Swimming in to Summer Break

May can only be described as hot. So to stay cool, we went swimming. As a family, we all went to our beach at the lake the very first day of summer break. Sunny, clear water and hardly anyone there. Originally we had planned to go up to St. Louis for a couple of nights but after the hectic past few weeks, all we wanted was to relax and hang out at home. St. Louis will be there another time for a visit.

On Friday, the Y had their first pool party of the summer. Games, music, hot dogs, burgers, watermelon and some sno cones. And someone passed her swim test. This means, she is now allowed to go on the slides in the deep end of the pool. 

In training for his future summer job: 

Amelia opened up her own backyard cafe. Love the name she came up with all by herself. Serving lemonade and brownie bites before dinner because it's fun!

And a pint for the piggies:

Harvest season is in full swing:

On Sunday, we celebrated Elliot's friend, Amelia, 5th birthday. They had a huge pool and the kids had lots of fun. 

Happy Birthday, Amelia!

Field Day and Last Day of School

On Friday, Amelia's school had their annual field day. I was able to join them as I had that day off after just returning home from a busy week at work. It was a hot one! Morning assembly with the high school band performing:

Because of the heat, lots of disciplines involved water. So by 7:45am the entire class was soaked. 

Amelia surprised us by winning 2nd places in 50 yard sprint as well as the sack race. 

First, second and third place in the 50 yard:

To cool off, we spoiled the children with some sno cones. 

At lunch time, Elliot joined in on the fun. He fit right in with all the second graders. 

While the other kids hung out on the playground, these two littles ones enjoyed the tree swing.  

The best part of Field Day was the class' win in Tug and War:

The day finished off with the graduates from a nearby local high school walking the halls of their former elementary school.

The last couple of school days were filled with movie watching, games, and a firetruck visit. Each year, the local fire department stops by and cools off the elementary school children:

Class award for being a math wizard and her ribbon from her second place in the sack race. 

And today, it's the last day of school for my second grader. Moving up to third grade in August!

Morning assembly and reading awards: 

Then it was party time. As a room mom, I decided another Luau theme would be fun. Thank you picture for our favorite second grade teacher and some delicious treats.  

They love to take silly pictures:

Goodbye school, hello summer!

Our Little Dancer

For the past 9 months, Amelia took a combination ballet/ tap class at a local dance studio. While she enjoyed the class, she has not the enthusiasm to become the next great dancer. And honestly, I'm not cut out to be a dance mom either..haha. In the end of the year, the dance studio has a recital where all the little and big dancers perform one dance per class. Since Amelia was enrolled in a dual class, they performed two dances: one ballet and one tap. Before the recital, professional pictures were taken in their cute little tutus.  Ballet (I only ordered one professional picture hence the proofs on the other pics):

Tap:

Behind the scenes:

On Friday was the rehearsal for the recital, which allowed the girls to familiarize themselves with the school auditorium where the recital would be held the next evening. 

Still a little uncoordinated...

But the next day, the girls were all dressed and ready to dance their little hearts out. Looking like a Prima Ballerina. 

First up was their ballet performance:

Next up the tap performance, with costume change in between. The life of a dance mom can be very stressful (and costs a lot of money):

Our little teacher and her dance teacher, Ms. Rene: 

Daddy brought his little girl some flowers. She was so delighted and happy of her very own bouquet that she took them to her room that night. 

We tried for a family picture but someone was too tired...#reallife

And that concludes dance this year and most likely for the foreseeable future. Amelia is eager to try out karate next. My little dancer walking into the sunset:

The next day, just us girls (including my co-worker and her daughter) went to see other students from the dance studio perform at the TPAC. There are too many classes to fit in to one recital and the older, competition dancers performed too. 

Before the recital, there was a 45 minute ballet performance of Mary Poppins. Very great show that young and old could enjoy!

After the ballet, it was time for the recital, which featured all kinds of categories and age groups: ballet, hip hop, lyrical, tap, rhythm and jazz.

And with that the dance season is over!