END OF 2ND AND 4TH GRADE

I am so proud of Ricky and Hana. Each had a great school year.

Hana:
She had an incredible year. She ended the year with all A's except 1 B+ in math. She also received the principal's award for her behavior. She has made some great friends this year. Her crush was a boy in her class, Austin. She is hilarious. All year she talked about how this boy just annoyed her and drives her crazy. The very last day of school she found out that he had a little crush on her too. He was being extra helpful and when they were watching a movie asked if she wanted to lay her head on his shoulder. WHAT!!???  That's a little to much for 2nd grade!!!
She ended the year 52" tall and 62 lbs.

Ricky:
At the beginning of the year, Ricky was sad that he did not get the teacher her really hoped for. I am so glad that I did not request. Mrs. Cabahug was the perfect fit for him. I loved her!  She has challenged him and most importantly brought out his love of reading and writing. He has read non-stop this year. I have no idea what she said/did, but it worked. He always has his nose in a book and still does. His also loves to write and his writing has become very expressive and creative. Due to her challenging her class Ricky scored a perfect score on his reading in the STAAR test and very high (Advanced) in the writing section. I absolutely loved her. Not only in the way that she taught, but that she also connected with Ricky. She always made time if he needed it. There were a couple of times he needed extra help in math and we weren't getting through to him. She took the time to tutor him before or after school.
Ricky ended the year with an ALL A ALL YEAR honor roll.
He has not had a B his whole elementary career.
He ended the 4th grade at 5' feet and 83.5lbs.

I am so proud of these 2!!

                                                      Last day of school

She must think they have cooties

CUBSCOUT GRADUATION

This is Ricky's last cub scout graduation. He will spend the 1st semester wrapping up cub scouts and then he will officially become a boy scout. It has been a great year for him and he has grown and learned so much. It was bittersweet for big Ricky bc after 2 years of being a cub master he stepped down and handed the title over. I am so proud of him. In the 2 years he had the cub master position he and his leaders have grown the troop and they have received awards that were a 1st for pack #1148. They received the silver award last year and this year they achieved the highest award of gold. They have participated in scout fair, they have done service projects, blue and gold banquet etc....
The pack has become what it is bc of some amazing leaders that truly love having fun and leading these boys.

GALVESTON

We decided to take a day trip to Galveston. I have been missing the beach a lot and I know the kids love it. We took a chance. It was one of the first beautiful days in a while. NO RAIN!!! The only thing that had me concerned is that it was a "red" flag condition. I wasn't to sure about the currents, but I would keep the kids in shallow close to shore. We parked our car on the beach. This way everything was right there. Especially with Vincent. The beach was great!! There was no seaweed!! There were waves out there, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. They weren't harsh waves. Boogie boarding was difficult on them. Still the kids were never allowed to go far. Vincent loved the beach. He played in the sand, ran from the waves, splashed around and napped.
It was just great getting to the beach again. Looking forward to day trips this summer.

(some are sideways I forgot to edit)

SWIM 2015

Swim has begun again. This is the only sport Ricky loves. It's really nice, because Hana can join in also. Even though we are dreading the early morning Saturdays and spending all days at meets, and all the practices during the week. They practice Tue-Fri. They are in different age groups so I am there from 5:45-7:30!!! It is great connecting with everyone again. We have been doing this for 4 years now and there are a few other families that do it yearly too. We as the parents get to reconnect and the kids love seeing friends they have not seen in a long time and making new ones.
I have to say Saturday's are brutal. We have a hard time recovering from them, but they are so worth it. I love that my kids do a sport that makes them strong swimmers and can potentially save them one day.
So much goes into this sport. It's all about take off and not messing up. Since they are only swimming 25meters at this age, if you have a late take off or a goof it's hard gaining the distance back. This is a sport that missing placement can be as little as 100th of a second.
We have already had a few meets and the kids are doing great. In most events they are getting faster each meet. Ricky is doing great! He is trying hard and seems to stay in the top/mid range.
Athletics just come naturally to Hana. She is very strong. She competes against approx. 40 girls and has been one of the top placers. At one of her meets she was #1 in butterfly (right now I believe on her team she is the #2 girl). She has finally qualified for both relays.
Meets this year are exciting because I get to watch about 10 events.
We have to meet our 21 volunteer hours so big Ricky is timing for most of ours. He enjoys it because he's right in the middle of it all. Also, he doesn't have to run after Vincent and deal with tantrums.

Go SHOCKWAVES!!
(thankful for our team photographer)

Getting ready to take off for his relay

Hana just chilling

She cracks me up. She was making puffy cheek faces while waiting to go.