Back to School 2010 Edition

 Okay, so it has been a looooooooong time since I blogged! I have been having a hard time uploading pics to blogger. Every time I attempt, it closes down my Internet Explorer! Ugh! So every few days, I sit down and try again, only to have it happen again!
Anyway, I was able to upload some today, and I'm hoping to be able to get some posts in soon.

This year was a huge milestone for the C6 family! All of our girls are in school. As in the same school, every day! This is super exciting for them, but sad for the Mommy. I can't help but miss my buddies. Especially my baby, Pay, our youngest. We home schooled her last year, so she was with me most of the time. She was so ready for Kindergarten, though.

 The week before school, her classroom had a "get to know each other" gathering. The kids all played, explored the classroom, and met many of their new friends. Pay is so happy to have her best bud Dev in class with her! She also knew many of the other kiddos because they have siblings her sisters ages. Needless to say, she was very comfortable with her new class.

 Here they are on the big day.

 Pay and Dev are locker buddies!

She sure does love Madi (Dev's little sis)!

 At her table with some friends. =)

Em with her class.  She got a haircut the day before, and ended up not liking it because she felt it was to short. Poor thing was devastated! She was able to pull herself (and her hair) together and continue on with her first day of 2nd grade.

 Kaylin was happy to find out that she and one of her besties (since pre-school) were back in class together! She is in 4th grade, and at our multi-age classrooms they will be together for next three years! We are all so happy that she was assigned to Haley's old class, and so there is much familiarity with the classroom and teachers. Although, one of the teachers is new as a full time teacher, she was a sub for them many times in the past, so she knows the kids well.

Haley is in 7th grade this year! That means that we have a middle schooler?!?!  (For those of you who don't know, Dao and I met in the 7th grade and started dating in 8th! We love to tease her and her friends that they might meet their future husbands this year. Actually, I love to tease about that. Dao doesn't think it's very funny. In fact, he gets a little upset when I do it. haha!)

Haley is doing great in Middle School so far, adjusting to her new schedule. She decided to be a TA for her elective and is working in her old class where Kaylin is now. She is also taking Language, Algebra, Applied Science, Social Studies, PE, and is once again in the Jazz Band playing Piano.

6th Grade Graduation

Our oldest Haley is an amazing girl! We are so very proud of her accomplishments this year! She has completed 6th grade. And it was a busy year for her indeed. She played in the schools Band, Jazz Band, was in the African American Exchange Club, played Fall and Spring soccer and gave everything 100%!

 Her classroom does a big graduation where the 4th and 5th graders write a play and practice for months. The play is about the 6th graders and what each one of them might be doing in 20 yrs. They said that Haley was going to be a world known piano player and still playing for audiences. :)

 Here she is with her fellow graduates!

 I asked all of her besties to go outside for a group photo. I'm so happy they all agreed! Such a great group of kids!

 With one of her teachers, Siri. Her other teacher, Lynn, had to have surgery on her shoulder the week before school was out. This will give her plenty of time to recoup for next year, where I am hoping that Kaylin will get to be in her class. Siri and her husband (the Assistant Principle) will be leaving our school this year to move closer to family. We just found they are having a baby and are so happy for them. It will be there first!

It was such an emotional day for Haley. She is leaving the center/classroom that she has spent the last 3 yrs of her life in. She and her friends will all be split up for Middle Schools classes. Our school is K-8, so she will still see many of them, but it will not be the same.

Dao and I met in the 7th grade and started dating in 8th. I keep telling her that she could meet her future husband next year! That is until her Daddy completely freaks out and says "No Way!". Hahaha!

Art Walk

Our school is very artsy. Every year the classes work hard on projects to present at the annual "Art Walk", where families come to an "open house" style event. The classrooms are all set up with art and projects that students are proud of. Music is played by the band, and our PTA type board hands out free Italian sodas.

Last year a silent art auction was started during the event and was very successful. When they asked for volunteers to donate for this year, our oldest immediately thought of her Grandma and Goo-Goo's (aunties) who are all very crafty.

Goo-Goo B, designs her own Jewelry and donated a lovely set with freshwater pearls and garnets!

Grandma hand knitted this cute scarf and hat set, along with another hat, and an infant hat and booties set!

Our girls were so proud to walk around the auction and announce that they're family members made items that they were bidding on!

The classrooms make it a full event and even fancy up the hallways with welcoming displays. This is the entrance to our oldest daughters classroom.

The kids in her class were challenged to create a project based on the work of Alexander Calder. She did "Broadway Productions" and created a theatre with a stage and people sitting to watch the show. While walking around the class, the kids were all so proud of what they created, as they should be. It was very cool!

They also were learning about Lewis and Clark and created a map to document their trip.

Kaylin and Em are in the same class, as it is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. This is the entrance to their classroom.

Every year they have a big project, this year it was called "The Expert Project". Kaylin made a list of things she was good at, and narrowed it down to things that she is good and passionate about. She chose (all on her own) "How to make a friend". She got her bestie, Isa and her sister, Haley to help. They made cute signs and took pictures of the steps. I gave her some patterned scrapbook paper and printed her pictures and she did the rest. She did an amazing job!

Em didn't make a list. She just announced that she was going to do "How To Braid Hair". I then asked her if she knew how to braid hair. She said that she did and then showed me buy getting to strands of her little sisters hair and twisting it. Ummm....not exactly braiding, but she was so dead set on it, that I couldn't make her change her project. Instead, we got out one of those big Barbie Heads with the long hair and I showed her how. She picked it up so quickly! After that, she just kept practicing (often using her little sister), and she wrote down the steps that it takes so that she could teach her class. Her Daddy drew the pictures of the hair, and she colored them and glued them to her poster board. I again, pulled out some scrapbooking supplies and let her pick the embellishments she wanted to use. It turned out great!

Cousin Luc, did his project on Chess! He had spent a good part of the year in Chess Club (the one that his cousin Sheree from G6 brought to our school) and really enjoyed it.

I forgot to mention that the kids also had to do a 3-5 min. presentation demonstrating how they are experts.  Kids made cookies, smoothies, gak, did presentations on chess, baseball, friendship bracelets, etc...

It was so fun to watch these!

The kids had some of their artwork in the hallway. They used construction paper and tissue paper to make these "3D" type pictures. (Kaylin helped her teacher get ready for the art walk, and  he was all out of juice, so he rewarded her with a soda! Wow! She was a happy girl!)

I love that the hand in Em's pic had rings on and nails painted. Ha! She is such a Diva!

Thank you Goo-Goo B and Grandma for your kind and generous donations!

Thank you to Goo-Goo Linh, Goo-Goo B, Goo-Goo Xuan, Dan, Auntie Robin, Auntie Andria and Uncle Van, and Grandma Ruppert for coming and supporting our girls!

We love you!

Spring Band Concert

Haley's last concert of the year for band and jazz band was on Tuesday.

She played flute for band and has decided not to pursue it any longer. She loves the piano and jazz band and is going to continue to practice and play next year. We have even signed her up for lessons again, although this time it will be with her beloved band/jazz band teacher, so we are hoping she will enjoy it more than her previous lessons.

Her Grandma came and brought her flowers. So sweet! I asked Grandma R. to pose with Haley for a picture and she could not believe how tall she is getting!

Auntie Robin, Auntie Andria and Livi all came to support her (Andria and Livi had to leave a little early so I didn't get a picture of them).

Goo-Goo Xuan and Dan also came out!

Thanks to you all for supporting our girl! We are so very proud of her!

One Week In...

We did it! We survived the first week of Spring Soccer! Our schedule is busy. We have soccer every day except Saturday (until May 1st when Pay starts!).

 For the first time in two years, Kaylin is playing soccer again! She quit for awhile after an unhappy rainy and cold, Fall season and has since been our gymnast taking lessons at Cascade Elite.

 Well, she decided to give it another try. She is on a team with her BFF, Isa, and she is very comfortable with Coach David (Isa's dad), so we are hoping that this will be a better experience for her. We met the team at a practice and tailgate BBQ and the girls all welcomed Kaylin right from the start. She is actually playing up this year (She is #4. Notice a size difference?) and the other girls on the team have been playing soccer for quite some time, but she is not discouraged and looks forward to her practices and games.

 Haley team has been the Blue Angels since forever, but this year they were told they would be White because there are too many blue teams?? Anyway, the girls don't seem to mind the team color change, but as the person who does laundry in our house, I would prefer dark blue or black. She has games twice a week without any practices, so I have to be diligent about getting it washed in time for her to wear it. The fields are wet and muddy from the spring rain, so I may have to invest in some bleach soon.

 Emma's team has switched from pink to red. They are now the Ruby, Red, Tigers! This is the same color as her Daddy's indoor soccer team, so Emma was super excited for the switch.

She didn't score, but she came so close a bunch of times. She wants to score, so I hope it happens for her.

 She also loves to play keeper. She gets this from her Daddy. Hopefully she won't get a concussion like him, too!

 The field that they play on (most of the time) has a grass hill that is perfect for rolling down. Kaylin, Pay, Isa, Dev and a few of their friends did this over and over again.

  The grass was wet and a little muddy, but that didn't stop them. Haley and Madi chose to watch from the top. ☺

We ended our week with Daddies outdoor game. It was so beautiful out on Sunday. The perfect day for the family to spend outdoors at the game and the nearby park.

May 1st we add Pay's soccer schedule into the mix. Wish me luck with all this juggling!

Thank you to Sheree and David of the G6 and my Mom (Grandma), for helping me get the girls to and from soccer on time! Dao works late on most days, so I couldn't do it without you!

Blogger...Why??

I must apologize for my absence in the blogging world. It is not for my lack of trying, I have sat down many, many times to blog our happenings, but Blogger has decided that it hates me! Actually, I think I had my pop-up blocker settings to high and it wasn't allowing my photos to upload. I finally was able to upload my pics tonight!

I'm gonna try to catch up in the blogging world (if blogger will let me).

The first week of Spring was a little busy for us. We decided to paint our family room (including the fireplace, pictures will come in the near future), our oldest was participating in the stage crew for the school play "Oliver!", I helped my bestie, Sheree with the auction she ran for our schools Children's theatre, and we battled colds in the midst of it all.

As I mentioned, Sheree chaired the auction and raffle for our children's theatre which was quite a job to take on! I offered to help her in any way possible and she was calm, cool, and had it all under control. All she needed was me to help put some baskets together and for someone to take care of her kiddies while she was at the events. The kids came over after school, and played hard on our trampoline for well over an hour! Even little Madi was out there bouncing around!

The kids were trying to play some Star Wars game on the trampoline, and they were all screaming out what character they wanted to be. My neighbors must love our trampoline, huh?

Haley and Isa (the G6's oldest) were at the play working hard, but the little siblings ate dinner and cuddled up to watch "The Pacifier" together and that was pretty much it for the night.

Here is Sheree's silent auction set-up. People came and bid on everything from gift certificates for massages and local businesses, to handmade purses and movie lover baskets.

My Mom, watched my kids for me Friday night and husband held it down on Saturday and Sunday so that I could help out at the auction (Thanks for your help, Mom!). The stage crew kids came out before and during the show's intermission to sell raffle tickets for $1 or $5. After 6 shows/performances Sheree's efforts brought our school's children's theatre over $4000!!! Way to go Sheree!

After the final performance, all of the families are invited to a party to celebrate everyone's hard work. Somehow, Kaylin suckered me into bringing her so that she could hang with her bestie, Isa. Her older sister was not happy about it. Kaylin has a year to go before she is eligible to perform and be involved in the theatre (it is for fourth through eighth grade only), so big sis feels like she should have to wait for her time to come.

I'm bummed that this picture didn't turn out. Haley is the one with the crazy white eyes. She and her friends danced the night away, so I didn't see her much during the party. (Be sure to read Sheree's post about that over on her blog.)

Beginning Band with the Flute

Our oldest has had piano lessons for about 5 years. Last year she decided that she was done with the piano (right around exam time, imagine that!) and didn't really like her piano teacher. Believe me, we tried to be the mean parents and make her stick it out. But, man that is draining on both us and her, so after nearly a year of complaining, our hands went in the air and we let her quit. It was a sad day for us, because after talking to many people who had piano lessons as kids, they always say that they wish their parents didn't let them quit. I have to say, I feel for the parents, it's really hard work to nag, and threaten, and be the bad guy.

 Anyway, when school started this year, she decided she wanted to play the flute. Of course we were thrilled! I think the best thing about this is that it has sparked her interest in music and the piano again. In November, she announced she wanted to join the schools jazz band as a pianist! Last week she informed us she was ready to start piano lessons again (with a different teacher, of course)! Her first Flute performance with the beginning band was a success, and we were so happy to be able to see her enjoy this part of her life again!

 Her Grandma, Daddy, her sisters and I all came to watch her in her first flute performance. The G6 were there too, cuz their oldest is in beginning orchestra and it was her first violin performance! Our families were on opposite ends of the gym, because orchestra was on one side, and band on the other. This did not stop the kids from being together though! Madi (youngest of G6) was so cute! Once she saw us, she spent the entire time dancing back and forth from her Mommy to me across the gym. Pay danced with her a bit, and then tried to take her back to her Mommy.

She would walk her back and then come back thinking she had been the big helper and gotten Madi back to her Mommy. Then a few minutes later, Madi would come right back. It was really cute!

 Of course these two were inseparable the entire time! They are always so happy to spend time together!

I think one of the coolest things about this "concert" is that they also had the middle school band and orchestra perform, so us parents could see what a little time and a lot of practice can do. The middle schoolers were impressive. At our school, the music program can begin in 4th grade, so by the time they hit middle school they have had over 3 years of practice and experience. That means by high school, they could be in Advance band. I'm thinking this should give them an edge for college scholarships!

Haha! I'm always trying to talk to my kids about scholarships and about how great our local university's are. I want them to stay close to me,  not move across country and meet their hubby and then move out there with them...... 
 
Oh! Sorry! I get all worked up when I think about it! I want them (and my grand babies) to stay close to me!

School Family Dance

Our school had a family dance and we all went. We were super excited to see Haley perform in the Jazz band!

I've been trying and trying to get the video of her performing on the piano to upload and it won't work! Ugh! I do have this picture of her, though. They performed two songs. She did one and the another pianist did the other. They did great!

Right after they performed, the girls noticed the snack bar in the back. Their Daddy took them to get snow cones!

A very happy girl!

I tried to do a quick shot of Pay, Dev, and Livi eating their snow cones, but Livi got kinda cut off. =-(

They took forever to eat them and enjoyed every bite!

After Haley's performance, we hardly saw her and her friends all night. They were off being tweenies.

Besties Em and Nana are always good about posing together! They were running around and dancing all night. Em's cheeks are super rosy!

I wish I had taken more pics, and I really wish the video would upload!