The second half of our summer was equally as busy as the first. Aside from spending as much time at the pool as possible, the girls had many other things going on as well. Before school let out for the summer we won a day with Cecilia's teacher during the annual school fundraiser. This was something Cece was looking forward to for weeks. They picked a nice warm day had a picnic, and hit the splash pad and playground. They wrapped up the afternoon with some ice cream. It was a super fun day with a super great teacher!
Olivia tried something new this summer...show choir! We know she loves to dance, but she also loves to sing. It may not be her best skill, but she definitely enjoys it. Her best friend Aleah invited her to go along on a two-day show choir camp at a local high school. Boy, did she have a blast! At the end of the second day the parents were invited to a performance to see what they had been working on. I was very impressed with the song and dance they performed! Both Olivia and Aleah were in the front row, performing their little hearts out!
There was one thing Olivia and I were looking forward to doing all summer...going to see Dancing with the Stars Live! Todd got us tickets for my birthday because he knew how much we both love the show. I was excited to go, but I think Olivia was even more excited! We got dressed up and made it a girls night out! I have never seen a little girl more excited to see her favorite people dancing live! It was such a fun thing to share with her.
Every summer we try to go to a few TinCaps games. We have a great minor league baseball team and the games are super fun. We happened to pick one of the hottest days of the summer to go to this particular game, but fun was still had!
Between innings the girls found a way to cool off by running through the fountains. We ran into some friends and I tried not to think about how incredibly hot it was! Heat aside, it was a fun afternoon at the ballpark!
One bummer of the summer was saying goodbye to someone special to us. Well, not goodbye for good, just goodbye for now. One of my favorite dancers from the studio, Katie, graduated this year and prepared to leave for Ball State. Katie was not only one of my favorite students, but she was also Olivia's and Cece's all time favorite person! They both grew very close to Katie this year and spent a great deal of time with her. She babysat for the girls and would go out of her way to spend time with them. Before she left for college she took time to have a special day with each of the girls. It was a trip to the mall, lunch and manicures with Olivia, and ice cream, playdoh and story time with Cecilia. My girls are going to miss Katie like crazy, but I am grateful for the role model they found in her this past year.
As the summer started to wind down, soccer started to pick back up. This is Olivia's second season with the Fort Wayne United travel league and I can't wait to see how much her skills will improve this year. Before getting into our regular season games we had two tournaments. First was an out of town tournament in Ohio. Olivia tagged along with her BFF, Aleah and her Dad.
What's the best part of out of town soccer tournaments? Having fun with your pals, of course! But let's not forget about the reason for being there...and that's to play soccer! I cannot recall exactly, but I think they may have won 1 of the 3 games they played that weekend. It takes awhile to get back into the groove with your team and learn to play together again. More than anything else that weekend the girls had a great time together.
We had another tournament the very next weekend but got to stay in town for this one. The Puma Cup is one of the biggest tournaments the kids play in each year and it draws hundreds from out of town. The weather was perfect that weekend. The girls kicked things off with two games on Saturday. They played well and found time to unwind in between their matches.
They had one final game on Sunday morning to wrap up their tournament play. They may not have won their division but they played very well. It is such a great thing to watch these girls grow together and improve their game each time they play. I am really looking forward to seeing how they do with their regular season games.
As soon as the tournament was over we jumped into the car and made the trip to pick up our new golden doodle puppy! Yes...I said puppy. This was something we had been thinking about for awhile and after learning of a reputable breeder with a little of puppies for sale we decided to get the girls the puppy they had been wishing for. We had to wait 8 weeks before picking him up, so when they time finally came the girls were beyond excited!
So now...meet Beasley! He is our newest family member and the "son" Todd always hoped for. I think Beasley enjoyed his ride home and quickly settled into his new environment. No need to tell me how much our lives will change now that we have a dog. Things became real within hours of being home. But no matter how hard things get there is one thing that will help me remember why we decided to do this, and that is the look on Olivia and Cecilia's faces each time they see him. Welcome to the family little (but soon to be big) guy!
The day after bringing the newest member of our family home, Olivia had her first day of 3rd grade! Normally we would be sending both girls off to their 1st day of school, but this year Cecilia will be attending a different school which started a few weeks later. That doesn't mean that sissy can't squeeze into the 1st day of school pics, or Beasley too, for that matter.
Hard to believe this little girl is entering into 3rd grade. She has been attending the same school since she was 18 months old and it's like her second home. It's hard to imagine her having a first day any where other than at Peace Montessori. She has a new teacher this year, Ms. Rachel, and I have no doubt that she has an amazing year ahead of her!
With summer officially over and the kids back at school we look forward to the Fall and all of the fun things we love to do during this time of year. And now with Beasley in the mix there is sure to never be a dull moment.
