Magic Show

Sonia took the girls to a magic show at the library this morning.  They have events most days of the week for kids during the summer, and she tries to take them when she can. 

 

Being the lover of life that she is, Eva volunteered to be the magician's helper. 

 

 Such a captive audience...

 ...and polite.

Can you see Emily in the very back (pink skirt/bow)? This was pre-glasses. 

Glasses!

Emily had complained about her vision being blurry, so I took her to get her vision checked back in October.  The eye doctor said she was a tad nearsighted, but not enough to warrant glasses. He said to bring her back in Feb.  Well, I finally got around to taking her last week so we'd be all set before school started.  According to this doctor, her vision is fine, she just has issues with focusing.  Her little 7 year old eyes get tired focusing between close up and farther away. When this happens her eyes just don't focus, hence blurry vision. Luckily, this is common and she should grow out of it. 

 

She only has to wear them at school or when looking at a tablet/book.  She can wear them when watching TV if she feels it helps her. She does not need to wear them at any other time. 

 

 Cutie!

 

 

I think she's most excited about the matching Vera Bradley case.  Yes, Very Bradley glasses.

Grand Isle

We went to Grand Isle with a group of friends and we all had a blast.  There was lots of crabbing, attempts to fish, running around in the beach, playing on the pier, eating and drinking (by the adults).   There were 8 kids ranging age from 4 to 14.  The 14 year old mainly hung out with the adults, so the other 7 had free range of the camp, pier, etc. 

 

We were able to catch crabs in the traps and in nets in the surf.  Unless you had a boat, there were no fish to be caught, but there was no lack of trying. 

 

The pictures are in random order.

 

 Fishing off the pier.

 

 Watermelon!

 

 

 Kids playing dominos on our last morning.

 

 

 Elmers Island

 

 

 Elmers Island

 

 

 Trying to catch something...

 

 Casting...

 

 

 Still trying...

 

 

 Sad, no-fish-caught face

 

 

 On the 3 floor of the deck.

 

 

 Elmers Island

 

 

 Kayaking

 The Magnificent Seven

 

 

The plan is to do this again next summer, but probably not mid-June.  We'll have to do some research.  The weather was pretty breezy, downright windy much of the time, and the water was very choppy.  Better luck next year.

Pool Time

Pool time and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mitch's place in Houston.  Emily LOVED Mitch's hat - so much that she stood on it in the pool. Lol!

 

Burn Notice

We had some boiled crawfish last weekend, and I was all excited to make crawfish pie with the left overs.  When taking it out of the oven (and it looked delicious!) the aluminum pie pan (that I forgot needed to go on a sheet pan in the oven) buckled and splashed on my arm, landed on the oven door and floor.  After many expletives, I finally made it over to the sink to wash it off. I'm fine - it's just shy of a 2nd degree burn.  I can see where the dark spots almost blistered. 

 

Crawfish pie became crawfish pie mash.  Still tasted good.

 

Forgotten Pic

I forgot to add this picture of Emily with her honor roll certificate.  It was on my phone while the others were on my camera.  She only had two B's all year!

 

Softball

We're in the last 2 weeks of softball and finishing strong. Emily's team is hitting much better than earlier in the season (about 4 weeks ago).  I do think she's ready to be done with it. 

 

 She missed this pitch...

 

 

 ...but got on base the next pitch.

Eva pitched two innings last night. She is starting to get the whole motion, but I think she's over thinking it and trying to concentrate on too many things at once.  If we can get another year of practice, she may have it down next year. 

There are 5 girls on the team that are learning to pitch, and 3 will be out next week.  This means Eva and one other girl will be the only pitchers next week. 

Not sure if all-stars is in our future, but I'll let you know!

Academic Awards

We spent Memorial Day at school for 2 award presentations, which just means our kids are smart.  Eva and Emily got a certificate and ribbon for maintaining a 3.5-3.99 GPA this year.  Eva also received the President's Award for having at least a 3.5 GPA and having all master and advanced scores on her LEAP test. 

 

 Eva receiving her honor roll certificate.

 

 

 Eva's friends.

 

 

Eva and her teacher.

 

The plan for next year is to work on her accelerated reading. She is reading a lot now (for the last month since starting the Harry Potter series), but she just doesn't read a whole lot during the school year, mostly just what is required for school.  Emily will get to start AR in 2nd grade.

 

Oh, NOW I have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader!!

 

And for the record, I still love this school.  Best decision ever. 

Art Gala

Their school is arts-based, so naturally an art show was in the books.  Each class did various works of art individually and as a class. 

 

 Before the gala.

 

 

Eva painted (chose) the Norwegian flag (gee, I wonder why...).

 



Her reason why she picked Norway:

Emily's turtle after her pet turtle (what??).  Actually, Mimi found a turtle and put it in a box for her to see one day. We never thought she'd be so attached to it.  Mama released it shortly after finding it.  A turtle is better off in the 'wild' than in a box, after all.

Emily's butterfly. It reminds me of those Rorschach blots. 

The gala was very cute - all of the artwork was displayed throughout the school. Outside was food, snacks and drinks.  Overall a nice evening. 

Class Awards

The end of the year means awards, awards, and more awards.  Today was class awards. Monday is academic awards. 

 

I was not there today for class awards (I did not know I could be there). She received an Accelerated Reader award, Honey award (because she's sooooo sweet), and a Caring award. Being an International Baccalaureate candidate school means focusing on ten learner profiles, one of those being Caring.  I won't go into it now, but you can read about it here.