Delaney - basketball

Delaney played basketball for her 2nd year this winter. Her team was called "Blue Ice" and although they were the youngest and smallest team in the league, they played aggressively and had a fun season. Delaney proudly wore jersey #1 - owning her small size! There were some big changes this year moving up the the 4-6th grade team. High school players refereed the games, calling double dribbling, traveling and some fouls. The coaches also focused on teaching the girls positions and plays. Delaney took this all in stride and did a great job learning the plays and improving her ball handling skills.

Delaney plays quick and smart - she's a great defender, paying attention to both the ball and her player. Here she gets her hands up on defense!

Point guard - making Dad proud!

To quote Ryan "Delaney drove the lane, pulled up and took a shot from 10 feet and buried it! She was so pumped!"

Here is a photo of Delaney's team after their last game - two players are missing. Like I mentioned, these girls had to play hard because there were only 8 of them (other teams had 10) and 7 were 4th graders. Great coaches make for a great experience and she can't wait to play again next year!

first day 2011

Delaney - 4th grade

Jillian - 3rd grade

Sisters -- and friends!!!

From the last day of school to the first day!!! I was not very good about keeping up with the blog this summer . . . let's face it, I just didn't blog at all! We were way too busy having fun to worry about posting on the blog. Maybe I'll put together a little slide show of our summer highlights to share with my many (ha) readers! For now, here are a few photos of the first day of school for Delaney and Jillian. Elliott has one more day of summer before heading off to his 2nd year of preschool tomorrow.

elliott

Preschool . . . stories, play, crafts, snacks, turn-taking, friend-making, sharing, field-trips and first bus rides. Elliott had been looking forward to going to school -- afterall, he'd had to watch his sisters head off on the bus while he was stuck at home with me! His favorites this year were crafts and snacks. The second surprises me because he often told me what snack was followed quickly by why he didn't eat it! Elliott was always excited to go to preschool and share what he'd done over the weekend or at home with his teachers. He is a talker, just like his sisters. And with their influence has a love for books and is learning to do math and tell time already!

Elliott is in the 2nd row - 2nd from end. Aren't they COOL!

best friends!

Last day of preschool - June 2011

First day of preschool - Sept. 2010

jillian

The adorable Miss Jillian . . . what can I say about 2nd grade??? She also had a rockstar teacher that challenged and encouraged her! It was a wonderful year - she managed to get a perfect score on each spelling test this year! They wrote in a book titled "The Month to Month Me." Here are some highlights:


October - If I could have an hour a day at school to study anything I wanted, I would choose: to work on my Harper and Bailey series. (There are atleast 8 stories so far!)

November - 5 things I really LIKE are: my family, dance, piano, blueberries, friends.
5 things I really DISLIKE are: tomatoes, tornadoes, waking up early, bullies, robbers.


January was all about family - Things I enjoy doing with:
Mom - cuddling with her.
Dad - playing cat and mouse and superheroes with him!
Brother & Sister - playing hide-and-seek, doing puzzles, and playing outside with them.


February - all about friends
I think it is important for a friend to be: nice and stand up for people.
My friends think I am - very creative and nice.


April - I have thought about the following occupation: being a vet because I am good at taking care of animals.


Jillian is my sweet, snuggly, always-puts-others-first girl! So proud to be her mama!

Last day of 2nd grade

delaney

A little behind with the first & last photos of the school year. I'll start with Delaney, since I'm just getting through her bag of papers and 'stuff' she brought home at the end of the year. It's so much fun to look back through their writings and drawings to see how much they've progressed and grown during the school year. Delaney has spread her wings this year - becoming much more independent and self-assured. She's got a great group of friends and enjoys school so much. She was blessed with a fantastic teacher this year, who really saw Delaney's strengths and encouraged her to set goals and pushed her to reach them. One of their projects was to write a poetry book - Delaney's was titled "Alphabet Soup" and contained several styles of poems. As in any book, the last page is "All About the Amazing Author" and I want to share that with you. It gives a glimpse into who Delaney is becoming and thoughts about herself . . .


I wish - I could have a hamster.
I love - my puppy Harper.
I dream - of writing chapter books.
I am - kinda small.
I use to - be weak.
Now I - am sorta tough.
I always - love to read.
I never - break a promise.
In 3rd grade I - became an author.
When I am 30, I - will get my own puppy.


I love that she wants to be a writer and considers herself an author at age 9. She has so many stories written already and we are working on publishing one in a hardcover format. And she is sorta tough now in so many ways! So proud of my spunky, thoughtful, dreamer!!!

Last day of 3rd grade!

1st day of 3rd grade

Soccer Boy

Elliott has been waiting for his turn to play soccer -- watching both of his sisters for the last few years has been torture! Finally, his time has arrived and he takes that soccer field with a confidence and enthusiasm that has been building after watching from the sidelines. It's ON!!!

Showing off his soccer muscles before his first game!

Earning his trip to Dairy Queen with all the saves he made -- not a single ball got passed him!!!

Even with moves like below. ;)

Elliott likes to be wherever the ball is -- he's even scored at every game so far!

Couldn't resist sharing this one as well, one of my new favorite photos. Elliott calls those 'Wishmaker Flowers'.

Easter & 1st Communion

The Son was shining yesterday as our family celebrated Easter morning! The girls were so quiet when they woke up -- they found their baskets and eggs before I even knew they were up! Elliott slept in and had his own Easter hunt. After enjoying a family breakfast with Grandpa Fred and Grandma Charlene, we rejoiced with our church family at Spirit of Joy. Jillian took part in her First Communion! Prior to this event, we discussed whether she'd be taking the wine or grape juice. Little did we know, there would be no need for this debate as the individual cups were gone and all that was left was the Common Cup. She's a quick learner and her first communion was done by intinction. So proud of our little girl - growing way too quickly!!!