We had lots of activities to wrap up in July! Rachel has been in tumbling for a few months at Flips, and she has made dramatic improvement on her cartwheel, running cartwheel and she can do a backbend. It actually has not been her favorite, but she needed to finish out the season. Her complaint was that they yelled a lot and she didn't want to get in trouble for forgetting where her spot was, and I noticed her getting stressed out about going. I think it was a little more intense than Rachel bargained for and so we will try something else.
Sidenote: I posted pictures of her below with Stella, Maddie & London (sisters), who are the sweetest things ever. Stella (2nd grade), Maddie (4th grade) & London (6th grade) were all older girls who always went out of their way to make Rachel feel special at Ishikawa. I know Rachel gave them hundreds of hugs and always said hi to them and they always were happy to see her and say hello. Rachel had gone to preschool with Maddie & London's twin brothers, Max & Luke, which is how she met them in the first place. But really, these adorable girls were so sweet to my daughter, and I couldn't help but thank their mom every single time I saw her. I hope Rachel will be that sweet to a Kindergartener when she is an upperclassman one day!
Andrew's soccer season also ended (hallelujah!). It was a long, painful, hot experience (sorry, Andrew!). He was the biggest one on the team, but was not aggressive or competitive at all (and it drove Brandon crazy). He also complained the whole time about running or being too hot or not getting the ball. Goalie seemed to be a good fit (since he wouldn't have to run), except that he wasn't the greatest at it, so he got frustrated. I think the most frustrating part for Brandon and I was that we knew he wasn't trying his hardest and kept giving up. All in all, I am proud of him for participating and that he is starting to learn about being a team player (since their were other kids who absolutely refused to play). Finally on the last game, I opted for running right along with him and holding his hand, and you know what - he had more fun than he had had all season. So we took turns running with him and it went much better. He was really looking forward to a soccer medal at the end of the season, and it did not disappoint. He slept with the medal the first night and doesn't like Rachel to touch it. We love our gentle giant, Andrew!
Although tumbling and soccer weren't the best experiences, I can say with confidence that kids LOVED swimming lessons. Rachel is a fish in the water, and she is participating on swim team this summer. It took Andrew a couple times to warm up, but then Miss Allison won him over like she always does. Andrew says her loves her the most, but that he loves our family too. Rachel completed one session of lessons, and Andrew did two. Andrew hasn't got the breathing down, but he is swimming much better underwater and I am confident that if he fell in, he would have no problem swimming to the side of the pool and getting out. I loved that Andrew loved swimming lessons! Kendall was as patient as an 18 month old could be with watching swimming lessons. She was good until the last week or so, and then she thought she could run laps around the pool and climb on the diving board. Yikes.
One of the best things about swimming lessons is making new friends! We met another family, and Rachel & Paige are the cutest of friends and she has a little brother Andrew's same age (Bryce). They go to a different elementary school, but don't live too far away. Since lessons ended, we have met them at the gym, park, and the library. And as an added bonus, the mom's not crazy (which is what she said to me when we exchanged numbers) ha ha! I think we're all a good match and grateful that we met them!
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| He's coming over to tell me he needs a break, I am sure! And he never wanted to wear long socks over the shin guards, "the socks go under them mom!" Ok then! |
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| Soccer supporters! |
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| Go Tigers! (Top Row: Andrew, Austin, ?, ? Bottom Row: ?, Tyler, Riley, Jillian, ?) |
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| Sleeping with his soccer medal |
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| Paige & Rachel |
