Hello! We had a short but busy summer. Normally our school district starts classes after Labor Day but this year we made a shift to be more in line with other areas and started earlier. That meant we had 2 less weeks of summer vacation and I’m not mad about it.

Taya, Emi

The girls finished up their acting program with a production of Mary Poppins. They worked so hard and had 2 straight weeks of 9 hour rehearsal days. It was a really great show and my sisters came up and surprised them to watch their performances. The first two weeks of summer were all about the theater and family.

Taya. Taya, Emi

They also had two summer camps. Girl Scout camp , which they did last year as well. It’s like an old school 80’s camp with nature hikes, canoeing, crafts and swimming. They also played Gaga ball everyday and that was the girls favorite. The 2nd camp they did was Busch Gardens camp. Busch Gardens is the local amusement park. They loved this camp and by the end of it Taya had ridden all of the rollercoasters. Emi was a little more unsure about the big coasters so she didn’t ride all the big ones but rode most of them. I’m proud of them for knowing their own comfort levels and doing what they wanted without being influenced by their sister. They also had 2 weeks of swim lessons and are getting pretty good at freestyle. I might sign them up for the local swim team next summer.

We spent the last week of summer break in Clinton and did all the important stuff. Eagle point, horseback riding, painting pottery, swimming and the skate park. The only downside was that their favorite ice cream place went out of business.

Top row Taya, bottom row Emi

Their favorite news of the summer is that cheerleading started. The girls were very interested in joining the team and have waited all year for signups. Personally, I was never a big cheerleader fan and really hoped they would change their minds, but they were determined. I’m not sure how much of their interest is based on the act of actually cheering or if the bigger draw is the cheer uniform and the fact that they can wear it to school on Fridays. They are also fans of the bow, which is a cheer thing but also a big southern thing. I don’t get it but I’ve never been a girlie girl and they definitely are. Emi cried this morning because it’s PE day for her and she had to wear tennis shoes and shorts instead of fancy shoes and a dress. My favorite day was always PE day. They’ve had a couple of games and really seem to love it so I’m pretty sure they’ll be cheering next year too. They do look pretty cute.

School has started the girls were a little nervous because they moved up to our elementary school, which is grades 3-5. They each picked out a new outfit. Taya said her dress was kind of a Wednesday dress but also what smart girls wear and Emi went with more of a punk vibe. I totally would have worn her outfit in the 80’s.

That’s the summer recap. I’ll update again in January.