I've decided that May is officially more challenging than the month of December. It's completely overscheduled with standardized testing, end of the year concerts, sports banquets and let's not forget work (where we are both supposed to put in a lot of time each week!).
If you haven't taken the time to read
this blog post, do it. It puts May in perspective for our tribe of middle school (in a high school sport), elementary school and preschool. And it helped me to know that I'm not alone.
Regan has wrapped up her first season as part of the Jefferson High School fastpitch team. She was placed on the 9th grade team with some amazing coaches. She took part in pre-season "Captain's Practices" with the varsity/JV squads back in March, then trained during spring break with the coaches from all levels before finally falling into stride with her 9th grade team.
Boy did she develop over these few months. As a player and a teammate. She learned from some of the best coaches out there, young women who did what I like to call "coaching during practice" and letting the girls play during games. They ended the season 5-1 (or 7-1 if you count the double header where the other team forgot to show up and had to forfeit). Those coaches knew a thing or two about this sport and about coaching these early teenagers. And Regan learned a thing or two: calling pitches with complicated signs, throwing down to make outs and becoming explosive with her bat. We had so much fun watching her, that I shed a tear at the last game. Neither her nor I wanted to see it come to an end.
Meanwhile, this little dude asked to try soccer. We were both a little dumbfounded at his request, seeing as though neither of us have ever played this sport. I obliged and the Easter bunny brought all sorts of soccer gear for him :)
Including a bright orange ball!
I could tell after the first practice just why he wanted to play soccer. They never stop moving! It's right up his alley. This boy would be bored on a ball field at age 5, but at soccer, he just runs and runs and runs. We giggle because those kiddos are so sweet, never wanting to "steal" the ball away from an opposing teammate, probably thinking the parents would all be upset that they weren't sharing. He's getting the hang of it now, and is finally starting to get aggressive and is having the time of his life! He is seriously all smiles during that one hour each week, and boy do I love to watch him!
Sidney branched out on a limb this spring and asked to play volleyball. Yet another new sport for her. This girl doesn't nothing partway.
Go big or go home.
And she was incredibly frustrated that her team had some of the most timid volleyball players I had ever seen. Some didn't pay attention, some didn't seem to care about scoring points. And then there's Sidney, who is fiercely competitive.
That girl wants to win!
So you can imagine her frustration when the team ended regular season play in 14th place. They headed into the league tournament playing the 3rd ranked team. I was so pessimistic about their ability to win that I had deleted the rest of the tournament from our calendars :)
And then they went and won! She played hard in night two of the tournament, while Ryan was out of state on a work trip, and I had kids in different parts of the city, one on a field practicing, the other on a court playing her heart out. Sadly they lost on night two, but not after a good fight, winning 1 of the matches.
Sid was sad to end the season, tears and all.
In the thick of all the spring activities, Regan was gearing up for the spring dance recitals. She danced almost 6 hours every week since September: pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical and two ballet classes. As luck would have it, she was slated to perform in 3 recitals the same weekend as a 5+ game softball tournament.
Let's just say: thank GOD for rain!
It might make a future weekend more challenging, seeing as both girls were slated for that tournament and will now likely be on opposite ends of the city sometime in the future. We'll figure that out when the time comes. Back to the recital...
Oh she was so cute out there! Just a beauty on stage. Every dance I would say "this is my favorite"! Even now, after watching three shows plus dress rehearsal, I still cannot pick a favorite. Lyrical, ballet (which one!?), jazz, tap, and oh watching her up on those pointe shoes! I simply cannot pick a favorite. Hoping to upload a video soon, but in the midst of this lovely month, my computer has died.
But the sheer joy on her face during this dance makes the chaos of spring all worth it. She shined on stage and for the first year ever, looked confident and was having FUN in every dance. It was amazing! Lincoln loved watching the show, and asked me if he would go on stage when he got big? Without answering his question, I first asked if he wanted to dance on stage?
His reply, a hesitant "sure....but I'm not very good at dancing"! 😄
We finished up several sports at the end of this week. Our weeks have slowed to one activity/day which may sound horribly busy to some, but gives us breathing room we haven't seen in months.
