregnancy center.  On pajama day, Delia and her good friend Cailyn went as twins.

Another day, Ella and and her entire 8th grade class took a trip to Santa Cruz!  Many fun memories were made with her friends on the Boardwalk and beach.  She graduates in just a few days and we celebrate what an awesome experience she had in Middle School!  She took advantage of many opportunities and really flourished.  We're so proud of her!

The Rest of the Visit with Kyle (2 Months Later)

Sorry for the 2 month gap in our story of when Uncle Kyle visited, folks!  Life lately has been all about keeping our heads above water and trying hard not to forget the million things that need to happen each day.  After a whirlwind weekend of non-stop activity, I find myself on this Monday evening with NOTHING TO DO and I can't handle the idleness!  Time to blog! :)

When we hosted Kyle, we enjoyed a wonderful week with him.  There was some downtime to play games (about 27 rounds of Quirkle, our new favorite); watch movies (check out Free Solo on Hulu if you haven't already-- wow!); and catch up on conversation.  And there were some fun outings too.  In March you read about our trip to Alcatraz.  Here are a few other fun things that we did...

We hiked around Knight's Ferry!  The wildflowers were in bloom, the polliwogs were hatching, the river was high and full of white rapids, and our puppy was excited to pull us around.  It was a lovely afternoon.

We trekked out the Bay Area to use our Tech Museum membership again.  We spent a day creating egg drop contraptions and getting shaken in the earthquake simulator.

For an early graduation present, Kyle planned a fabulous date night with Ella too.  They went to a Michelin Star Chinese restaurant in Sacramento, then caught the Cirque Du Soleil Crystal show.  This was a phenomenal treat for Ella and she totally loved sharing this special time with Uncle Kyle.

My house is packed with more family visitors this week!  With dance recitals occupying this entire weekend, our next weekend full of celebration for our graduate (!!), and the week after that our big summer vacation, it will be good to get caught up on the blog so I can post about these exciting events hopefully sooner than 2 months after they occur!