May

The girls particiapted in a musical theater class with their neighbor besties.  The culmination performance of "The Little Mermaid" was super fun and the girls were great!  Bridgette and Gretchen both played one of the "sisters."

One of Ryan's favorite things these days is to share funny videos with the kids that he finds on Instagram!  It's good to laugh together =)

I had the privilege of catching up with Tricia while she was in town for work.   She was a dear friend at OBU and a bridesmaid in our wedding, and I was glad for a chance to catch up in person.  

Yummy popsicles on the porch

Happy Mother's Day!  Being Mom to my three is the best thing that keeps me on my toes and on my knees.  They blessed me with happy hearts and good attitudes for my celebration request: family lunch at a hot pot restaurant after church!  It was a great meal experience that I haven't enjoyed since we lived in China and fun to share with the kids

The mother's day party continued with a visit from Kaye K!!  Since she introduced us to paletas, it's a favorite spot for an after-dinner treat

As a birthday + mother's day gift, Mom and I got to spend the day enjoying Hillwood Estate and Gardens.  We both read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Weather Post and delighted seeing the estate and touring the gardens together on a beautifully sunny day.

The girls' last day of Granite homeschool co-op - hooray!  The end of sixth and eighth grades.

Bridgette was awarded the second-highest honors for her score in the National Latin Exam!

Rooke is on a new basketball team and the tournaments continue

Rooke and the rest of the basketball players were honored at the school sports banquet

Strawberry picking - the sign that summer has officially started!  And the sign that we will be enjoying all things strawberry for the next week.

Gretchen went right to work!

We scored free tickets to a Washington Nationals game!  It was a beautiful evening and both girls surprisingly enjoyed following the game.  

Goofy girls on a walk through the National Arboretum

April

 Happy Easter!  Christ is Risen!

Bridgette participated in a strings ensemble for our Easter service at church.  The ensemble helped accompany the children's choir singing "A Gospel Song."  I was grateful to help put the music together for our service and always enjoy practicing with the kiddos at our church!

Chesed and I co-hosted Easter lunch.  We had a full house for lunch, including Steve and Vallerie!  Then the Broggis hosted dessert and an egg hunt for the kids.  Fun was had by all. =)

Me, Chesed (co-hosting neighbor), and Shannon (previous owner of our home!)

Bridgette is motivated to keep practicing her basketball skills in the off season

Bridgette and her duet partner participated in an adjudicated music festival.  They received the highest score of "1" for their pair of violin duet pieces.

Shenanigans.  Always shenanigans.

Hello Eclipse!

It's become somewhat of a spring tradition that when the weather finally warms up enough, we get on our bikes and head to Playa Bowls for lunch.

Happy Birthday to Kaye K!  Since we couldn't share her birthday dessert, we went out for mexican popsicles (paletas) in her honor and sent her this photo =)  She introduced us to the popsicle shop and they are super yummy!

Gretchen joined friends to get ready for a formal dance being put on by the homeschool co-op we are a part of.  Getting ready together is as much fun as the dance itself, right?  Everyone had a great time!

Rooke's next season of basketball is under way.  Bridgette and I had the privilege of accompanying Rooke to a tournament in New York City!  The game schedule perfectly allowed us plenty of time to be tourists in the city while still catch Rooke in all his games.

We rode the (free!) Staten Island ferry to lower Manhattan.  We got off the ferry at 9:00am and walked all. morning. long. until we stopped for delicious pizza.  Bridgette is a fantastic travel buddy!  She was up for the adventure, walked everywhere without complaint, and asked great questions as we took in the sights and sounds of NYC.

The purpose for the trip was to get Rooke to his games and watch him play basketball.  The major bonuses of the trip were getting to spend a day in Manhattan with Bridgette, visiting North Shore Baptist Church, and eating extra yummy food along the way!

Meanwhile, Ryan was sharing photos of his extra yummy treat during the church men's retreat!

And since our family clearly enjoys eating and sharing yummy food, I also received this photo from Gretchen while she was out on a Daddy date after her night away on a youth retreat.