April Fun, Part 2

 Our Spring Fun continued in April with lots of outside time. We celebrated Emmanuel's fifth birthday with kites and outdoor games. Our little neighborhood community is just the best. 

Samuel and Elisabeth completed an end of the year presentation in their science class. Elisabeth dressed up as a jellyfish, and Samuel sculpted an Orca out of clay. They also researched their creature and shared facts about it in class. This was such a fun class! They're both looking forward to Land Animals next year!

We had more neighbor friends over to play one afternoon, and they played soccer for hours in the back yard. We enjoyed a long streak of beautiful sunny days and made the most of them. 

Our church hosted a women's retreat, and I had a free weekend to attend (minus a couple of soccer games). We had a good group from her Sunday School class attend. Grateful for these women and for a refreshing weekend retreat. 

Nathan is too big to attend VBS this year, so he's helping me with preschool missions. He loaded up on snacks at our first training. 

Katherine's preschool teacher sent me this adorable photo. Katherine LOVES school, and is so sad it's almost summer and school will be over. She has had the best year. 

These two boys got to participate in Biz Town, and were so excited. Nathan was CFO of Cherokee Phoenix Newspaper, and Samuel was Ad Executive for Tulsa Tech. 

The girls and I caught a bit of them in action at the end of the day. They learned so much about running a business, banking, etc. Such a great experience for them!

Why does he look so grown up here???

Katherine was happy to be reunited with her brother after a day apart. 

Katherine had community helper week at preschool and along with seeing a police dog and a firetruck, she got to meet an astronaut. So cool!

Samuel has been enjoying piano lessons this year. He's improving every week (when he practices, ha!)

And we've been spending plenty of time on the soccer field. Proud of these girls!!

Our last day of co-op was a bittersweet day. We're ready for summer but will miss our Thursdays spent with sweet friends and all the wonderful experiences and things the kids learned this year. Samuel and Elisabeth celebrated the end of the year with an Ocean Party in their science class. We baked some festive cupcakes. 

Samuel and Elisabeth also completed Country projects for their geography class. They worked hard on them!

Nathan also presented on the Innocence Project in his Forensics class. 

It was the very end of a long day before we got around to taking last day of school pics. The kids were toast by the end of the day.

Samuel is ready for summer!

The kids went with Papa to buy new fish for his pond. They each chose one and named them. 

I can't believe Nathan is about to turn 12! He has a small party planned on his birthday, but his good friend Caden had a conflict that day, so we invited him to spend the night the last Saturday in April. The boys played Madden on the computer, played the VR, threw around the football outside, and watched a movie. Caden is such a good friend to Nathan. They've been celebrating birthdays together since Pre-k. 

When Matt works in preschool, there's always block towers. This week the kids asked him to build one so high it touched the ceiling. Challenge accepted!

Let's stall for bedtime and all pile on daddy!

April 2023, you've been good to us!

April Fun, Part 1

 At the beginning of April, we had dinner with the Shondelmyers at our house which not surprisingly turned into a sleepover for a few of the kids. The next day we drove over to their house to exchange kiddos and enjoyed some sunshine and visiting. The kids were being goofy and trying to hold water in their mouths while being swung in the swing. Goofballs!

We came home, and enjoyed dinner on the patio. The weather was gorgeous!

Katherine has talked about playing soccer for almost a year, and her turn finally arrived. Her first practic got rained out, so she was beyond ready the next week. 

Cutie Pie is a tough cookie out on the soccer field. It's so fun to watch her play!

Elisabeth is also playing this season, so our Saturday mornings in April are spent on the soccer field. 

Of course Katheirne has already made friends with some of the kids on her team. Her ability to make new friends wherever she goes is such a gift!

She had a great first game and scored a goal! She's fast and aggressive and not afraid to go after it. 

Elisabeth had a great first game too. She's playing on the same team as two of her good friends which makes the season extra special. 

We came home from soccer and this girl pulled out her first tooth! It's been wiggly for a long time. It was the last first tooth lost for the Baughers. Bittersweet!

Elisabeth and Ilona randomly decided to open a neighborhood lemonade stand. They opened it for a couple of days and ended up making some money. Fun childhood memories!

Katherine had another opportunity to participate in the flag ceremony at AHG. After watching all the big girls do it for months, it was a special thing for her to get to do it. 

That evening the Pathfinders enjoyed ice cream and playground time for their meeting. 

Another night the Pathfinders and Tenderhearts joined together and made a pet shop for their pet care badge. 

Elisabeth and I attended her friend's Spa birthday party one Sunday afternoon. So fun!

And Saturdays in April mean more soccer!

One of the other parents on Katherine's team caught her goal on video for me. I was so thankful!

And these three friends all scored a goal in their game. They all work hard out on the field. 

I kinda sorta got Elisabeth's goal on video. She and Katherine were playing at the same time, so I was looking back and forth at both of their games and half saw, half missed her goal. 

This is how Samuel spends his mornings on the soccer fields. 

He spent some of his birthday money on this robot labo kit for the switch. It's really cool!

Beautiful afternoons call for tree climbing with the neighbors. 

Katherine received her recital costume this month and got to perform her dance wearing it. She (and I) can't wait for the recital. Her little finger wave at the end is my favorite part! SO much personality!

Have I mentioned that I adore watching these kids grow up, try new things and excel in their passions? Being their mom is the best!