Visit with PopPop and The Best Day Ever

Someone special had the "best day of her life" last week.  Sophia said those exact words after the following occurred: she lost her first tooth, went off of the diving board at our pool for the first time and was moved up from pre-team to regular swim team!  That was a pretty awesome day indeed!  To top it off PopPop was visiting which was wonderful. While PopPop was here he enjoyed seeing all these firsts for Sophia and was able to cheer on the girls at their second swim meet.  While PopPop was here we spent one day exploring the city.  Lunch at Bottoms Up Pizza was neat since the trains went by over head.  The restaurant (and Richmond city) was flooded in 2006 during a storm and in the photo the girls are standing below the flood line.  It was taller than me! After lunch we enjoyed the canal walk where PopPop treated us to the 40 minute canal cruise.  It was neat to learn more history about Richmond and a cruise in the water.  The girls were tired after a week packed with fun.  We ended the week seeing PopPop off at the train station.  It was a fun week!

Sophia lost her first tooth!

Sophia went off the diving board at our pool for the first time!

PopPop went off the high dive

Isabella went off the high dive too

Bottoms Up Pizza and the 2006 Flood Line

The girls ready for the canal walk cruise

Isabella enjoyed sitting at the front of the boat

The blue heron named Bella

Pretty Heron

The view heading out

The view heading back

Sophia and Bearby enjoying the boat

Smile by PopPop.  Photo by Bella.

By Friday Sleeping Beauty Bella needed her rest

Seeing PopPop leave on the train

Trip to Maryland and Fathers Day

We went to Maryland for my cousin Tammi's wedding and also for fathers day.  We stayed our first night at Paps.  The girls had selected a few things to leave for Gram on her resting spot.  It was my first time seeing the head stone which brought me to tears.  The girls flowers and art cheer up the space a bit.  We all miss Gram very much.  We spent time with my family and the girls loved riding up and down the electric chair at Paps house. We all enjoyed cuddling sweet baby Olivia and dancing at my cousins wedding.

We spent the next night at the Schaefers.  Isabella got up early to attend church with Grandmere and Poppy.  Sophia was excited to try the diving board at their pool which is much lower than the one in Richmond.  Sophia was so excited that she went off without hesitation and continued to go off the board the rest of the day.  These girls love to swim.  We celebrated fathers day with a lovely dinner and sang Happy Fathers Day to you over dessert.

Visiting Gram.  Flowers by Sophia.  Art by Bella.

The girls enjoyed riding up the stairs at night

 Ride down with their great grandfather Pap

Sophia and her cute cousin Olivia

My cousin Tammi's wedding with sisters

The girls silhouettes in our driveway for Daddy

Will and Sean on Fathers Day

Sophia's first jump off the diving board (on her own)

First Swim Meet of 2015

Our first swim meet of the year was an away meet.  Sophia has been doing great on pre-team and was asked to swim in two races.  Her first race was the 25 meter backstroke but little Miss was all tears.  She was scared.  After an Italian ice, a 5$ bill and a reward of Princess perfume Sophia was ready to try the next event.  She swam the 25 meter freestyle and got 5th place!  She was so happy to complete her first race.  Her coach gave her a high five and was impressed.  Despite Sophia being scared she did wonderful.  We were all proud.

Isabella was in three races; a freestyle relay, a 25 meter backstroke and 25 meter freestyle.  Isabella even started her race with a dive from the side.  Will and I both enjoyed seeing our girls swim.  We are proud to see them do their best.

Once we came home from the swim meet Isabella wrote a very sweet letter to Sophia.   It's okay to be afraid!  The day after the meet Isabella and Sophia received a few ribbons at the ceremony which are proudly displayed in their rooms.  Swim on sisters!

The girls with the coaches

Isabella 25M Back

Italian Ice time to cheer up a scared Sophia

Sophia 25M Free and her FIRST swim on the team!

Isabella diving in for freestyle

Bella 25M Free

My swimmers after the race

After swim meet letter from Isabella to Sophia

Girls with their first ribbons of 2015 swim team

School Daze

School is out for summer!  Before first grade ended we made a few more memories at the school.  Sophia and I visited Isabella for lunch.  The day we showed up happened to be a "lunch in the library" reward for reading books.  Sophia enjoyed learning how to navigate the cafeteria and ice cream with Isabella in the library!

Sophia visits Bella for lunch at Gayton

Lunch buyers on pizza day!

Walking the halls at school

Ice cream in the library for reading 50 books

In addition to our lunch date, we also went to Isabella's school for her principles surprise retirement presentation.  Isabella and members of SCA were part of the sign saying We Love Mrs. Wingfield.  Sophia and I helped with watermelon for the event and were able to surprise Isabella whose class was outside reading that morning.

Reading time outside the last week of school

Isabella is letter "f" in the sign for her principle

Isabella was excited to head to school on the last day as 1st grader!  She woke up early to take the bus.  She knew that Sophia and I had a surprise for her at the bus stop after school.  Operation Water Guns & Popsicles was a success.  Plus, it was a fun way to kick off summer vacation.

Isabella is excited for the last day of school!

Photo from the first day and the last day of 1st grade

Headed to the bus stop for the last time as a 1st grader

Operation water guns and popsicles was a success!

School is out for SUMMER!

Scouts in Action

June was the end of scouts for the school year.  Isabella's troop went to Dave and Busters for cookie rewards.  The girls enjoyed playing games, though the choices for ticket rewards at the end were hard for some girls.  Isabella made me very proud when she told a daisy in our troop "Congratulations on winning 1000 tickets.  I am proud of you!"  Once in the car, Isabella admitted that she would have liked to win that amount also but that she was happy for her friend. Isabella was proud of her friends winnings yet I was proud of Isabella's kind heart!

Dave and Busters end of year party!

Isabella was thrilled to get 66 tickets at one game!

Isabella requested a photo with this prop.  Love the expression!

Our bridging ceremony was the first weekend in June.  Isabella and our troop would be bridging to Brownies. Since I will now be leading a troop for Sophia we added the siblings of scouts into the ceremony.  Sophia was excited to finally be a Daisy.  It was sweet that Isabella could bridge her little sister into scouts.  I also enjoyed bridging Isabella in Brownies.  Unfortunately, Sophia took a fall going up to the bridge and was upset, especially with the audience watching. So after the crowd had left the girls re-enacted the ceremony for photos.  We all learned the great lesson, its not falling down that people remember but getting up and moving on.

Starting the bridging ceremony with siblings

Sophia fell on the way to the bridge and needed love.

Isabella welcomed to Sophia to Daisy Scouts.

"Twist me, turn me show me the elf.  I look in the water and saw myself"

Part of our Brownie troop after bridging

Congrats to our New Daisy and New Brownie Scouts.

The Schaefer Scouts!

Re-enacting the bridging ceremony 

We are proud of our little Scouts!