Our family made it through another school year! Lady M had her final days in the 8th grade and Master J graduated from elementary school. This ushers in a new era for our family. M will be in high school this coming year, and J will be joining me at the middle school.

As the year winded down, we had some noteworthy events:

"United We Stand" class play

Elementary School Graduation

Piano Recital

8th Grade Formal Dance

Not pictures, but an amazing feat all the same, was M's academic award for achieving A's in every class all year long. In fact, in all three years of middle school, she only had one B. She is an extremely hard working and responsible young lady! Also, M began piano lessons with a new teacher and is now doing more music theory and is focusing on her compositions.

Spring Break

Have you ever had a really big dream? Our family has dreamt of going on a cruise together for a very long time. We saved our pennies, planned, prepared, and finally took a long-awaited cruise to the Bahamas. We spent 7 days and nights together. Destinations included Port Canaveral Florida where we went on a dolphin and manatee watching expedition, Nassau Bahamas where we explored the city and did some shopping, and CocoCay Bahamas where we spent a day on the most beautiful beach we'd ever seen. The weather was amazing, mostly low 80's with low humidity and plenty of sunshine and gentle breezes. The people were amazing too, friendly and helpful. On the ship, we ate wonderful meals, walked around the top deck where the vistas were breathtaking, ate some more, took in a few shows, ate some more, listened to live music, ate some more, played shuffleboard, and slept. The kids did rock climbing, bungie trampoline jumping, swam in the ship's pool, and did plenty of sleeping in, reading, and playing on their electronic devices. It was interesting getting used to the rocking of the ship, and also interesting that we continued to feel the land rock for the first couple of days back home. We all agree that our favorite part of the trip was the beach at CocoCay, snorkeling and floating around on top of the water.

Oh my! It's been 4 months...

It's incredible how time flies during the school year. Finally, we revel in this holiday break and have a chance to slow down and breathe, and update our blog!

A lot has happened in four months. Birthdays, science project, Halloween, Thanksgiving, YW in Excellence, piano recital, school concert and Christmas are at the top of the list.

Following are a few photo highlights:

A rare October snow storm

Our 11 year old Boy Scout!

A very spooky Halloween

Christmas kids

YW in Excellence

Webelos badge and bridge ceremony

Our 14 yr. old who can now go to church dances!

Birthday Dad!

Holiday piano recital

Jazz band concert

Our cozy Christmas room :)

Summer's End

It's incredible to think that our summer has come to an end, but with school starting tomorrow, reality has set in and we are prepared to get back into our school year routine. A few photographic highlights of our recent trip to Ohiopyle, PA can be perused below, including some of our trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, the Laurel Caverns, the art of s'mores after a rain storm, and an 11.5 mile whitewater rafting trip down the middle Youghiogheny.

We gained a greater appreciation for nature, as well as for the talent of Frank Lloyd Wright, who was not only a masterful architect, but also a gifted structural engineer and interior designer.

Summer, Part 1

Busy, fun and enriching! With our Summer over half over, it's time to share our first "Reader's Digest" style update.

J. enjoyed Spring soccer this year and did a fabulous job with defense:

Both kids contributed to a fabulous piano recital:

Our garden turned into a jungle, and we were blessed with more produce than we could possibly eat, so we shared with the neighborhood (and continue to do so):
Lady M. had a fantastic time at Young Women's camp:
J. enjoyed time with friends at the pool:
The boys traveled to Williamsburg for July 4th:
Grandma returned with them for a visit:

The family spent a morning on Black Hills Lake:


Mom and kids enjoyed an evening at the local carnival:

The Infant Paganini

Little Red In Da Hood

In addition to acting, these amazing 7th graders wrote, produced and directed their play!! Of course, we're very proud of our defense attorney :)