Busy, Busy, Busy

So, it's been crazy around here. The end of the year (Yes, I know it's June, not December. Trust me, this is the end of the year.) is full of all manner of last minute competitions and shows and events. Finally, finally, it is all done. Now I have a chance to record it here.

Sneaking in Fun

First, we hopped over to Dorney for a little after hours fun. I LOVE amusement parks and carnivals at night - they are SO atmospheric. We will probably get sick of Dorney by the end of the summer, but right now it's still novel and fresh. The idea of getting season passes to save money won't work, though, if we keep buying yummy treats while we're there!



Dance X-plosion

We took Kai out to Sparta, NJ (about 6 hours of time, all told) for a three-minute dance routine. *sigh* It was certainly a long day, but it did pay off. The girls danced fabulously to their "9 to 5" number, and won the adjudication of "Extreme Gold" along with a First Place trophy for Petite Small Group Jazz and a Fifth Place trophy for Overall Petite Small Group. Not too shabby!! We're very proud of her. It's a lot of extra work being in competition, but she always rises to the challenge.

Spring Band Concert

Speaking of a lot of extra work, we next headed to Kai's band concert. Nicky managed to stay awake for the whole thing this time - go Nick! Kairi did a great job. She and Sheridan had so much fun. They are both taking band next year, and are planning to audition for the jazz ensemble. I hope they get in - Kai has to audition as a pianist, since horn isn't a jazz instrument. The only problem is, starting in middle school, we'll be off to band competitions, too! Saucon recently swept the awards at Music in the Parks, though, and we saw an AMAZING concert by the high school jazz band, so I foresee many accomplishments in Kai and Sheri's future!


Art Competition

Were we on the topic of talent? Well, Kai and Nick certainly have it in spades. They entered an art contest at Daddy's work. Nicky had to compete against his sister, so he settled for an Honorable Mention prize for his adorable alien picture. (Which was still a great Crayola art pack and his picture framed!) Kai, on the other hand, won the 7-12 age division with a jungle scene the office called "Smiling Big Cats and Waterfall". She got an art lesson, movie tickets, and her picture will be displayed in the offices of Sungard. She had the art lesson tonight, and enjoyed it a lot... but I'm not really sure we can fit MORE lessons in her schedule!



5th Grade Farewell and Graduation

I was also sad to see several milestones in Kairi's life go flying by the past few weeks! She went to her first "dance", which fortunately was mostly swimming, volleyball, eating, and games - although some dancing was involved. From what I understand, the order of the day were group dance songs like "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and "ChaCha Slide". Isn't she cute in her matching dress and swimsuit? She went to her middle school orientation. She finished her DARE program and got a backpack, t-shirt, bracelet, lanyard, 2 pins, a certificate, and a bunch of other stuff. (How is that fair? I mean, I'm glad, cause it's my daughter, but the inner city kids who could USE this stuff just get a t-shirt, and the spoiled suburbanites get all the freebies. They even have free day camp in the parks for the kids in our district. Go figure. Off my soapbox, back to proud mama...) Last, but certainly not least, she graduated from 5th grade. They had a ceremony, complete with "Pomp and Circumstance". Kai was honored for being in chorus, band, and a girls group (a peer assistance sort of thing), along with completing the Hundred Book Challenge, and some other things I forget. All I know is, they kept asking students to stand up for this or that or the other, and she was always getting up.


So that's it, in a nutshell. The kids got their report cards today, and are now FREE for the summer. (They both did well. A's for Kai, S's for Nick.) We're glad they're so involved and dedicated.... but now I want to dedicate ourselves to doing NOTHING for a few weeks!!