End Of School Activities (Balloon Racers, Yearbook, Field Day, Class Party)

Once the weight of the milestones testing was off of everyone, May was time to start having fun (while still learning of course).

Bri had an assignment to make a balloon racer - Doug actually got in on this action, and the two of them ended up having a really fun time putting this "car" together...

Bri's car did pretty good in the race, but the two kids who had cars with CDs as wheels were the fastest. Who knew? Bri had fun with this project...

One day, the kids also got to play with worms (pic compliments of B's teacher)...

Not really school related, but Miss B perfected the art of blowing bubbles...

Bri won a monster tablet cover out of a crane machine one evening ~ I'm not joking. I told I didn't think she could get it, but with 50 cents, she managed to grab it just right and pulled it out. (Yeah - she doesn't let me forget it now.) She had some research she needed to do with her iPad, so she was able to bring it to school for a few days. The kids thought the cover was really neat...

She also wore her new panda shirt (made by Miss Kathy) to school one day...

Yearbooks came out and Bri was in it a few times (besides her class photo)...

She made it onto the Venture page too (well the back of her head did - snort)...

And in the running club group photo, her head was totally morphed by someone. Heh.

One of the funnest days in May was field day...

Bri class made it into the semi-final round of the tug-o-war... 

Bri and a few of her friends...

And of course, the greatly anticipated class party happened today...

Bri looked so pretty in pink this morning.

The kids had hot dogs and chips for lunch. My kid, who is not a big fan of hot dogs, ate two ~ go figure!

Bri and Mrs. T...

After lunch, the kids played carnival type games...

Bri and class bestie Allison...

 Mrs. T is moving up to 5th grade next year, and Briana made the choice to move up with her. Briana is so excited that Mrs. T is going to be her homeroom, math, science and social studies teacher once again!

One more day left of school and then I will have a 5th grader!!

How in the world do I have a kid heading to 5th grade in August? What is happening?

Gettin' Things Pretty

Doug started mowing our yard again at the beginning of the spring, but it wasn't until the beginning of May that we got some mulch delivered for our yard. With my lower back issues (all the bending over), I was afraid to help him spread it this year. So, he did it all on his own. It was a big job, but it turned out so nice (I felt so badly that I couldn't help)...

We get a bazillion pine cones that fall in our backyard, so Bri gets an allowance for helping pick up the cones. I swear there were hundreds back there...

The rose bushes look lovely...

I did help get the upstairs back porch back in order...

We have really been enjoying it...

And this past Sunday, I decided to sweep off my back patio. Our yard looked great, but the patio was still a hot mess. Pine straw, leaves and dirt were all over it. And, the landscapers that built our patio last year overfilled the grooves with pebbles. It has bothered me for the longest time. I swept up all the mess, including two buckets worth of excess pebbles. I was a bit worried about my back, but I took it as easy as possible and came away unscathed.

It looks really good now...

We wanted to get it all done before the nasty Georgia heat starts to hit us!

End Of The Season Soccer Party

What a sweet, amazing group of girls. Seriously - they are awesome.

 Coach Javier and team mom Tiffany decided to have the end of the season soccer party at the soccer field the day after the tournament (with food under the gazebo). It was a perfect evening for games, food and fun.

Coach Javier had a bunch of games planned and the girls loved every second of it.

Drawing colors for teams...

Three-legged race...

Egg on a spoon race...

Back to back water balloon race...

Bri got paired up with K's little brother and he is much shorter than B. It was hilarious watching B drag him down the field...

Tug of war time (shaving cream added for messiness)...

It started off just kiddos...

Then parents somehow got in on the action...

Then it was kids against coaches (the coaches won - they are beasts serious competitors)...

And the best part of the evening ~ getting even with your nagging coaches by the throwing of water balloons at them...

The kids absolutely loved that part...

Then it was pizza time...

And then award ceremony time...

Doug was out of town and missed the party (he was so bummed), so I videoed a lot of the party, including the speeches for him...

Coach Javier said amazing things about each and every girl...

He said Briana was "the spine between the offense and the mid-field." He also said she was very technical, had the ability to weave around opponents, and that she had an impressive foot.

After all the awards and gifts to the coaches, Coach Shannon gave all the girls adorable "Golden Eagles" t-shirts...

 The girls got all their teammates and the coaches to sign their shirts.

The main thing I will remember about this past year (fall/spring) was the camaraderie and the support the girls gave each other. They were legitimately happy for one another when someone did something commendable. I will remember all the high fives and the "good jobs"...

I will also remember all the hugs...

Doug said one of his vivid memories is when Bri got hit pretty hard by two opposing girls at the same time in that (nasty) final game of the tournament. Bri really felt like crying after that big hit but she was trying so hard not to. Teammate Sofia saw Bri starting to lose it, ran over to her and gave her a hug to help her pull it together. That is the generous spirit that these girls have - and that is what we will all remember from this season...

The team won't be the same without Kaelen and Faith. Team Golden Eagles will have to carry on and hopefully, when the rest of the girls move up to U12, they can reunite!

A huge thank you goes out to our amazing coaches who gave up their time and taught our girls to play like champs!