Braces Off

 Today was the day.
Just shy of a year.
No more brackets.
Gum chewing and sticky candy A.O.K.
Braces off!

Before...

Best Orthodontist ever.

After...with a goody bag full of treats!

SuperCopa

 Max said goodbye to 3rd grade a few days early
and him and I embarked on a soccer adventure to Salt Lake City.

His team was invited to play in their first national tournament, 
Premier SuperCopa.
(in 100 degree heat, altitude and with great competition).

It was four days of intense soccer. 

The boys fought hard but had their eyes open...

there are very talented teams their age all over the US.

It was fun to play teams from different places --

Texas, Nevada, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Max played his tail off and had a great tournament.

I was amazed at how hard he worked,

his composure and determination.

Unfortunately, his team didn't advance

but it was an amazing learning experience 

and they bonded as a team both on and off the field.

They got to do some fun activities too!

Real Salt Lake MLS game

Pool time...

Team BBQ in the park

Sightseeing at Temple Square and checking out the Salt Flats at Antelope Island 

(where they had no antelope but bison; who knew?)

It was a unique trip.

I'm glad we got to share this experience together!

Last Day of Elementary

 Crazy that our Little C has completed Elementary School.
5th grade is in the books and Middle School is around the corner.
I tear up when I think about it too much. How fast the time has gone.
It doesn't seem that long ago that there were Kindergarten jitters
and now I'm writing about being done with 5th grade.
We are beyond proud of our girl.
I had definite mom guilt about being gone for her last day of school.
But, I was silly to think that.
Her community of friends (any mine too) is more than amazing.
She enjoyed every second of her last day of school, 
being with her favorite friends and spending time with her dad one-on-one.

I know there are great things in store for this girl.

Middle School...here you come!

Spring Sports Wrap-up

 Wow, Spring has flown by.
Part of the reason was all of the sports and activities.
I'm overjoyed the kids are interested in a variety of activities

 and it's certainly fun to watch them in their games and competitions

 but it's nice to have the schedule free up a little.

Volleyball

Carmen finished up her first season of volleyball.

She absolutely loved it and will be continuing on.

After much practice, her serve is really coming along

and she was an excellent returner.

Baseball

Max completed a successful season of AAA baseball

and enjoyed playing shortstop and pitcher.

Doesn't hurt when best buddies are on your team

 and your dad is helping to coach.

Soccer

Spring soccer for Carmen also wrapped up.

It was fun to be back with the Cheetahs again!

And, to have Dad as the coach.

She really got into helping make the sub arrangements

and liked to complain when she got subbed out.

Fun Run

Brookside kiddos along with other schools from the

district got to participate in a fun run.

They practiced running a mile several times leading up to the big event.

Carmen and her friends did great.

Proud of all the kiddos!

Safety Patrol

 Covid prevented the 5th graders from participating in 
safety patrol for most of the year, but for the last month of school, 

a team of school employees made the program happen.
Carmen was grateful for the opportunity as safety patrol was made for her.

The chance to wear a vest, badge, 

use a walkie talkie and tell people what to do.

Dream. Come. True.
To no surprise, she was assigned the role of captain along with 3 other responsible classmates.

She loved it. Was thrilled to be in a leadership role and be with her friends.

Funny, Max was presented with the opportunity to

start patrol as a 4th grader and train.

It was a hard no. 

Not interested in the slightest...