Memorial Day at the Capital

We went to the State Capital for our annual Memorial Day Celebration.  It's a good way to show the kids why we celebrate Memorial Day.  There are always plenty of veterans there.  We arrived a little earlier than usual this year so we went inside the History Museum to cool off for a bit.  There was a veteran showing items from his time in combat.  The kids (minus our big girl who is at camp) really enjoyed his hands-on talk.

B wearing the helment.  Such a cutie!

Checking out the hand grenade.  (Dad liked this part.)  Oh, it did not have a fuse.

Lots of cool things to see and compare to what they use today.

We met some friends there.  Here are three patriotic girls waiting patiently for the festivities to begin.

Finally...the bagpiper and JrROTC begin the ceremony.

I always love it when the color guard passes by.  We had an upclose view this year.  We opted for the shade.

We always get a photo of the kids in front of the memorial wreath.  (I wonder what H is doing at camp right now?)

So you can't go to the Capital without looking at the statues and things on the Capital grounds.  Here are our three lovely ladies...

Shooting the canon at their brothers who are just delighted to "fall down dead" in the battle.

Thank you to all the men and women who serve or have served in our Armed Forces!

Camp...Finally!

Our big girl had been counting the months/weeks/days/hours until she got to go to overnight camp.  She had a packing list made from the day she found out she was going.  She was packed (as much as she could) several days before the big day.

So when THE Sunday finally arrived, she could barely eat.  She was so excited!

After church we headed home to check over her packing one last time and load it in the van.  After lunch and a little waiting, it was time to leave.  (Little did we know, there were some folks standing in line for over an hour before us.)

We stood in line in the heat for about 45 minutes (there were lots of eager campers) but once the doors opened, registration was quick.  It wasn't long before she and her two friends were making their beds in their cabin.

Our big girl by her bottom bunk bed sporting her day camp shirt from last year.  Her brother missed her although you can't tell that he would from this photo.  Her little sister was not real thrilled with the fact of leaving H for a whole week.

H with her friends, Lizzie and Alexa.  (Alexa got the top bunk that her big sister, Emily, had at camp a few years ago.)  It's a tradition for the campers to sign the walls and beds when they are in that cabin.  They found Emily's name from when she had signed it.  And needless to say, these three girls left their names all over the cabin.

Our last glimpse of the girls as we were walking to the van.  One whole week without H at home.  It was going to be a long week for us! :)

Flag Football State Championship

Saturday were the state championship games for B's flag football team.  Everyone on the team was there to enjoy the day.  They played their first game at 9:30am.  It rained some but they kept going.  It was their first time to play on a wet field.  They still pulled out a win 18-7.  So then we *got* to sit for 1 1/2 hours while another game was played.  Then it was on to game 2.

B is #4.  He's blocking the other team there in the middle of the photo.

B played quarterback for a quarter (or most of a quarter) in each game.  On the play in the photo above, he did some kind of trick handoff then ran the ball himself.  He gained quite a bit of yardage.  The very next play he threw the ball for a touchdown.  They won this game 27-0.

So since they won that game we *got* to sit for another 2 hours before playing the final game for the championship.  Unfortunately, things did not go as well for this game.  The guys were tired.  (It was 4pm and they had been at the field since 9am in the heat.)  The other team had all older, taller boys (not sure where their 6 and 7 year olds were) which made it more difficult for our guys.  But even with the obstacles, they still played their hearts out.

We are very proud of Team Gray coming in 2nd for the entire state!  They are all winners!!

Team Gray

Part of the fun this spring was being on the same team as his buddy, Ian.  They are the Dynamic Duo on the football field!  (And their dads were the master minds behind the defensive line.)

League Champions

B's team won their game today 18-12 so they are the League Champions.  Next week they will go to the State playoffs to play for the championship.

It's a happy day here!

Photos and more details to follow once my friend who had a working camera gets the photos to me.

Update

My camera is not working so I don't have any photos to post.  Hopefully, I'll have a new one or the old one will be working by the weekend.

But life continues with or without a camera...B has LOVED his flag football games this spring.  His team is in 1st place.  They play for the *championship* this Saturday.  (Camera needed!)  He is very excited.

We are wrapping up our school year.  If the weather cooperates, we'll finish our science co-op tomorrow at a local botanical garden (we're studying botany).  Our Tapestry co-op finishes next Friday with our end of the year unit celebration. 

Brent is still the interim pastor at a church about an hour from here.  The children and I had planned to join him for Mother's Day but three of us got sick Sunday morning (two were in the van ready to go!) so we stayed home.  H leads in worship this week for "big church" so we'll try to join him again in two weeks.

Our summer days are filling up fast.  H goes to camp in June, VBS in June, a trip to TN hopefully in June or July, B goes to camp in July, a beach trip to VA somewhere in there, and before we know it...well, lets not go there.  :)  I'm determined to not fill the entire calendar with activities so we can just enjoy the summer.  And of course we'll do some school during the hot afternoons. 

E is reading now.  She read Genesis 1 to me with little help.  She just picks up books now and reads with little or no help.  C is learning words.  It won't be long before she is reading as well.  I'm not sure how it happens but it does.  Our babies will be kindergarteners soon.  We won't go there either right now!

That's all for now.  Happy Wednesday!