Lauren Starts Tennis

Towards the end of the school year, when the weather was warming up, Lauren began asking if we would sign her up for tennis lessons.  I did a quick search of the area and did not really find anything for her age group, but then our neighbor told us about the classes at the Freedom Aquatic Center.  It sounded perfect for Lauren, so we signed her up.

She began going once a week, for an hour each session.  The sessions were 6 weeks long and we figured that would be a good way to see if Lauren really liked the sport or not.

During her first session, they did not have enough kids signed up for her age group, so we put her in the 9-13 year old session.  She was by far the tiniest girl out there but she tried so hard and managed to keep up with the beginner big kids.

For the next few sessions, enough kids signed up that she was back in the correct age group.  She has gotten a lot better from her first lesson.  She now has a one handed forehand, a two handed backhand, and she really loves to volley the ball.  They are working on bouncing and hitting the ball to start a point (haven't quite gotten to the skill level to learn a serve), and Lauren loves the drills that require her to shuffle sideways, while hitting the ball.  But her most favorite part of the lesson is always the warm up and any running they do to at the beginning.  Who is this kid?!?!  =)

Time will tell if Lauren decides to stick with tennis or not.  This fall, these particular lessons fall on the same night as her hockey practice, so we will need to find a different tennis program for her to try.  The one we found seems to be a little more serious and does not start until October, so we will let her decide at that time.

Father's Day 2017

This year, we celebrated Father's Day a day earlier, on Saturday.  We were heading to Annapolis for the annual Levy BBQ, held at the Shafer's house, and since we usually head to Annapolis for Father's Day, it made sense to do it all on the same day.

It was so fun to finally get the Shafer/Levy/Fisher kids together again.  And of course, many other kids joined the party as well.  They all had a blast.

That afternoon, Meemaw, Grandpa, Grammy, Grumpa, Aunt Sarah, and Quinnie stopped by to see everyone.  Quinnie fit right in with all of the craziness and we spent some more time running around outside.

After spending time at the Shafer's, the Falicroft clan headed over to the Old Stein Inn, our usual place for Father's Day dinner.  We had a great table outside, in the beer garden, listened to a polka band, enjoyed German food/beer, and spent the evening together!  It was exactly what the dads ordered!!

On Sunday, the next day, we woke up and spent most of the morning at the Prince William Ice Rink for a Hockey Jamboree.  Lauren's team was playing a rapid fire tournament against other teams in the area.  The teams played 30 minute games, and then moved on to the next rink to play 30 minutes against a new team.  Lauren even made the local newspaper, which was exciting for all of us!!

I think Chad would agree that this was the perfect way to spend Father's Day...staying local, hanging out with his family, and watching his daughter playing in a hockey tournament!!

Lauren Finishes Kindergarten

It is still hard to believe that Lauren has already finished Kindergarten and will be going into the 1st grade this fall.  She learned so much from Mrs. Trammell, and all of her other teachers last year.  She is reading most level 1 readers, she is currently obsessed with adding/subtracting/multiplying, and she is finally starting to really color well between the lines.

She still gets some of her letters and numbers backwards when she works on her writing skills, but I was told that this is normal until she completes the 1st grade.

On the last day of school, Chad stayed home so we could all walk her down to the bus stop.  We stopped for some photos and then asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.  She said "teacher" but then she followed that up with "they gave me that idea in class.  I really don't know yet".  I know she will change her mind a million times before she has to decide what to do with her life, but I think she would make an amazing teacher.

Then, we headed down to the bus stop to watch her get on it one last time as a Kindergartner.  She took a photo with her bus buddy, Sam, and off they went!

That afternoon, Charlie and I met her down at the bus stop.  All of the kids climbed off the bus to cheering parents and it was a pretty fun moment.  Summer had finally arrived!!

That evening, we went to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Lauren's choice.  And then took the kids out for ice cream afterwards.  It was the first night of summer vacation and they were already getting treats and staying up past their bedtime.  It was soooo much fun!!

I know this summer is going to fly by so quickly, and Lauren is already looking forward to her 1st grade classroom.  She seems to miss seeing her friends every day and is perhaps starting to get a little bored with summer, but I plan to enjoy every minute that I have these two home with me during the day.  Because, one day, she will be finishing up 12th grade, and moving away, and I know that day will be here before I know it.  Until then, we shall stuff ourselves with ice cream, play in the sun, stay up past our bedtimes, and look forward to what 1st grade will bring!!!

School Picnic, Parent/Child Hockey Game, and Pub Crawl #16

Our annual pub crawl was early this year, due to the Levy's vacation schedule.  We have been going for years and Chad and I were not about to miss it this year.  The pub crawl is always an overnight trip, so to help us out, my parents, Aunt Sarah, and Quinnie came up to watch the kiddos.

SCHOOL PICNIC

Lauren was having an end of year picnic for Kindergarten that Friday, so everyone came up Thursday night.  This was the first time that Meemaw, Grandpa, and Aunt Sarah were able to go to Lauren's school and see her as a Kindergartner.  So we were very excited.  We picked up some Subway sandwiches and met her in the classroom.  After a song and a photo slideshow, we headed outside to eat.  It was a lot of fun to watch all of the kids and to see Lauren playing around with her friends.  Poor Aunt Sarah was on crutches, after knee surgery, but she got around really well.

That afternoon, we celebrated with some ice cream at Effie's, one of our favorite ice cream places in Warrenton.  The owners also happen to be our next door neighbors, so we especially like to support that local business. 

PARENT/CHILD MINI MITE HOCKEY GAME

The next morning, we all headed over to the ice rink for Lauren's last spring hockey practice.  It was the parent/child game, and Lauren asked that both Mom and Meemaw play this time.  Chad was also playing, so he borrowed some gear for us to use.  Once again, I realized how difficult ice hockey really is to play, and Meemaw gained a new found respect for what Lauren and Charlie are able to do on the ice.  Skating around a rink, during public skate, is one thing.  Stopping, turning, racing to the puck, and shooting is a completely different ballgame.

I got these photos from videos that our cheering squad took!  And my most favorite moment from this game came when Lauren scored a goal against Chad.  She acted all cool afterwards, but I could tell she was very excited to score on her daddy!!  Chad was pretty excited as well!  

PUB CRAWL #16

Once the practice was over, Chad and I hit the road.  We met up with Rick, drove to Havertown, and met up with everyone for the 16th Pub Crawl!!  It was a long day, but so much fun.  And since we all live further apart now, we always love to see everyone together again.

That was quite a weekend.  We got to hang out with Lauren's schoolmates, family, and great friends.  Many memories were made, and we are looking forward to make many more future memories with all of these awesome people!!