May 2016

May was also a busy month, and not just for track!

We had GEMS Sunday - which is always awesome, but causes me too much stress. Somehow I gotta figure out how to release that stress better... 

We also had our second annual taco dinner fundraiser for our student that our GEMS Club sponsors at the Esther School in Zambia. We made almost $1000 this year and it was really fun! I even snuck away for a few minutes to watch Sarah run at a track meet - that's how amazing my counselors and volunteers are!

Sarah & Bethany were both part of the induction ceremony for the National Honor Society, which is a whole weird ceremony, but it's a good thing to be part of if your GPA is up there...looks good on scholarship & college applications.

And JSB happened!!!

Becca & I did Sarah's hair!

BFF Amanda

It was a great night! We had lots of fun taking pictures and the banquet was a success and afterward Sarah & her friends went horseback riding, so it was pretty epic!

My mom got to come help in my classroom for an afternoon and it was super fun! I hope she can come more often next year now that she is retired!

Ed took a Thursday off and we put down bark - it looked so nice! And then we had a big windstorm and it became covered in tiny pine seeds. Note to self: next time do bark the day before a big event.

This year the academic awards were announced at Senior Chapel. I wish they would make as big a deal out of academics as they do athletics...but Senior chapel was nice and I loved when the whole class went up and Mr. Van Hulzen prayed for them and sent them off with a blessing. 

Becca had her voice recital! She loves singing and you can watch one of her songs here!

My dad retired! We stopped by on his last day when we were on our way to state track. I'm so excited for my parents and their plans to enjoy their retirement together!

Elise's teacher also retired this year and we had a fun party with her class towards the end of the year to give her gifts and bless her. I'm so thankful for moms who have the energy to plan things like this, because now that I am teaching, I don't.

Also, I don't think I ever posted this, but during Creative Arts Week, the elementary students had a little program after learning several songs from Mary Poppins. Here are the 4th graders singing "Step in Time" - Elise gets to do a cartwheel as a chimney sweep!

April 2016

While it sometimes seems like all we do during the school year is go to meets, we do have a few other things going on. This past spring was really busy, but really great, too!

Sarah made her college decision and chose Calvin! We are really so thankful and excited that she is ready and has this great opportunity. Every bit of it will be a challenge and it will also be a blessing!

The cousins that live in MI are super excited that she will be there next fall! 

Sarah also go to go on the Senior Biology trip to the WA coast for 3 days in April. The orange box below was for packing. Everything but her sleeping bag, pillow, and hip waders had to fit in there. Some things never change...

She also turned EIGHTEEN!!!

I've had this little camera key chain for a couple years. It came with a fancy camera bag Ed bought me for my 40th birthday. I never used it as a key chain because I always thought it was a little bulky, and if you've ever seen my keys, you know they are already bulky enough! 

One day I was looking for a flash drive and the little girls said, "You want the one in the camera?" I had no idea what they were talking about. Apparently the key chain is a flash drive!!!!

What baffled me is how THEY knew it was a flash drive if I didn't? It's just been sitting in a vintage letter press tray on display in the hallway upstairs. When questioned, they just said, "One day we tried to take the lens off and discovered it was a flash drive." Wait, what? You just decided to try to pull the lens off a little camera? Am I alone here in thinking that's just a little brave and weird?

On the other hand, now I know. There's a flash drive upstairs on display in the vintage letter press tray.

In 6th grade you do a science experiment. Becca conducted an experiment in which she wanted to see if boys or girls were more accurate eye witnesses. She had the principal disguise himself and come in to 2 different classrooms, pretend to be a thief, and steal the teachers' cell phones. Afterward she had a multiple choice survey for each student to fill out to see how well they could describe the thief. I am pretty sure that the girls were slightly better eye witnesses, but she got 3rd place! She did a great job of working through this experiment with her teacher and principal!

Becca also went on her 6th grade outdoor education trip! They had pretty good weather, and she had lots of fun in her photography, first aid, and other classes. They played Capture the Flag, got dirty, bonded as a class, and laughed a lot, I am sure. Some other things never change...

Remember this? I made cushions for the couch and for the 2 chairs that our friend made for our patio. They turned out great! I ordered 4 inch foam on Amazon, bought $10 outdoor tablecloths, and pinned them around the foam like I was wrapping a present. I still try to take them inside when it's raining, but they wipe off nicely and I can easy swap the tablecloths for something new next year for minimal cost!

Our neighbor's family bought a Kona Ice truck and one day they had a photo shoot and all the neighborhood kids got to be in the pictures. Fifteen minutes of fame. Check!

Our last event of April was the widow/widower dinner at church which the GEMS served and entertained at. It made for a busy few weeks for me, having this dinner, plus the GEMS taco night a week later, with GEMS Sunday in between, but it all turned out really well. I think the widow ladies really enjoyed the little recital that many GEMS participated in and they also enjoyed the game of Bingo with prizes afterwards!

A few more track photos

Somehow I missed a few of my favorite track photos during the last picture-gathering-event...

All of the above photos are from the big invitation meet during spring break (sunny, but cold) where she broke the 3200m record. That last one is her talking to two of her coaches following the race and she STILL can't believe she ran an 11:14. We were watching her after the race as she came out of the chute and her coach showed her his watch with her time. I will never forget watching her look at that time and being so overwhelmed...in a good way. I took this picture a little while after that moment...after she had looked at us and smiled and we all cheered from our seats. It was absolutely one of my favorite memories of this track season. 

Her running buddy, Marissa - they ran together for 2 years as Lyncs, and will run together as Knights next year!

And I add this because it's just so darn cute. She basically ran the home Junior High track meets this past year. I guess you could just call her Mr. Kredit...which is a joke only people who go to our track meets will get. ;) She has many talents and while she's an introvert through and through, someday I think she'll be an amazing running coach who writes novels about the students she trains and the amazing places around the world where she runs. :)

Sometimes it's hard to see how running fits with this, and it's all in the heart of each person, but I see this in our XC and track teams at our school and it's my prayer that I'll continue to see it in those teams, in the Knights' team, and in the attitudes of my children as they run, compete, sing, act, do math, clean the house, and live for God's glory.