First Weekend of Summer

This weekend was the first official weekend of Summer. What better way to kick off the summer than with a beach day! We packed up all of our gear right after church and headed down to Corona Del Mar. It was a gorgeous day. What more can I say?

VBC Week

Last week, the kids and I spent our mornings at Vacation Bible Camp. I volunteered for the first time this year and spent my mornings from 9-12 with 80 crazy kids at our church. It was awesome and rewarding and tiring all at once. The theme this year was "Soaring through the Bible." Each day, we took a new "flight" and experienced different cities in the Bible and the stories that go along with them. They learned so much and had such a great time. It was so fun to see them enjoying the experience. This was William's second year at VBC and Maddie and Diana's third year. Maddie, Wil and Diana were on the "Spirit of St. Louis" team. The sanctuary was set up like the inside of four different airplanes.
The kids really got into the singing and dancing and they loved all the projects and coloring and games they played. They are at such great ages right now. They love to learn and experience new things and they have such a sweet innocence and appreciation for the little things. It's so cool to watch them thriving each day. Mike and I feel so very lucky to be their parents.

Strike A Pose

Maddie decided she was done with dance. Of course she decided this AFTER I signed her up for the Spring Performance spending $65 on a dance costume and purchasing the required 4 performance tickets at $15 a pop. I was not sad that Maddie wanted to quit dance. Not sad at all as a matter of fact. But, I told her she had to finish what she signed up for and participate through the Spring Performance. That would be the final harrah. Well, wouldn't you know, Maddie got a case of the 24 hour stomach flu the Sunday of her dance recital. She started vomiting that morning and it kept up throughout the day. Ironically enough, she was devastated. I felt so bad for her as she cried all afternoon about how she was going to miss her dance re-ciiiiii-tal. SO, since we'd paid through the month of June, Maddie and her friend Jordyn wore their costumes to dance that following Tuesday. She looked so cute and I was so glad she got to get some use of the costume! She really got into it. Check her out striking a pose. So funny. It would have been fun to see her perform on stage. Their dance was to the Katy Perry song "California Girls" (edited of course). Maddie said she wanted to give soccer another shot (which I was ecstatic about) so she is signed up for league play this fall! I can't wait and am crossing my fingers that she LOVES it! I think I could coach girls soccer... if Maddie enjoys the sport so we'll see!

Last Day of School

I can hardly believe my little Maddie just completed Kindergarten! Seriously. It is so amazing to me and makes me happy and sad all at the same time. Happy because Maddie had such a wonderful year. She absolutely adored her teachers and learned SO much- she is fully reading now and learned about so many new things. Her favorite subject was Bible. And sad because she seems to be growing up way too fast. She is such a sweet girl.This is Maddie's teacher- Mrs. Nakano.
This is Miss Stacey. She was the Teacher's Aid in Maddie's Kindergarten class.
This is Alyssa, Maddie's best friend in her Kindergarten class.
This is Bronwyn, another special classmate of Maddie's.
This is William with his best friend Maddie and (my) Maddie with her good friend Luke!
This is Mrs. Sanchez, William's Preschool teacher. I can hardly believe William finished his first year of Preschool as well. He is so cute. He really wants to be in Kindergarten but we keep telling him that he has one more year of Preschool. I told him that he needs to learn how to write his name first! He's on his way. It was a great year at Trinity Lutheran. It was a great year.

Wizard of Oz

Maddie and I had the special treat of meeting up with our good friends again at the Sierra Madre playhouse for a performance of the Wizard of Oz. This little theatre is such fun. The shows are interactive for kids and after the show, the cast stands outside of the theatre and signs autographs for the kids. I didn't think about it at first but the Wizard of Oz is kind of a scary story. I mean, Dorothy's house falls on the Wicked Witch of the West and kills her and her sister, the Wicked With of the East (or vice versa) wants revenge on Dorothy...? Despite the slight scariness, Maddie enjoyed the show and especially loved meeting the characters afterward.

We went to the play with our friends Erin and Lucy, Sarah and Fallon and Heather and Rosie. Afterward, we had a yummy BBQ lunch at Lucy's house and the girls had such fun eating and playing together. What a great day. We can't wait to do it again!

Little Friends!

William got to have a play date and sleepover with his friends Fallon, Fletcher, Henry and Lucy, the weekend Maddie went camping with Mikos. It was a fun Friday night!
We went to Maddie's friend Alyssa's house for a bbq and swim party on Memorial day weekend. Alyssa is Maddie's best friend from her Trinity Kindergarten class. Alyssa's Mom and I have become friends too so it's been good.
Maddie and Luke...another good friend from her Kindergarten class. Luke is Maddie's (below) brother.
William with one of his best friends Maddie. Isn't she adorable? He just loves her. :)

Spring Campout

Mikos and Maddie went on their end of the year, Spring Campout with their Indian Princess tribe the weekend of May 20-22. From the photos Mike took and the stories I heard, it appears they had a fantastic time. Memories in the making... Mikos will be the Chief of the Tribe next year. I'm guessing this is the ceremony passing the Chief feathers on... Maddie gets to play a special role as the Chief's daughter as well. At each Tribal meeting, she'll get to pound the drum.