Late April through Early June 2019

 The end of April we celebrated some special moments with Troop 50303!  This year we submitted a grant proposal to the Stewart's Match fund and they generously contributed toward our upcoming Spring Fling Camping trip.  Miss Sue was also nominated and won a volunteer award!  A few GS Mom's went to Fort Drum to the volunteer recognition dinner and it was a great time.

 Family Fun Night @ SLC Elementary School brought lots of laughs, swimming and dancing:

The girls, Stella in particular, love going with daddy to help out with basketball concessions.  For the second AAU tournament we made a weekend out of it with a sleepover at the McCarthy's.  Stella wanted to be in the kitchen or at the cashiering station the entire time, while Claire-Bear didn't mind taking breaks in the back to have some quiet time.  It was a busy but fun weekend!









Mom & Dad's Long Awaited Trip arrived!  We've been planning a trip to Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas for over a year.  While not easy to leave the girls, we were very much looking forward to celebrating Justin and Hanna's destination wedding.  It did not disappoint!  We had an amazing time and the girls were well taken care of thanks to Grammie and Pa, Miss Sue, and Adam & Sabrina.  Here are a few fun pics:

After being apart from the girls for six full days, we were overjoyed to be reunited and were excited to have some fun together at the circus visiting SLC:

The following week we ventured off to Watertown with Bri, Sue, and Kenny to see the girls artwork on display at the Tri-County Art show.  We missed the opening due to our vacation, but really enjoyed having the entire show nearly to ourselves!  Dinner at AppleBee's and Cake Pops from Starbucks afterward made for a really fun (but late) outing on a school night!

GS Meeting Night - preparing for Spring Fling!  We learned about fire safety, put together mess kits, and practiced putting away our sleeping bags.  We are ready for the adventure!

And when the day finally arrived to head to Old Forge, everyone was excited!  We had great weather and the girls had an absolutely wonderful time!  We cooked over the camp fire, participated in a group Engineering activity, fished, enjoyed paddle boats, went for a hike, and even took a Polar Plunge on Sunday morning.  Here's a glimpse of the fun:

 This year for Memorial Day Weekend we visited with Grammie and Pa and planted flowers at the cemetery on Sunday and stayed in Brasher Falls for Monday's festivities.  A significant shift in the Weather happened between playing outdoors all morning to when we arrived at Memorial Park for the service at noon so we were quite chilly but the girls were real good sports about it and the American Legion held a nice service.

 Up next - Claire's 2nd grade concert.  It was great fun seeing her perform songs she's been practicing and we enjoyed a sweet treat afterward.

Followed by Saturday fun at the NCCM with friends:

 And a snack at Yum Yum's Chilly Delights!

Stella fell off her bike!  Here's the before and after of this story!  She's with cast for the next three weeks to heal a wrist fracture.

And to start out the month of June at school, the girls both qualified for the Spelling Bee.  It was a super fun night watching all of the kids shine on stage.

Annnnd, Claire-Bear was the 2nd grade winner!

We are so super proud of both the girls and how gracious many of their peers were throughout the competition. 

For the past several months Randy and I have participated in a Stress Less Wellness workshop through the Master Teacher program.  This opportunity for us to reflect on triggers of stress in our lives together, especially those through our careers, has been a truly meaningful experience.    A big thanks to Grammie and Pa and Miss Sue (again!) for hosting our girls for sleepovers to allow us this opportunity for personal growth.  It has been so very much appreciated!