Soccer Camp

Soccer camp ended as awesomely as it started. Both kids had a blast! I'm so glad they did because every morning Pat and I had to wake the kids up to get in the car for a 45 minute drive to camp and that would have been awful if they didn't want to go! I almost wish it were two weeks long! They were both coached by some pretty talented University of Akron  players and we'll hopefully get a chance to see them play in the fall. They also got to meet and interact with the coaches of the men's team, something I think Pat wishes he could have done:)

A chilly morning!

They split campers up by age group and luckily Owen and Paige were on opposite ends of the same field so I could watch both! I stayed every day for the two hours Paige would play and used up the time watching the kids, and talking/walking on the track next to the field with a friend I made the first day.

Paige getting some practice passes in.

Owen in action!

On the last day, all the big kids and coaches on the field started chanting "little kickers" and formed a tunnel for Paige's group to go through. So awesome for them! Here's Paige emerging from the tunnel!

Paige and her coaches! She loved them all but really connected with Shea (behind her in the picture)

Owen and his coach, Jeremy

The campers!

Paige's group of ragtag soccer players. There were a bunch of young ones that had trouble keeping it together by the end of the week but Paige was very professional:)

All the older kids!

Akro Zoo

Paige finished up with soccer camp at 11 everyday so we had some time to use up until Owen was ready to go at 4. A couple of the days we came home-once so she could go to dance for 3 hours (!) and another time just to rest up. The rest of the time we visited with her cousins and Uncle! Our first stop was at the Akron zoo. It was neat going to a new zoo and getting a chance to experience it with little ones. I think Paige was more interested in helping her cousins walk around than seeing the animals and by the time we left everyone was tired.

Look!

Paige is demonstrating some condor wings.

Sitting in an eagle's nest

Fun walk up!

The N was missing from this sign so we took to calling it the Akro zoo. Paige did a little acro in front of it for a picture!

Then and Now

I posted the picture on the right a few days ago but I couldn't resist posting again since I found this comparison picture from 2013. I didn't have them pose this way, it's just a natural climbing spot for kids!

Baseball Game!

If you sit in the stands at Owen's baseball game you see this...

And if you turn around, you'll see this!

...Hello Soccer Camp

Just because soccer season is over doesn't mean the kids aren't still playing! :) The kids are participating in a camp at the University of Akron this year and so far Owen says it's awesome. He was asking if he could go again and do the overnight camp! Eek! Not this year! Here are some pictures from the first morning while people were gathering and waiting for everyone to arrive.

Find Owen!

This is Owen's group for the week

Playing with some of the coaches

Paige's group lined up with her coaches in front

Paige, getting warmed up with her coaches

Goodbye Soccer Season...

Soccer season is done! Paige finished up on Saturday morning and Owen's game was Sunday afternoon. We got through half of the game before they had to call it early due to a big storm that swept through. The coaches owed the kids a pizza party though so we reconvened at a local (sheltered) park and someone brought GIANT slushies for the kids. Giant. Huge. Big smiles all around.

It was super easy to get a picture of Paige with her coach this year!

All the girls!

Owen and I missed some of the soccer because we were at his baseball game but we got to see about a half hour

Some awesome moves from Owen before it rained!

The rain didn't really slow down the fun or playground time!

Zoo

I think it's been about a year (can that be right?!) since our last trip to the zoo so we were long overdue! The elephants are the first animal you see when you walk in so we started our visit there. They did not disappoint. Just as we were walking by an elephant had to um...relieve itself and all the kids were highly entertained and amused. The trip was already a success! ;) Then we got to pet a super adorable hedgehog before moving on to the rest of the zoo. We happened to be there the day the tiger's new exhibit opened but the tiger wasn't too keen on the space yet so we didn't get to see him (her?).

Hedgehog!

Same hedgehog!

Paige+Kim+Koala

Classic zoo picture stop!

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Exploring

Paige and I went on a bike ride last week and stopped at one of our favorite spots to explore. There used to be a beaver dam here so even though it's been gone for awhile now, we still refer to it as the place the beaver lived. It looks a lot different now than it did in February! Everything is so green! At one point, Paige calmly said she saw a baby deer and I thought she was joking until I noticed there was a baby deer hopping through the tall grass and managed to get a quick picture when it paused for a second. We visited again about a week later with Owen too!

Birthday!

We had to celebrate a little late but we finally got around to party with my Dad! Hilariously, 2 out of 3 daughters forgot to bring his presents but I think he'll forgive us:) Really, we're just extending the celebration, right?!

Memorial Day!

Our Memorial Day this year was a little different than years past. Typically, we watch the parade, head to the fire station and have a picnic. This year, we did start with the parade and watched with some friends. Every year we know more and more people actually participating in the parade so we have more to watch for! We decided to skip the fire station this year because we beat the fire trucks back and didn't want to wait around for them. Then we cooked some food on the grill and headed to the pool for our first swim of the year! Such an awesome day! (We did take a moment to make sure everyone understood why Memorial Day is important so it the more somber parts of the day were not completely forgotten!)

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Go Cavs!

The Cavs lost the first game in the finals last night but earlier in the day we were still optimistic!

Go Cavs!

My kids are gorgeous!

Recital Time!

Paige worked so hard this year learning her 3 dances so she was super excited, and a little nervous, for recital day! She danced to Supercalafragilistic (ballet), Little Bitty Pretty One (tap) and Can't Turn You Loose (jazz) and her group did a great job in all of them! Things were a little different this year because she aged out of the preschool room which meant there wasn't a movie to watch while she waited backstage but really they didn't have any time with all the costume changes! After the first two performances, I ran backstage to help her change into her next outfit and then ran back to sit in the audience.

Paige and a couple friends making silly faces before the show!

Ready for tap!

Paige and her friend, who received a trophy celebrating her 5 years in dance! Paige has a couple more years for that milestone!

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Jamie joined us for the show!

Paige and her teacher, Miss Rachel

Family picture!

I turned around to take a picture of Paige on the way home and this is how she posed:)