the weekly recap

It has really been feeling like summer! The weather has warmed up a ton and there have been lots of summer activities going on.

The kids both went and played with friends last Sunday afternoon. I love that they have friends in our neighborhood.

Monday night, they handed out medals and trophies for baseball after the championship game.

B Boy played with a friend after school on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, C Girl had her last tennis lesson for the time being.

All of the kids were invited to stay after and swim. They had such a great time! 

Thursday, I had lunch with Tim and had a book club girl's night out.

Friday, we celebrated the kids' last Friday in 2nd and 3rd grade.

They technically go this Friday, but my kiddos' last day is Thursday.

 After dinner Friday night, we went to Orchards Park to listen to the Downtown Livewires.

I love the summer concert series that Bentonville does every year.

The wildflowers were SO pretty!

 They live to photobomb us these days!

B Boy just cannot NOT be throwing a ball. All day. Every day.

Saturday morning, we met up with the family that is in our church summer social group. 

We went to the splash park and ate lunch at the taco truck across the street.

It was good talking with them and getting to know them and their little girl.

 On Sunday, the kiddos sang with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade from their school at the Naturals game.

The kids have been practicing their songs for weeks. They sang, America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle, You're a grand old flag, and Take me out to the ballgame. 

They also had the privilege of singing the National Anthem before the game!

I got to see a dear friend from our Paris days who now lives in Fayetteville.

When we last saw them, they had two kids. They now have five!!!

B Boy had a good time playing with some of his friends during the game.

While we were at the game, April texted me and asked if C Girl and I wanted to join them for the Lady Antebellum concert at the AMP that night.

I hesitated briefly because it was a school night, but then I thought, why not?!

 Kelsea Ballerini and Hunter Hayes were the opening acts. They were both great!!!

 It started raining a lot! Thankfully, C Girl got to share a poncho. I got pretty wet on my back, but I dried off by the end of the concert.

These two girl had an awesome time! They loved the show!

I loved making fun memories with my girlie!

 Lady Antebellum were great!!!

 I loved watching C Girl sing along to songs she knew!

 Hunter Hayes is super talented. We saw him play guitar, piano, and banjo. Not to mention singing!

 Lady A did a really cool thing and walked from the main stage to this small stage near the lawn. It was so neat for them to get so close like that!!!

I couldn't help but take a picture of these kiddos in car line yesterday!

I've been trying to soak them up lately!

Typical.

The 3rd grade did a "Wax Museum" yesterday. The kids had to choose a famous Arkansan to represent. C Girl's person was Scottie Pippen. You had to push the "button" on the "wax person" and then they recited facts about their character. It was so cute and the kids did so good!

 When B Boy got home from school, I learned that he had received a Citizenship award in his class (1 boy and 1 girl each receive one per class) and he received the Reading award for 2nd grade for the highest amount of AR points! 

These two awards characterize him in so many ways. How very proud we are of this boy! 

I've been trying to intentionally stop and listen to the intricate and detailed stories that he tells me about his Lego creations. Sometimes I just zone out because he has a lot to say!

I love seeing the things that he creates. AND hearing the stories about them! 

Last night, a friend from Sunday school hosted Bunco at her house. 

We all pitched in $5 and whoever won overall got to donate all of the money to their charity of choice. It was a fun night! 

I love to talk and that doesn't work so well with concentrating on the game!!!

So thankful for these sweet sisters in Christ!

the last week of summer vacation

We have had a busy week! The kiddos finished up swimming lessons last Wednesday night and we are SO proud of their progress!!!

Thursday afternoon, I took the kids to the library to see a marionette puppet show. It was of the Wizard of Oz and we loved it! B Boy even ended up being in the newspaper the next day!!! The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission had a mobile aquarium set up outside that went to check out for a few minutes and then we headed to Bella Vista to visit a grocery store there that we like.

On Friday, we treated the kids to a fun day at the city pool to celebrate all that they had learned in swimming lessons. They had a really great time! We ate at one of their favorite restaurants and then we headed to a Naturals game! We had an awesome time and the fireworks after the game were fantastic!!!

Saturday was spent at home just hanging out. We did rent a couple of Redbox movies to watch. Tim and I watched Lone Survivor. It was such a hard movie to watch. It ended up being a really good movie.

Sunday was church and then I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening working on plans for the kiddos' birthday party. Things are coming together!

Monday the kids and I cleaned in the house and went through toys to donate. Tuesday, we went to the church to help sort and hang clothes for the clothing giveaway that our church holds for the community every year.

We also had open house to meet their teachers and see their classrooms! I felt so overstimulated the whole time we were there. There were people everywhere and it was new classrooms and things to sign up for, forms to fill out, supplies to organize, etc. B Boy was pretty unsure about things because he only had 1 student in his class this year from last year. He did recognize more kids from school in his class while we were there. He will be fine because he is a social little guy! C Girl was absolutely thrilled to get the teacher she wanted and to have one of her best friends from church in her class! She picked the seat next to her friend and I'm so happy that they have each other to be with all year!!!

I don't usually get too emotional about the start of school every year. I think I kind of push all of the sad thoughts to the back of my mind. It has been very hard this year realizing how big my kiddos are becoming. I cannot believe I have a 3rd grader! It is going to be a great year though!!!