This time of year is full of lots of celebrating, and we aren't complaining! It is time to celebrate Carmen Turing 14. We had to do her birthday in installments because David was going to be out of town. So we celebrated about a week early with dinner and presents. Then on her actual birthday she had a few more presents, crepes for dinner (her favorite) And brownies as her cake. Yeah, it was a lot of sugar....but this sweet girl deserves it.
For one of her Young Women's activities, they had a fun night of complimenting each other. The girls each took a turn to stand at the board while everyone wrote compliments all around her. It wasn't until they were done that she could turn around and read what everyone wrote. It was such a fun night. I got to be the photographer for it and I loved seeing what the girls saw in each other that is sometimes hard to see in yourself.
And here's Koda just looking so studious!
We are certainly at the stage in our lives when EVERY weekend is jam packed with activities. You can either find us at cheer, or volleyball, or band concerts or the soccer field. Sometimes all on the same day. PHEW! But there is nothing I enjoy more than watching my kids do what they love to do!
This weekend we headed down to Myrtle Beach, once place none of us had ever been, for a cheer comp. We enjoyed time on the beach and some even braved the very cold water. But we mostly preferred the hotel pool and hot tub.
This quickly became my new favorite photo!
And her team once again took 1st place in their division.
They each won rings from earlier in the season and they finally came in!
The parents made these cute beach buckets with goodies to send the girls off to their competition.
This was a great little getaway for our family to spend some time at the beach and cheer on Aliza. I'm grateful that we have opportunities like this. We stopped to get a picture at the Virginia sign on our way back home.
Between all the sports shenanigans, we spent our Spring break camping with our good friends, the Sorensons at Sherando Lake. Aliza and Adonyah made us the most delicious camp fire donuts.
Carmen and Sequoyah chatting about life down by the creek by our camp site.
Charlotte and Nikayah setting up their beds for the night. It wasn't until very late when we went to bed that David realized he'd forgotten his sleeping bag. He tried to tough it out but it was very chilly and by around 1am he left to go to Walmart to buy himself one! It's pretty comical now that I look back on it.
There was a lot of time spent down in the creek
And scooter riding
We decided to attempt a different hike this time. We'd hike the loop around the lake many times and wanted to do something different. So we set out on a trail that we weren't really sure where it took us or how hard it would be. It turned out to be just the right amount of challenge with a gorgeous view at the top.
Dallin and Josiah decided to mediate while they were up there.
Then we spent a good part of the day kayaking and swimming. The water was still pretty chilly, but it didn't really stop the kids.
We ended up doing the "lake loop" too, after all. It's so beautiful!
Now UVA Basketball...we don't really follow it, but when they made it into the NCAA Final Four we felt we had to watch! So we gathered together some orange and blue snacks and cheered them!
This was the final game and the score was tied with ONE SECOND left on the clock. I was about to have a heart attack watching this game!! But they pulled it off after being fouled at the buzzer and getting two foul shots! THEY WON!! It was so fun to watch that little part of UVA history.
Aliza wrote a wonderful paper about Monet and then painted a replica of his Water Lily Pond painting. She really gained an appreciation of art through this project. I'd love to take her to some big art museums someday.
Somewhere amongst all the hoopla, I had a birthday and David make me a cake!
Another fun volleyball tournament for Carmen. These days are long and I often have the kids by myself, so it's hard to take pictures. But I do love watching her on the court!
Dallin has a school concert and a project showcase. He made a Snow Leopard habitat.
Here is telling us all about it.
After a friend of mine saw my painting in Dallin and Carmen's rooms, she asked if I would help her paint her basement. I agreed and then she asked if I could paint a scene of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I told her I really am not an artist and can just paint straight lines really well. She was ok with that and this is what I wan able to come up with, and she loved it!
The next weekend was the marching band in the parade. I always volunteer for this because I don't have to fight to find parking to come watch Carmen in the parade. I just ride the bus with the band and walk along with them! It's really fun too. Middle school band has been so fun for Carmen! I hope she keeps it up in high school.
Then David had a birthday! And it was the BIG 40! I put on a big game night for him and invited a lot of friends. Our running charades game got a little intense and everyone was laughing so hard! We had so much fun this night that this was the only picture I took.
And I just have to end with cute Dallin and a tub full of bubbles!
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