Hello! I hope you are doing well. Things here have amped up and are winding down at the same time. The spring and early summer are busy here because sports pick up and it seems we are always on the go. I’m not sure if I mentioned it earlier but the girls are back in gymnastics. They took it for like 3 years when they were younger and never bothered to conquer a cartwheel. Then this year it became a big deal at school to do tumbling during recess. They have taught themselves to do flips, aerials and the splits so now they say they are ready to learn. They did advance a couple of levels fairly quickly so we’ll see how far they want to take it. They both really love the bars. One of their friends from school competes and they have expressed interest in that but they aren’t quite there. I think it would be really good for them to break out of their shells but I don’t know if they”ll freeze. I also really wish they would find different interests because I don’t want them to compete against each other. Neither has been asked to join the competition team yet so it’s not an issue. Once they get their toes pointed and legs straight consistently I think that will change. We also signed them up for spring soccer again and they were not happy about it. The reason we dd it was to keep them in touch with kids they go to school with and help them socially but they ended up being the only girls on the team so that backfired. Taya asked me about an all girls team so she may do it again but Emi is adamant that she will never play soccer again.

We did have a birthday party here for them in February. As I said they don’t really have many social connections or close friends because they have each other but we feel it’s important to develop those skills. They have always wanted a party since they realized that you get many presents at a party with friends. It’s difficult to do it at their actual birthday because it’s during break and we travel so we just made up a day to have it. We did it at the local trampoline park during the week and it was perfect because the kids pretty much had the place to themselves. The girls did a good job of talking to and playing with everybody so I’m hopeful the social skills are getting better. They also ended up being able to buy another American Girl doll each thanks to the generosity of their guests.

School is in its final stretch and I am so glad. The girls and I battle every morning to get out the door on time. Our main problem is clothing. They have very strong ideas of what they want to wear but those ideas don’t always line up with what the dress code is (no mid drifts) or it the item of clothing doesn’t fit exactly perfect. Shoes also become a problem because jeans must not be too short or puddle too much. They will not wear the flares they loved a month ago, or jeggings. They only want wide leg jeans, but not too long, not too short and not too wide. They won’t wear shorts for reasons I can’t figure out. I’m over it. We try to pick out clothes the night before to avoid the drama in the morning but many mornings they want to change their minds so they still run late.

While I’m more than ready to be done with the drama of getting ready in the morning, this was a difficult school year for the girls and I did enroll them in summer school so they will be better prepared for 4th grade. They did get diagnosed with ADHD and we finally got their medication dialed in. That has made a big difference in their classwork and focus. They used to try really hard but would end up daydreaming most of the day away. The medication has also helped with their self esteem because their grades on tests and quizzes have drastically improved. Summer school s only 3 weeks and 1/2 days so we thought it would be good to reinforce some of the skills they need because we didn’t have them properly set up for success for the first half of the year. They seem to be ok with it and the gymnastics place has afternoon camps so they get to do that after school. I just want them to not hate school and realize how smart they are. Otherwise it’s gonna be a long road to graduation and it shouldn’t be.

They both are still very creative and artsy. Recently they became aware of and interested in cemeteries. I have know idea why. I think they saw a YouTube video where someone dyed a headstone and that’s what started it but the past couple of weeks they’ve been making cardboard caskets and gravestones and have been burying things in the yard while performing funerals. Slightly creepy but also super creative. Barbie lives a rough life around here so I’m sure a couple of them were quite happy to be put to rest. One of our friends gave them a big bag of fabric scraps so they’ve recently moved on to trying to make Barbie clothes by hand. Pretty impressive for 9 year olds. I’ve got a sewing machine for them to use but I don’t have any idea how to use it. I’m going to look this summer to see if I can sign them up for a class somewhere.

We’re all just looking forward to some warm weather on the boat and beach. I’ll post an update on how the summer goes in September. Here’s hoping it’s relaxing for all of us.