Nina Turns 13

Well, we officially have a teenager in the house!!!  It’s hard to believe, but on 5/23, Nina turned thirteen! 

We are very proud of the young lady she’s growing up to be.  She’s smart, fun, athletic, kind, loves Jesus, and when Nina is around you can guarantee that you’ll always have someone to talk to.  We’ve watched her grow into more of a leader this year, get out of her comfort zone with her activities, and she hasn’t just grown in intangible ways, she’s also gotten a lot taller this year!  :)

Since her birthday was the Thursday before Memorial Day, we celebrated her that day with a special breakfast, her favorite dinner, presents, and her requested cake (chocolate cake with chocolate icing and lots of layers).

  

  

We waited until the following weekend to officially celebrate with her birthday activity.  She wanted to take two of her best friends to Water Country for the day, so on Sunday I took the girls down to Williamsburg, and we had a blast at Water Country.  The weather was perfect and it wasn’t too crowded, so they got to ride/do everything they wanted multiple times.  They went non-stop all day (other than a quick break for lunch), then we left around 6:30 and stopped at Cook Out for dinner and milkshakes before driving home.  The girls were all exhausted when we got back, but they had a great time, and I was so glad we got to celebrate Nina with a fun day!

Mother's Day and Wrapping up the School Year

We had another nice Mother’s Day this year.  Mark and the girls prepared a nice morning, we went to church, and later went to the Williams house to celebrate with the rest of the fam.  Mark, Garland, Pops, and Bo made a great dinner for us, and we ladies were able to sit back and enjoy the evening.  

 

One of the greatest joys in my life is being a mother to these girls.  I’m so very thankful for all the years we were blessed with the ability for me to be at home with them full time when they were young.  Now that they’re older, and I’m only working part-time while they’re at school, I still feel very grateful to be able to be home with them while they’re home and enjoy watching them change from little girls to young ladies.   

The end of school is always a busy time of year.  With this being Lyla’s last year of elementary school, there are even more events for her grade level to commemorate.  The first of the celebrations was the 5th graders graduation from the D.A.R.E. program.

  

The first of Nina’s celebrations was the 7th and 8th grade Art Show.  Nina had two of her pieces (a 3D sculpture depiction of her own original animal and a drawing of an owl eye) selected by her teacher for the show.

   

  

Nina was also selected to be an 8th grade Ambassador for next year.  Her 7th grade class has over 460 kids in it, and teachers and administrators picked 30 of them based on their ability to be a good leader and help new students coming to the school (particularly the rising 6th grade class), but also just being an all around good kid.  It was quite an honor to be selected, and she and the other kids who were chosen were inducted into the Ambassadors role in an awards ceremony for the current 8th grade students.  We were really proud of her for being selected, and we think she’ll make a great Ambassador next year!  

 

In one more highly anticipated event of the 5th grade, Lyla had her field trip to Hemlock Overlook Park, and I was able to attend as a chaperone.  Hemlock has an adventure park and team building course that is awesome, and the kids spent the day problem solving in the woods, zip lining, and working together in teams to conquer different challenges.   It was such a great field trip, and I was really glad that I was able to be along to observe it all.  While chaperones and teachers were really supposed to sit back and let the kids figure out all of the challenges on their own, I did get to join in the fun by swinging on a rope across a water pit which was fun!  :)

  

Spring Sports

Our family has been busy this spring with sports.  Lyla is still playing travel soccer, Mark is coaching a boys’ travel team, and Nina is doing outdoor track.  There are weeks when the schedule gets quite busy, but Mark and I can honestly say that we really enjoy watching the girls participate in activities they enjoy.  We’re happy that they’re staying active and finding good friends on their teams.  They both have their “on” and “off” days when it comes to meets/games, but more than success in the traditional sense of sports, we love that being a part of a team challenges them physically, teaches them discipline, teamwork, and accountability.

 

Lyla still plays with Loudoun Soccer on the ’08 Girls Black team, and their team got a new coach this year.  While she misses her old coach (who moved to CA), she’s been challenged by her new coach to play a position she wasn’t comfortable with at all, but we’ve been proud of her for keeping a good attitude, doing her best, and with some time, doing a great job in her new position.

 

 

  

The team ended the spring season at the FC Delco tournament in the Philadelphia suburbs.  Mark’s team was playing in a tournament locally, and Nina had a track meet, so just Lyla and I went up togethr for the weekend.  Even though we were both under the weather from a little virus, I really enjoyed the time hanging out with our fun and funny Lyla!

    

 

Nina has continued with track into the outdoor season.  Many of the events are the same as the indoor season, but some of the distances are different. Nina has adjusted well to the changes and has been working hard at hurdles, high jump, and running form.  The training in outdoor track is more rigorous, and the athletes have to contend with the elements, but even when practices are hard, hot, or rainy, she doesn’t complain about going, and she’s still enjoying herself, so we’re happy that she’s happy! 

  

 

Lyla doesn’t come to most track meets, but at a home meet for Nina’s track club she did come.  Needless to say, she found enough to make her happy at the concession stand.