Swimming Lessons...

This was Ellie's first year to take swimming lessons. By the end of last summer, Ellie was swimming like a fish and jumping off the diving board like a champ.  But somewhere over the course of a year, she regressed a little, and this summer she has been more timid in the pool, not wanting to take off her floaties in the water, and definitely not wanting much to do with the diving board.  She is gaining more confidence though, and overall her first lessons were successful.  I took this photo the first day, right as her first lesson was about to begin.  I think she looks so beautiful:

"Teacher, can I wear my floaties during swimming lessons?"  And yes...she actually asked that.

Slowly rediscovering her bravery from last summer:

After several days of coercing, she finally decided that if she had a flotation device on, she would be willing to jump off the big diving board just once.  But I don't know that I'd exactly call it 'jumping'...it was really more like a 'forced dropping in' by the teacher:

After two weeks of lessons, the last day was her favorite.  They got to play with toys in the wading pool the entire time:

 My sweet little swimmer in progress:

My Monkey...

There's not too much this baby girl won't climb:

At this point, I'm pretty sure she's wondering if this was a bad idea:

She went back several more times, so it must not have been too bad.  :)

Undefeated!...

Baseball season was so much fun this year!  Mason's team finished the season 12-0!  He was so blessed to be on a team with great coaches and to play alongside a great group of boys who played so well together and encouraged each other throughout every game.

This single was Mason's final at-bat for the season:

One last team huddle for the division champs...Go Blue Claws!!

A couple of weeks later at the closing ceremonies, here is his team accepting their 1st place trophies:

Finishing First Grade...

The end of another school year is always a bittersweet reminder of how quickly my little ones are growing up.  It's hard to believe that my little guy is officially a second grader now.  These two years of school have passed so quickly, and he has grown and developed so much!  I always love the last weeks of school--looking forward to summertime, class parties, award ceremonies, and of course field day:

Mason also had two award ceremonies during the last days of school.  Here he is with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Torres.  I really could not have asked for a better first grade teacher:

Here is Mason receiving an award for earning over 100 AR reading points this year:

In addition to that, he also won the award for the most books read (238!), an award for earning A's all year long, and the 'Thorough Thinker Award'.

But my proudest moment came when his principal announced that he had been chosen to receive the 'Character Award' for his class.  Of course we are proud of his good grades and other achievements, but this one honor meant more to me than all the others combined.  More than anything else, I want my children to be known for their good character and Christ-likeness.  We love you, Mason, and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming!

Potty Love...

I don't know what it is about the potty that both my girls, as babies, love.  Once (actually more times than I care to mention) I caught 12-month-old-Ellie eating toilet paper out of the unflushed potty.  This sent chills up my spine every time I thought about it.  Two years later, I experienced a repeat performance when I caught Mollie doing the same thing.  So I shouldn't have been so surprised when I walked into the bathroom this evening, only to find Mollie cooling her toes in the 'porcelain pool'...and back into the bath she goes.

The Makeover...

I think it's safe to assume that Ellie was a little confused about the proper placement of mascara when she decided to experiment with my makeup.  In my humble opinion, I think she may have laid it on a little thick.

Play Ball...

My favorite way to spend a Friday evening--watching this little guy...