Another Great Year in the Books

2021-2022.  Another school year survived!!  I sat at high school graduation last night (these things are hitting closer and closer to home each year) reflecting on this school year and just feeling SO THANKFUL.  Thank you, Lord for another group of the dearest, sweetest preschoolers; for 2 new co-teachers who became fast friends; for a blow-our-socks-off Robotics season, for 3 amazing plays and the joy that is watching Ella and Delia and their castmates shine on stage; for a year of friendships grown and adventures had; for good grades and good reports from teachers; for all the end of the year hugs, tears, treats, cards, gifts, and appreciation I get from my parents.  It's been a great year and one I'm a little sad to say goodbye to.  At the end of the year Awards Ceremony, the girls even walked away with some special recognition.  Delia received a Presidential Award for Character, recognizing her positivity and leadership in the classroom.  And Ella got one of the Distinguished Christian Awards.  They hand these out to the students who intentionally and distinctly live their faith in the categories of Fine Arts. Academics, Athletics, Service, etc.  Ella was awarded hers in the category of Leadership.  We are so proud of both girls for their extracurricular and academic achievements, but even more for the strong Christian character and faith they share with their classmates and teachers.

 

Here are a few pictures from the last month of school.  One week the high school had a fun spirit week and the girls could dress up every day.  Above was their favorite: "Anything But Your Backpack Day".  Delia is using her old R2D2 suitcase as a plan B when Dave said she could NOT roll the pulpit around all day.  Haha!  Her favorite was the boy who carried his school stuff around in a grill, and then lit it up and threw some burgers on it at lunch time!

 

Bucket Hat and Sunglasses Day

Hawaii Day

Field Day!  This favorite tradition at our school has each class dress in a color and spend a day competing in outdoor field games like tug-of-war, dodgeball, Kan Can, and (Ella's specialty) the waterslide.  

Delia and her Orange Freshman had a blast at their first Field Day!

Ella and her Robotics team once again led an assembly for the middle school to show off what their robot could do and try to get some new recruits.  I was able to pop in and watch and it never ceases to amaze me the ease with which Ella handles herself on stage.  She had an auditorium of rowdy middle schoolers in the palm of her hand-- attentively listening, eagerly asking good questions, and jumping up and down to get picked to drive.  She knows of at least 3 for sure new students joining them next year and is super excited to grow the team.  This is her passion and she dreams big-- this year she hopes to add a Robotics Exploratory to the middle school curriculum too. 

Delia was finally able to bring home the fruits of her labor from her most fun class this year too-- Ceramics!  These are just a few of our favorites.  I LOVE that you can totally tell these are Delia's!  She found such creative, cute, colorful ways to complete the assignments!

I had my end of the year lunch with the preschool staff.  These are dear friends, but a day in preschool is busy-- there's not much time to socialize!  We always love being able to sit together and just fellowship.

On the last day of school, we celebrated with Delia's favorite: fancy hamburgers!

While Ella and her friends celebrated a little differently-- by driving straight up to Yosemite after their last exam and crushing the intense Vernal Falls hike!  Are they nuts to go straight from a 2 hour, brain-bending Calculus exam to a 1000 foot of elevation gain in 1.5 miles, leg-burning hike? Yes.  But, Ella assures me amazing memories were made.  

They actually spent the night and had the best time getting soaked in all the magnificently flowing falls the next day!

They hiked to Mirror Lake.

The post-exam hikers made it back just in time for graduation.  We celebrated with Ben's family, who had an 8th grade and high school graduate this year!  

Tessa is Delia and Kate's best friend.  They are so excited for her to join them in high school next year!

So, now summer.  We look forward to celebrating our graduating friends, anniversaries, and birthdays this coming week.  We'll revel in rest, and completing projects around the house, and welcoming our 2 new church staff members, joining us in the next few weeks.  We'll continue to work: Ella is taking college classes online and working her dream job teaching kids at her rock climbing gym; Dave has been studying hard to prep for his big role as a Synodical Deputy in Grand Rapids.  Highlights on the calendar include the girls' first HiCamp, a big family vacation to Washington DC, and a visit from Auntie Heather.  It will go fast, as it always does, but we anticipate a summer as fun and rewarding as our 2021-2022 school year!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Our middle school play this year was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  Because 2 classes, the 9th and 10th graders, lost their middle school show Aladdin due to Covid, our director invited them to be a part of this production too.  So it was a play for 6th-10th graders, with upperclassmen serving as mentors.  Ella was a stage manager, while some of her drama friends did vocal coaching, hair and makeup, etc.  I love these shows where the gifts of literally every drama student in the middle and high school are being utilized!  My girls loved it because it gave them the opportunity to get to know the next crop of drama kids.  Delia became fast friends with all the 6th, 7th and 8th graders, forming tight bonds across class lines.   

The play was cute, the music was catchy, and Delia as the car delighted us with her facial expressions.  But, I must say that as far as story goes, this is an odd one.  My friend Donna summarized it like this: "Vulgaria, a kidnapper, a living car, a romance with little character development, and a bunch of soldiers who changed sides abruptly..."  The first time I saw it, I was a little lost honestly.  But, by the fourth show, we were genuinely laughing at the absurdity.

  

Of course we are biased, but Delia as the car stole the show for us!  She didn't have any lines, except to sing that iconic theme song over and over (she never wants to hear it again!).  All her acting was done entirely with her face and she was perfectly cast!

When she wasn't on stage as Chitty, she was a member of the chorus, singing and dancing to some of the big numbers like "Toot Sweets" and "Teamwork".

Cast pictures-- above the professional one, below the before-performance one featuring our favorite stage manager!  Ella kept things running smoothly backstage, was in charge of the finicky fog machine, helped with costume changes, and came on stage before the show with her friend Marina to introduce it with witty banter and pray for it.

All the freshman.

Stage sisters.  Delia was beside herself when our director told her she could keep the costume!  Guess we're set for Halloween now! ;)

This is so special to us.  Delia's Sunday School teacher, Mr. D., has not missed any of her plays this year!  He's been such a kind encourager!  We love that he always brings his grandson for a special date.

And a just a few of the new friends!  You know Delia has always run on the pure and innocent side.  I think a whole season to hang out with kids younger than her, who looked UP to her, was just wonderful for her!  She ranks this play as one of her best experiences.  And she joked with everyone that she feels qualified to nail any future role as an object.  For next year's Sound of Music she has her eye on the part of...THE HILLS! Haha!

All the Prom Pics

At our school Prom is called Junior/Senior Banquet (JSB).  It is traditionally hosted by the junior class to celebrate and honor the senior class.  Ella had a wonderful time at her first JSB!  There is a strict rule that only juniors and seniors are allowed to attend though, so Ella's boyfriend Ben had to sit this one out since he graduated last year.  Though he was missed, these lovely ladies made the most of Girls' Night Out!  After a day of setting up the Community Center to be a "A Night in Italy", these girls then spent hours doing each others' hair and makeup and getting ready together.  Ella said this is always her favorite part of a formal.  

Pictured left to right: Maya, Ella, Marina, Ansley, Madison, Anna and Ruth.  Not pictured 2 friends who couldn't make it: Kacy and Avery.

A few new friends have joined this group in high school, but many of these kids are ones that have been in our life since grade school.  They've slept over at my house, eaten dinner at my table, come to birthday parties, rollerbladed and played laser tag after hours in our church, and joined us on family outings.  We've cheered for them in sports and drama and FFA and Debate.  We've attended their art shows, choir concerts, and princess coronations.  They are a magnificent bunch and one of my greatest joys has been watching Ella and her friends become beautiful inside-and-out young women who use their many gifts to glorify God!

All the Things Spring

When trying to decide how to name this blog post, I struggled.  I apologize that I can find no common thread in the things you are about to read.  So, enjoy a glimpse of our spring, which featured: crumpets, dinosaurs, roses, flying cars, paint parties, make up, wicked witches, donuts, new recipes, and Japanese spider crabs.

My Book Club read a lovely book set in London in WWII, so I had fun buying all the crumpets, scones, tea, and English Toffee that I could find at Trader Joes to compliment our great discussion!

Ella the Artist was my hero once again, donating a morning of her valuable to time to help me paint my ridiculous dinosaur shirts.  It's not my favorite school project, but she makes it much better. 

Our next drama production is already underway and Delia was happy when we found the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car visiting a local car museum.  When we went to visit, we even heard the car's PR lady proclaim that "The car IS the most important character in this play!"  Fun news for the girl cast to PLAY THE CAR in May.

The window for perfect, not fried in the CA heat, roses AND rain is small. I love when they collide.

Ivy up to her antics!

Easter Sunday, where we celebrated Jesus' resurrection with an absolutely packed sanctuary and a hopeful, bright future for our church.  And with some relaxing family time and delicious food-- including this new recipe which is a fresh take on the old Strawberry Pretzel Jell-O "Salad" using mascarpone, honey and just-picked strawberries.  A win!

Donuts and Dogs!  It's not a legit break without a drive to the good donut shop in our jammies with Ivy!  

Delia's love for color and fashion combined with Ella's love for art has given the girls a new interest-- fun makeup!  We first spent a little time at the beauty store browsing all the bold eye shadow pallets and then spent the afternoon trying on dramatic eyes.

Delia and her creative friends planned a Paint Party and had a blast one day creating and enjoying each others' company.  Meanwhile, Ella and her creative friends spent a day making a fancy Spring Break breakfast and then mastering the art of cream puffs.  Do I love that a good time to my girls and their friends is getting together to make stuff?  Yes, yes I do.

One Spring Break activity was finally enjoying the girls' big Christmas gift-- tickets to see Wicked in Sacramento.  We had a wonderful night enjoying dinner and strolling through the nearby Capitol Rose Garden.

Seeing Wicked with the girls, Delia especially, was super fun!  The music is familiar, but it was their first time seeing the show.  Delia gripped and grabbed me, her eyes big with excitement throughout.  We were blown away by the spectacular production design (elaborate sparkly costumes, constantly moving sets, cool lights, and even characters flying on ropes and harnesses!).  It was a neat thing to share with our drama-enthusiasts!  And to be back in a theatre enjoying a real Broadway show felt special too.

Without any big Spring Break vacation plans, we did ask the girls what their dream outing would be and both enthusiastically answered, "The aquarium!"  It's been 7 years since we've been members, and the girls wanted to revisit some of their best childhood memories.  The magic of the aquarium is for everyone, if you are in kindergarten or high school!  We marveled over our God of Wonders and His amazing underwater creations.

But, it was these Japanese spider crabs, in a brand new "Into the Deep" exhibit, that stole the show for us!  These are real.  I feel I just need to say that because when we walked up to their tank, that was my first question, "YO, are these FAKE?!?!"  They are monster crabs, with a "wingspan" of 12 feet, weighing as much as 40 pounds (larger than one of my students), walking around their tank both fascinating and terrifying us.  We are still thinking and talking about them.

Admiring jellies and tornados of sardines.

Petting decorator crabs and bat rays.

That clamshell is shrinking! ;) (For reference...)

Enjoying the salty ocean air.  We watched mama and baby otters and seals from the aquarium's deck.  We found Pacific Grove's famous "purple carpet", which looks especially stunning in the spring. 

We even dug our toes in that soft, white Asilomar sand.

There are about 5 more weeks of school left, which will fly by with all the usual end-of-the-year fun, including Ella's Robotics Assembly and Junior/Senior Banquet (another formal just for upperclassmen-- like prom) and Delia's play performance!  Cheers, Spring!  You've been good to us!