Update: part 1

And then it took me a whole week to come back and post again. Wow. That shows a serious re-commitment to blogging, right?

So since I've been such a slacker I figure I need to post a couple of updates and then focus on staying current going forward. I'll start with Tessa, since she's going to take the longest! Let's see...

Soccer
Tessa played Spring Soccer this year. She loved it and did very well! She has a natural coordination and ability for sports that MUST have been inherited from Matt.
She never paid too much attention, and she didn't work very hard at practice, but she was almost always running at the front of the pack during games and she got her foot on the ball quite often. Her enthusiasm and hyperactivity were definitely her best attributes! At the end of the season each player was given an award - Tessa's says...

"Fancy Footwork and Sassy Attitude!"

Tessa dribbles like an expert and moves the ball where it needs to be on the field...move over, competition!

Perfect for her :)

We fought nasty weather for most of the games - our warm weather came SO late this year! There were only a few games when it wasn't absolutely freezing.  Tessa was a trooper, though, and only complained about being cold once or twice!

Pictures:

 

 

She enjoyed it so much that we've signed her up for Fall Soccer, as well. Her coach is coming back as are several of her team mates. We can't wait until the end of August to start!
This time around, Asher will get to play, too! They added a pre-K team that he will be part of. It should be really fun!

Girl Scouts
Tessa started Girl Scouts last fall and quickly decided that she loved it.
I was asked to be cookie mom in the winter when we started out Girl Scout Cookie sales.  I said yes, of course...and Tessa ended up selling the most cookies in the whole troop. 500 boxes I had to deliver. Oy.
This Spring, Tessa's leader decided that she was no longer able to lead the troop, so I stepped up to help out. The co-leader is family...sort of. She's a second cousin by marriage or something like that. At any rate, she's adorable and we work very well together, so it's been a fun thing to do.

The Girl Scout year ended in May and we held a fun end of the year flag ceremony/family dinner. Tessa had the largest speaking part - she reads/recites very well and LOVES a crowd, so she was a natural.

She's going to two Girl Scout camps this year. The first (July 12-14) is a troop camp which most of our troop will be attending. I'll be there, too :)
The second is one she's going to without me...I'm nervous, she's ecstatic!

Birthday
Tessa's Birthday was May 13 - she turned 8 this year!!!
Her Birthday was on a Thursday and daddy stayed home to make her waffles and drive her carpool to school (it's a special treat for daddy to drive!)

In the morning she got to open one little gift - a watch (which she wore to school)

The rest of her gifts had to wait until that afternoon :)

Her Birthday Party was that weekend.
Rather than put myself through all the work I normally do, I took the easy way out.
We reserved a pavilion at the park and rented a massive bounce house.

I let Tessa invite every one she wanted to...we ended up with about 30 kids at the park! Tessa thrives with that many people around - runs from one group to the next constantly!

We also rented a popcorn machine, which the kids went nuts for!

 

YUM!

It was a great party and she LOVED it.
The only bad thing about it was the insane quantity of gifts she received...totally unnecessary! I have to admit, a few were taken back and a few got put away for a later date...she just didn't need that many new toys!

After the "friend party" (3:30-5:30) was over we had the "family party" (@ 6:00) - which included lots of our honorary family members (Killian and Andrea, Arna, etc)

Tessa's uncles (Killian, Joey, James) and Matt took turns throwing the kids from the top of the bounce house slide...which was really just an excuse to slide down themselves!

We barbecued hotdogs (Tessa's favorite!) ate cake and opened even more gifts.

Matt and I had saved Tessa's "big gift" for this party - a Nintendo DS with a few games. It was definitely a hit!

Schools Out!
Last part of Tessa's update...
the end of 2nd grade!
I find it impossible to believe that I will have a 3rd grader next year - but there it is.
Even harder to believe is how ridiculously smart she is.
Her grades ended up pretty good...a B in Math, because she was hiding her homework from me (lot's of drama there!) but A's every where else.
At Summit's end of the year fun run/fundraiser, Jogapalooza, Tessa raised the most money in her class! She got to take a shot at the principal in the dunking booth and she just barely missed dunking him!
She also won a scooter at the prize assembly drawing. The fact that she won a scooter (which she's been asking for) and the fact that I was the one drawing names/assigning prizes is a complete coincidence ;)

We are SO GLAD to be out of school this year! The Summer seemed to take a long time to get here...we're so happy it finally made it!

I'll be back with an Asher update soon, I promise :)