End of Another School Year

So happy we made it thru another one. :)  And, boy!  Our kids did a great job!  Just have to brag a bit... All of them got super grades and were very responsible with their work.  Katie is on the Dean's List again-- with a 4.0 this semester.  It was a lot of work, especially with 15 credits and memorizing 2 books of the Bible at the same time.  Jenna, Claire, and Micah each got awards at school and all A's.  Micah swept the 2nd grade math awards (are you surprised?).  Will be fun to see where this talent takes him some day.

Below is Micah's wonderful 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Swacina.  Sweet lady with such a heart.

And we are all SUPER excited that it's summer!  Love having the kids home.  Plus, my responsibilities slow down a bunch for the summer.  March, April, May are just nuts. 

New Wheels

Introducing... our new Honda Civic.  We are very pleased with this purchase and have been enjoying it for nearly a week now.  

In the process of saying goodbye to the old Civic (you know this is a Chad thing-- I'm not sentimental about things like cars!), Chad parked the two next to each other (above).  It eases the transition, you know. :) 

The old Civic was a 2001.  New is 2004.  Old had 251,623 miles.  New has 73,757, and was garage-kept by only one owner.  It's in beautiful condition. AND we bought it from a great guy named Micah.

Good bye to a car that was a good little car for us.  Now that it had strut and shock problems (not to mention the headlights, the dash lights, and the fact that we were down to sharing one key for it), it was time for it to go.  (And, I for one, won't miss it!  I don't think anyone else really will, either.  The new car is great.

Agape League Musical

Last week was our Agape League musical at church.  So much fun!  The superhero theme was riveting for the kids, and we all enjoyed the music.  Plus, it was a wonderful theme of fruit of the Spirit-- good stuff!

Antietam Rec with Micah

This year, only the elementary went to Antietam Rec.  Middle School went to the new Skyzone in Hagerstown (J and C loved it!).  Since Micah is our only one left in elementary, he and I got to spend the day together.  Fun!  The weather was perfect!!  After so many days of rain and even cold this spring, it was such a treat to have 75 degrees.

Micah ran first for the zipline.  Bravely hopped right off and tried to catch leaves as he zoomed past.

I enjoyed watching him be very competitive with some older kids at 4 Square and Gaga.  Both games he enjoys and is pretty good at.

This barge, like last year, was probably his favorite activity of the day.  He LOVES standing on it and pulling it back and forth across the creek.  Maybe we should build a creek and a barge in our backyard!  He did it for more than 30 min straight.  Maybe even longer. 

Rope swing

He got to hold a bunny, kitten, and duckling.  Loved this, too.  I mostly sat outside the petting zoo so I wouldn't get all sneezy-- zoomed in quickly for this photo.  Our kids all would love more pets.  My allergies prevent this (thus, we have a fish and a gecko).  I think they all want pets when they grow up. 

Micah's Train Field Trip

Walkersville Southern Railroad in MD.  Chad got to drive a van and enjoy the day with the kids.  

Winner!!

Chad ran another 5K and won a medal!  Third in his age group.

Go, honey!

Boys' Towpath Bike Ride

Chad and Micah enjoyed a bike ride on the towpath together-- and nobody fell in the canal. :)

Can't have a bike ride without a giant muffin snack

My Favorite Time of Year!

Chad's Walk to Church

Chad walked all the way to church a few weeks back.  Here are some lovely selfies :) to show you some of the interesting sights along the way.  We also heard about the roadkill he saw along the way.  Be glad I didn't include pics!

Monkey Micah

I think his mother liked to climb a lot as a kid, too. :)  Ask my mom.

The Best Mother's Day Ever

I am so richly blessed!  I love my fantastic kids!

We had a fantastic Mother's Day together. Katie and I played our piano duet for both morning church services, and Katie's teen choir sang special music.  After church, we drove to Greencastle, PA, to pick up lunch at Brothers (pizza, salad, wraps, chicken nuggets) and took it to City Park in Hagerstown.  It was a gorgeous day!  And we have had SO many rainy days lately.  The beautiful weather was a gift in itself.  

And they had some special gifts for me as well... a lovely towel from Micah, flowers from Claire, a fantastic card that must have taken hours to make from Jenna, a homemade terrarium from Katie, and a showerhead from Chad. :)  I took lessons from my mom (who asked for one of these for Valentine's Day) and specially requested that!

Katie's Senior Pictures

Katie had her senior pictures done with Melanie Anderson, right on the square in Hagerstown.  Fun experience!  And Katie looked so pretty!  My little girl is all grown up.  Not sure if I'm happy or sad about that-- depends on the day. :) 

Headboard

Isn't this headboard beautiful??  My dad built it, and I finally finished painting it so Chad could install it...

Market Faire

Claire and Micah and I enjoyed an outing to the Market Faire at Fort Frederick

No, I don't know these people.  But they just looked so cute together that I had to get a photo.  Claire and Micah were slightly embarrassed.  Had K and J been along, I would have never lived it down. :) 

They even hid the porta-potties well!

I don't know if Micah enjoyed the soft seat or the game more

Demonstration of bagpipes and different uniforms

This guy was a little scary.  I'm glad he didn't come after me.