June 2024

River time with Grandma is so wonderful!

Heading off to YM and YW Camp!

They went to ACE adventure Camp in West Virginia, and as you can see had a blast! They hiked, did rope and obstacle courses, white water rafter, spent time at the water park, practiced skills like building fires and cooking over them, had special quiet time to feel the spirit in nature, talked and rejoiced in Christ. They made friends and strengthened their testimonies! It was a great week all around!

Strange transition, perhaps. I ran a 5k in Richmond with Paige! It was a Colon Cancer Run. Did you know that my bestie got colon cancer way too young?! It is important to get screened regularly and go to your doctor promptly if you have any symptoms!

So glad that she powered through that extreme difficulty and is cancer-free!

As far as the race: we did it!

Paige is amazing!

Also amazing- this fish and the boy who caught it! 

And the soon-to-be son-in-law, JT, and his dad, Marcus (from saltwaterfishinguniversity !), who took him and his fishing-crazed cousin, Isaac, on their super-cool charter! 

They had an absolute blast! There is even a picture of Isaac on their Facebook page cover.

Thank you,Speechless Sportsfishing! So fun!

Also, earlier in the summer, Grant and Dawson did Lifeguarding Certification together at a pool in Manassas. We had some fun driving them to those classes and hearing all about it on the way home and at Chick-fil-A or  Taco Bell (their favorite) afterward. Grant got his first job (aside from lawn-mowing) and started lifeguarding at the Culpeper Rec Club! Fun summer job! Doesn't he look like fun in the pictures? I told him that he could smile or not, but I needed to document his job! Haha!

OK, June randomness: I have a hobby of shopping marketplace.  (I love bargain shopping in general.)  Someone was selling these jars for $2 each! I bought 40!  They were huge and I loved them and thought I could use them for V's wedding or something (I didn't wind up using them for that.) Instead, Kate and I had a little business venture- buying, cleaning, and reselling these! I did save a few, though and have used them too! 

Maybe in the future, I will fill a jar with balls? (one of the ideas I saw online.)

Grant, added to our collection with this over the fence home run ball!Woohoo!

Homerun means...

Taco Bell!

I spent a lot of time trying to find a mother-of-the bride dresses. I used to love clothes, but have struggled as I have gotten older and larger.

Opening Ceremonies for the District 14 Tournament was at McIntyre Park in Charlottesville.

Coach Danny and Kate- Majors All-stars

Grant and friends in the dugout at one of their district games.

Look at these cool pictures that Chloe Parker took! Thanks, Chloe! Love them!

Fans who flipped chairs to watch games that were happening on adjacent fields. 

Grant's team, Culpeper Seniors, won the district championship and will move on to states!

I love how kids make friends at the ballfields.

Kate had some great at bats, including a fence-hitting home-run in their last district game!!!

They won again!!!!

This was fun for Danny and Katherine to experience together! Crazily, this is Katherine's 4th time as an All-star and 4th time on a District Championship team!

The girls got to run the banner around the field while the parents have a brief meeting about moving on to the state tournament. Love this tradition! Softball and Baseball All-stars both won their district tournaments again! We know how special this is! Hooray! 

I took G and Levi to FSY again!

V and JT send pictures of their dates.

Marie came to play with us for a few days while her mom worked. She is a smart, sweet, fun girl, and I think Katherine likes taking on a "big sister" type of role with her.

 

I had to borrow most of these pictures from social media, but Grant and friends had a great week! It is one of his favorite weeks of the year!

I don't have any action shots, but Katherine participated in the field hockey camp at CCHS again this year. She enjoys sports and being active in general. Several friends came, which made it fun too!

Grant went to BG with Christian, Mia, and Julianna. Are there some group shots, guys?

I am missing lots of pictures of Christian who is working and working on school so much of the time, but I know that he and Mia and friends do fun things too. Pictures?

JT sent this cute picture of him and Rorik at camp. JT went with the YM in his Branch and Rorik was there with his ward. Fun to run into each other!

Lots of great things going on in June!

May 2024

Baseball is continuing to go well for G man! (Note the knee brace is holding his kneecap in place.)

Ok, I try not to brag all the time about my kids grades and don't put it out on Facebook or anything, but ... on my own blog for them and their posterity to read in the future, I can. They put in great effort at school and it pays off! Another year of A's and A+'s for these two!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but we put on a fun FSY: Before You Go Activity in May. If I recall, between 75 and 100 youth from the stake showed up for games, classes, dinner, and a dance. I love these young people and am so blessed to "rub shoulders" with them on the regular!

I mentioned that I was a long-term sub at the end of the school year for a 5th-grade teacher who was my friend. It wasn't planned and happened after an emergency. SOLs were just ending, and I had a lot of freedom about what to teach at the end of the year. I enjoyed that! I saw a few deficits due to curriculm lapses and Covid, so I focused  on mastering telling time ("you will know how to read a clock before middle school and you can thank me later."), writing, and learning the United States (think going over the US Map, State projects, and presentations). I also got to enjoy special days with them, like field trips, field day, and graduation! 

Speaking of Graduation....

Danny gets to do a lot of fun end-of-the-year things each year, too! 

I snagged some pictures of him off of a shared graduation drive this year. He is a good speaker and a great principal. I hope his students knows how much he loves them, cares for them, and wants them to succeed. Their successes bring him immense pride and joy!

                                                  

Camila and Kattia hosted a wonderful bridal shower for Victoria! It was lovely and they put so much time and effort into making it special! Victoria felt so loved!  I fear I didn't take many pictures, but I think I can get some to add.

One funny gift was from Patick, who gave it to her before or after the shower- matching shirts for V and JT to wear on their honeymoon!

w/ cute Hayden!

And beautiful Emily

Kate and G and I tried to fit in some normal summer fun like Flip Flop Day- summer tradition.

Also, a tradition- Katherine and I pick Mullberries a couple of weeks after school lets out. 

While there, honeysuckle too.

We made really good mulberry cream cheese muffins with streusel on top.

River house!

V and JT on his boat!

Grant and friends at the SCA Retreat at Graves Mountain

Brainstorming and planning fun things for the year!

Pretty rainbow before the ballfield!

I will probably need to come back to add more. I know that I am missing some things.