Day 1 & 2 of our New York Trip...

On June 2nd and 3rd, we traveled to New York to see Tony's Grandparents.  The drive is very long so we split it up into two days.  The first day we drove a little over halfway and the girls did incredibly well.  Tony and I are thankful for DVD players.  We stopped in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and toured the state capitol, walked down to the river front and ate dinner at a great Irish Pub.  The girls had the best grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon on them and I had Fish and Chips that were really good.  The second day, we drove the rest of the way to New York and met Grandpa and Grandma at Brooks BBQ for lunch.  Are you seeing a theme here?  We had a lot of great food on this trip and gained lots of weight. :)  After lunch, we headed to GGF's house and got settled in and played outside most of the afternoon. 

 Pennsylvania's State Capital in Harriburg.

 This dome ceiling was absolutely beautiful.

 The marble staircase which was also very pretty.

 Reece sat down on this marker and said, "Daddy this will be a good picture, take my picture" and she smiled big.  Of course, only when she wants a picture will she smile, never on command or when we want her to smile.

 The beautiful riverfront in Harrisburg.

Riley playing Stick Ball with Great Grandpa.  It is amazing what Great Grandpa can do at his age. 

Reece enjoyed relaxing in GGF's yard.

 GGF have a ton of pinecones in their yard so the girls were lining them up and making a house out of them.  They had all the rooms sectioned off and played in this "house" for quite a while.

Reece and Great Grandma coloring together.

Unexpected news...

We were on our way to Upstate New York for a family vacation when I received a phone call from a dear friend with unexpected, sad news.  The local Preschool/Kindergarten where all my girls attended preschool and where Reece was planning on going to Kindergarten this fall, just up and closed!!!!  My friend, Robyn, was on the school board and she said none of the board knew about this and they were completely surprised when they heard the news from the teachers.  The church vestry was the one that made this abrupt decision to close the 50 yr. old school.  They claim it has to do with the economy, lack of interest in half-day preschools/kindergartens, and needing the space for the church.  The church made the decision with no warning and then changed all the locks on the school doors so the teachers could not get in.  Then, all the teachers were notified and were told they had a day to get all their stuff out and that they no longer had jobs.  We were all shocked in how the church handled this and left 85 families scrambling to find places for their kids to attend school this upcoming fall.  I was thankful my friend, Robyn, called me when she did because I immediately started calling other preschool/kindergarten programs before the word got out too much.  The Lord was very good to us and we were able to get Reece into another program about 5 mins. away from her previous school.  Plus, they go 50 mins. longer so it gives me a little more free time each day and the cost is the same.  Also, Reece's dear friend/neighbor, Annabeth, also got in so they will be in the same class and we can carpool.  So, this horrible news we received on our first day of vacation ended up being a huge blessing.  Although we are sad to say "goodbye" to a wonderful school, we are excited about our new option, DMWS, for this upcoming year.

Camp Don Lee...

Regan's End of the Year party in 4th Grade was a trip to Camp Don Lee in Arapahoe, NC.  The trip was May 23 - May 25 which was the last week of school.  I was able to chaperone on this trip and Tony stayed home with Riley and Reece.  Regan had an amazing time and kept very busy with all kinds of educational fun.  The first day, we drove down to Atlantic Beach and the children toured Ft. Macon, did an Ocean Study and a Marsh Study.  Then, we took a ferry over to Camp Don Lee.  We got settled into camp and had dinner.  The meals at Camp Don Lee were rather nice for a camp.  After dinner, the children enjoyed free play and then they had a hayride.  The hayride was full of singing (or should I say screaming), happy kids and a lot of chaperones wishing we had earplugs. :)  The second day, the children spent the entire day doing many activities.  They went non-stop from 8:00 am - 10:00 pm.  I went around to several of the activites and the adults did have a little free time away from the kids.  My friend, Lori, and I went on a hot, 4 mile run during our break.  The last day, the kids packed up and then went to a few more activities before heading out to the NC Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium.  It was such a fun 3 days and I know Regan made many memories she will always cherish. 

On the ferry to Camp Don Lee

 Regan saning in the ocean for crabs, fish and jellyfish.  The water was really rough that day so they made the kids stay at the edge and eventually called them in because too many kids were falling down into the water.   

 Regan was making me laugh with her big ole' boots on.  She had them on for the marsh study and decided to leave them on during the ocean study.

 Regan and some of her friends at Fort Macon.

At Fort Macon...

 Regan and Hannah S. on the hayride.

 Enjoying the beautiful morning on the Camp Don Lee pier.

Mommy and Regan at the pier

 Our screened in porch at our cabin.

 Here is our room...

 The hallway of the cabin.  Each cabin had 6 rooms and the bath house was separate from our cabin.

 View of our cabin

 The front of our cabin

 Pretty view from our cabin of the Neuse River and worship area.

Another view from our cabin

 Regan, Emmy and Hannah dissecting a fish.

 Regan and Emmy holding the lens of the fish's eye.

 River saning...

 Regan showing off the Comb Jelly she caught.  These are a type of jellyfish but do not sting.  There were stinging jellyfish in the river as well and many kids were getting stung.

 Pretty view of the Neuse River.

This was one of Regan's favorite classes, Herpatology, learning about snakes, frogs, lizards, and turtles.  Regan is touching a baby turtle in this photo.

 Regan holding a corn snake.  She loves snakes!!!!

 Regan with her friends, Anabelle and Hannah, about to learn about weather.

 This pond was full of turtles. 

 This huge turtle came out of the water and the kids were fascinated.

Regan, Hope, and Katie in Arts and Crafts.  They made T-shirts.

 Regan and her friends at a campfire.  They sang songs, heard stories and made smores.

 The entire 4th Grade

 Regan at the NC Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

 Feeding the kids to the alligator

 Touching the stingrays

 Regan the crab.  She was a little crabby by the end of the trip. :)

Shark!!!!!

Reece's Last Day of Preschool...

On May 24th, Reece completed her last day of preschool.  I can't believe my youngest daughter will be in Kindergarten next year!  *SIGH*  I was out of town with Regan on a school field trip so I missed Reece's end of the year party.  Tony was a super dad and not only watched Reece and Riley for three days while Regan and I were away, but he also attended both Reece and Riley's end of the year parties that were on the same day!!!  He was unable to get photos of Riley's party due to a tight schedule but he was able to get some great ones of Reece.

 There was a lady doing balloon art at the party.

 Reece having fun with her sweet friend, Madeline.

 These two are inseparable, as you can see. 

 Reece says goodbye to her teacher, Mrs. Ingold.  Awesome teacher!!!

Reece giving Madeline a goodbye hug.  Although, this will not be goodbye.  They plan to have lots of playdates this summer.

Regan's Last Year of Recorder...

Regan completed her second and final year of Recorder Ensemble this year.  On May 19th, there was an awards ceremony and Regan received an award for being in Recorder Ensemble for two years.  She has really enjoyed playing her recorder and next year would like to play the flute in the band. 

There was an icecream party of the awards ceremony.

 Here is a short video of one of the concerts they performed in this year.  This concert was at a local hospital on Dec. 9th.

Here is another short video from the same concert.

Y Princess Camp 2011...

On the weekend of May 13 -15th, Tony and Regan had their last Y Princesses Spring Outing Camping trip.  Y Princesses only goes for 3 years so this was Regan and Tony's last year.  But, they can move up to Trailblazers next year and do a lot of fun things.  I don't know if they will stay as a tribe with their group but I do know they will be going on a neat fall outing to the mountains and may go white water rafting.  They had a great weekend and did many fun things such as canoeing, archery, BB guns, shark teeth hunting, raft racing, ran a 5K and most important REGAN DID THE ZIPLINE!!!!  For three years, Tony has been trying to get Regan to do the zipline and she refused.  But, this year she finally did it and not only once but TWICE!  We were so proud of her for trying it and she really enjoyed it.  Way to face your fears Regan!  We were also proud that Regan ran a 5K with her daddy.  She has not been running so to get out there and run without any training is really good!   The third year Y Princesses had to build rafts this year and compete in a raft race.  Regan and Tony's tribe did well in their heat, they got second place.  We don't have many photos this year because Tony was having too much fun to stop and take photos but I can share a few.   

Their cabin - a little more rustic this year and the bathrooms were separate from their cabins.

Regan shooting a BB gun.  She enjoys this very much.

Sweet Daddy/Daughter time

Here is their raft...

Regan's tribe with Golden Otter (he is the head of the Y Princesses/Guides)