Jacob

Jacob has officially finished middle school! I can't believe he is on his way to high school already. This last Saturday me and a couple of his friends' moms hosted a party for the kids. A kind of end of middle school celebration. The kids swam, ate, and hung out. It looked like everyone had a good time.

Jacob is a very capable young man. He is very smart, so schoolwork comes easy to him. He also knows how to work hard at something but to balance his time and energy into things that aren't' as important. Going into high school he has finished his algebra requirement so that is one less thing for him to do. He also is participating in the Tri Tech summer school this year. He is trying out the welding program. Basically for 9 days' worth of class he gets a .5 credit for high school, so that is nice. The biggest bonus is that Jacob is really enjoying the class! After 2 days of welding, he is set on continuing to weld and wanting to be a part of the yearlong welding program at Tri Tech as soon as he can, which is his junior year. Jacob is a person that once he finds something he is all in, so I am not surprised he has it in his mind how committed he wants to be to welding.

Amelia

Amelia turned 11 this year! Wow she had a great birthday! We rented her a bounce house waterslide. It was delivered when she was at softball so when she first saw it her mouth dropped. I have to admit it was pretty big, so hence impressive to an 11-year-old who doesn't get things like that. Her and Jack immediately got on it, playing on it for about an hour the first night. 

On her birthday Amelia started playing in the bounce house as soon as she got up! Around noon she had about 7 friends come over to play. It wasn't the warmest day, but the sun was out, so the girls had so much fun on the bounce house. The girls had lunch, cake, snacks, and hung out. Amelia said it was the best birthday she has had so far. 

Amelia is a such a sweet girl. She is very thoughtful to others. She likes to buy other people gifts. She does a good job at picking out gifts because she is thoughtful about what they would like or want. Amelia is also very smart. She is a quick learner. I am excited to see what she does with all of her potential as she grows up. 

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend we spent at Umma and Uppa's. It was short and sweet, and jammed pack with seeing everyone, so the typical visit back. We had dinner at Mike's house one night and a bbq at Umma's the next. Jacob and Amelia enjoyed spending time with the cousins and relishing in Umma and Uppa's attention. Poor Jack though, came down with something Saturday morning when he woke up so ended up in bed all weekend. He felt very cheated out of the weekend. Jacob spent a lot of time shooting, either 22s or ARs. Amelia hung out with Maysen doing crafts. The kids got to meet the Sharpes' new dog Georgie, who was very nice. They can't wait to go back!

Jack

 Jack has not had a good history with bowling. As a younger kid he was not good at bowling or keeping his frustration in check. In the three times he bowled he ended up in a major meltdown and generally hurting someone else in the process. Fast forward to three weeks ago when he decided to give it another try. He was pleasantly surprised to find out he can bowl better and, more importantly, he can keep his frustration under control. He had a great time bowling, even bowling several strikes. He liked it so much that he and a couple of his friends went bowling again the next weekend. I love that he can see his own personal growth thru an activity. He saw his maturity getting stronger and realized he had another hobby he enjoys. 

Boy Scout Camp out

 The boys went on a Boy Scout Campout this month. It was supposed to be a fishing one, well they did fish for a morning, but it rained so hard, and they all got so wet that after the fishing everyone came home. When the boys showed up at our house it was beautiful sunny skies, but Jack proceeded to wring his coat sleeve out on the front yard. All of their things were soaked! 

From what the boys tell me the fishing part was a success and very fun. Jacob didn't fish for some reason or another but he helped all the younger boys. Jack was the mighty fisherman of the group, catching a fish with almost every cast. He also helped the other boys out by casting for them. Its too bad it got rained out but there will always be a next time. 

Amelia

 

Amelia is doing awesome at softball. She hits the ball each time at bat and does a great job in the field getting the ball.

Jacob

 Jacob's Advanced Woodshop class finished their 9x12 shed. On delivery day they got to miss the whole school day for a "field trip" to set the shed up at the lady who bought its house. Mr. Matson then invited the class back to his house for lunch and to hangout. Jacob was very impressed with Mr. Matson basement, with its ping pong table, poker table, gaming setup and air hockey table. He had a good time on the delivery day but great experience building the shed with a team.