Spring and Summer News

Wow....I can't believe it's summer time already! I was just telling a co-worker whose child will be starting kindergarten this fall to hold on because time really starts to fly now. We've had a ton going on in our family - sports, school functions, family fun, etc.

Let's start with school...

Danielle thrived in 7th grade, survived Algebra and made the National Junior Honor Society. She'll spend part of her summer refining her algebra skills, but she can put a 'high school credit' notch in her belt for this class and Spanish I. 8th grade starts the middle of August and she can't wait! One major high point is that as part of the year book staff, she'll get to go to Disney again (see earlier blog).

Duncan had a blast in 4th grade...aka, the "field trip" year. He got to go to a lot of local sights, but the two major ones are St. Augustine and a beach trip to St. George Island. Duncan prefers the laid back atmosphere of summer hours so school is the farthest thing from his mind.

Duncan (left) in jail with fellow classmates.

Our "chinese" alligator at the Alligator Farm.

Spring fun....

Spring brings out the family camper more often and the chance to enjoy the outdoors with friends...it also brings rain! These pictures are from a trip to Chatahoochee, FL (no, we didn't stay at the State Mental Hospital). We found a "local swimming hole" both in a river and at the campground.

Our friend's campsite became the camping watering hole.

Spring also meant the start of

"diamond" events...that is, the softball and baseball diamonds. We started off juggling 3 different softball leagues for Danielle....city rec ball, middle school team ball and a more competive city league. We now spend the summer traveling on several weekends for travel ball tournaments.

Duncan played up in the 11-12 year old league and held his own. He learned a lot about working hard and having fun with the older kids. He's just starting up summer ball and starts his season after the 4th of July weekend.

More to come later this summer.....we'll have lot's to report about camps, tournaments, camping excursions, and bike rides.

Well, the year has started off smoothly and this month has flown by...

We've spent most of this month bouncing around town going to one sporting event or another. Duncan is currently a two sport athlete, juggling inline roller hockey and basketball. Believe it or not, the latter is more painful to watch as things can get a bit rough out there. Duncan put his name in the scorebooks last week with his first basket of the season....an outside baseline shot banking off the backboard. As soon as it went it, the fist started pumping and he was racing to play defense.

Danielle reaped the benefit of having one of the toughest science teachers....she was one of app. 45 kids that had a chance to go to Disney for 3 days. She got to stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge. Her nightly calls would include which wild animals were outside her hotel. During the days, she attended mini-classes held at one of the Disney properties and had time to go explore and ride the rides. At night, the group saw Cirque de Soleil and Fantasmic. Needless to say, she was worn out after her brief 'vacation'.

The ultimate treat for this month was an overnight trip this past weekend to Pt Richey, Florida to see our favorite band in concert.....Gaelic Storm. Dennis was first exposted to the band around 7 or 8 years ago when his brother took him to a concert in Annapolis. His love for their music became infectious and spread through all of us. We never go on a road trip without listening to a few of their CDs. The kids had seen the band's concert DVD, so they were really anxious to see them in person. We got to the performance hall early and were able to grab front row seats....awesome!! The only thing that could have made it better....to join the band on the cruise they're going on with the Bare Naked Ladies!! Well, maybe next time.

Here's a picture of the kids with the band.