{14}

Fourteen years ago today we were surprised with the early arrival of our little brown-haired brown-eyed bean.

I could never have imagined that day how much of a handful she would be

 

 Nor how much personality she would have

I never imagined how tough this girl would be and that she would want to play hockey

 or that eventually she would blossom into a beautiful young woman who actually likes (once in a while;) to get dressed up.

She continues to surprise us with all the things we could never have imagined. We love you the most Lu!!

{wrapping up the year}

The last week of school is always busy. Add to that me working full time and Mark being out of town for part of the week and we were lucky to keep our heads above water.  Being at the school everyday did make it a little easier to get my project done I had planned for Emm's teacher. I had all the kids make a self portrait and then put together a collage on canvas for her. She loved it and can't wait to hang it in her room. 

 

As one of the Specials teachers, I was asked to help read the names and goals of the 5th graders at their graduation assembly on the last day of school. It was a fun thing to be a part of. Before they start the ceremony all the other grades line the hallway and cheer for the 5th graders as they make their way to the gym. I thought it was pretty awesome!

It was a half day of school and no classes came to Art so other than the "graduation" and cleaning up the Art room,there wasn't a lot I had to do. I went and visited Emmrey's class for a bit.

Emrey M, Emmrey S, Izabella and Sophie

Emm was feeling pretty sad about school being over. She had a great year in 3rd grade and she LOVED her teacher so so much!

Emm and Mrs. Etheredge

Eventually we said goodbye to Eyestone for the year. 

As much as we will miss it, I am sure summer will be over before we know it!

 

Then comes the fun of going through all the supplies/papers that get sent home. You never know what you might find in Emmrey's backpack. A bit of a smorgasbord.

 She is also a note keeper and keeps each one that gets sent in her lunch. I love that she sometimes writes them to herself:)

 Bailee spent the afternoon walking the dog of a family she babysits for. Brutus is a friendly soul!

Karsyn spent the afternoon/evening with some of her friends. That girl has always craved socializing!

Kars, Eliana, Lexi ,Morgan, and Lexi

Now that the school year is wrapped up, it's on to summer fun like looking for a part time job;)

Bring it on???

ART Sub

For the past 5 weeks I have been an Art teacher at Emmrey's school. The regular art teacher took a flukey fall while doing crosswalk duty and broke her knee cap in two places. She has been out recovering from surgery.  I am sad for her, but it has been a great experience for me:) While I don't have any official training in Art, I am really enjoying teaching it. Other than the constant repetition of directions and the constant mess....it's GREAT!! I have even learned how to operate the Kiln and am now adding that to my Resume;) Those kids LOVE clay projects.

Every class had a few kids that were more than willing to help with extra clean up. The days we painted were especially messy. After one such a time, I went to the sink to find this. I thought it was pretty cool....Sink Art!

Along with my teaching duties I had one day a week of before and after school Crosswalk duty. Sometimes this cutie helped me out!

I had the kids put together this flower bouquet for 

Mrs. Whisenhunt.

It didn't take long for the cute notes/pictures to start flowing in from students. 

I even got a few apology notes for bad behavior:(

My favorites were from my little gal. I loved looking at these everyday. I mean who doesn't want to be reminded they are a Meraculous Obidient Miricle-Worker:)

It was a very rewarding experience for me and the best part was getting to see Emmrey everyday and having her pop in and say hi as she walked by in the hallway.

Just after getting her Cougar Character Award

Or spending a few extra minutes with her in the morning before she headed to class. This day she was heading out for a field trip at CSU. She was sooo excited about wearing her rain jacket that she was wishing for rain.

 By the end, I wasn't the only one who felt at home there in the Art Room

It was pretty sad to say goodbye to the kids and my second home for a month+. Because I worked up through the last day of school, I got a taste of what it's like to say goodbye to students at the end of the school year.... definitely a bitter sweet feeling. 

So glad I had this wonderful opportunity!

FLASH

Soccer has come to an end for the season. Emmrey played her last game a week ago. Her team this year was FLASH (love the name the kids picked) with Coach Leonard. They keep the teams pretty small so the kids get lots of play time.

 

It was a crappy season as far as weather. Too many games cancelled due to rain/snow. When they did play it was often cold or we watched from beneath an umbrella.

Cold games earned a stop at the gas station for Hot Chocolate.

Emmrey was a tough little player and it was so fun watching her!

She scored 3 goals in her last game. Way to end the season!

FLASH worked well together and they had a pretty great season!

Emm, Chris, Alyssa, Araya, Carter (missing Jasmine)

Impala Excellence in Athletics

The very same day as the 8th grade Promotion was the Impala Excellence in Athletics Banquet. This event is held to honor athletes in various sports at Poudre High. You are invited to attend if your child is being recognized. Last year we weren't able to attend. The athlete is given a ticket and any others have to be purchased. So basically, you buy tickets to come and see your child get and award.

 The gym was packed. We listened to a former PHS track coach speak, sat through round after round of athlete recognition and wondered whether we would ever see any of the Hors d' oeuvres the catering class was supposed to be serving. Unless your athlete is getting a Scholarship award or Male/Female Athlete of the year, they just read their name and they stand up from their table to be recognized. Bailee was recognized for Letter in swimming and the CHAMP award she received last winter.While we are super proud of her, I am not sure any of us felt the evening was worth our time. I think it was more of a fundraiser than anything. It was a bit too large to be personal at all. I think we all prefer the Swim Banquet at the end of the season.

8th Grade Promotion

On Monday, Karsyn was promoted from Middle School. I am still trying to figure out has come to this:( They had a little celebration at the school. We have been pretty darn impressed with this Middle School. We loved our Middle School in Cody, but love the community feel at WMS. The 8th grade class is roughly 143 kids so it has a real personal feel.

 They read each students name along with any special awards they received. Karsyn got an award for Outstanding Mathlete, although she doesn't particularly care for Math;)

  

Along with the ceremony, the 8th graders presented their Capstone project. The capstone is a multifaceted academic project. In this case, the criteria was to choose something (or someone) and research how it has changed over decades of time. They are expected to meet certain requirements for each of their core classes and are graded in each area by that teacher. Kars chose Basketball and did a pretty phenomenal job with her Prezi.

 We wandered around the cafeteria Science Fair style. I was happy so many parents/families attended, but it was a bit crowded for my taste.

 They also had a slideshow playing with picture of the students. We had been asked to send 3 photos at different ages. It is nearly impossible for me to go through the 1,000 of photos of my girls and pick just a few. I had to have Mark sit right by me and help me to focus and not get completely lost in all the memories. These are the ones we sent in of Kars. 

 We are so glad that Karsyn has a good little group of friends. She has become especially close with Kennedy over the last year.

Jarin, Kars, Kennedy, Sergio

These two years in Middle School have seriously flown by. It seems like a blink ago we were standing here at the arch with our new to WMS 7th grader.

 She has really soared as a Wellington Eagle. There is a huge (and I do mean HUGE) part of me that wishes with all my heart that she could just stay where she is and time would freeze, but I am also loving watching her grow into the young woman she is destined to be.

I am so thankful for the awesome staff at WMS and all their efforts to help Kars be the best she can be. I know good things are in this girls future!

Impromptu

Bailee had her last couple of choir concerts for the year and quite possibly her last at Poudre. Her schedule next year likely will not accommodate choir. As we waited outside the events center I noticed this sign that hangs above the door .. .. 

I love it!

Her group sang beautifully again and we enjoyed several Senior spotlights as well.

It was windy and rainy coming out of the concert, thus the haggard program

These girls have been such great supporters of their sis!

We are so so proud of Bailee and have enjoyed watching her sing all these years. I won't lie. Despite all the time demands, I will truly miss choir being part of her (our) life.

Being a member of Impromptu has been really good for Bay!