We had a fun Father's Day celebrating our favorite guy!
We went out for lunch at the Lazy Dog. Avery and Matt always play the Dot game... it can get pretty competitive with those two!
Morgan loves the word search!
Such a sunny day!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the pool.
Avery was hanging out with her friend Emerson, who was giving her tips on how to jump off the diving board and go down the slide. Avery has never done either... mainly because they don't allow you to wear goggles and she doesn't like swimming without goggles. Also, she's just a bit freaked out by the diving board! Well, today was the day she decided to go both (thanks to Emerson's encouragement!)
Dad even got in on the diving board fun!
Just a couple of videos for proof that it all happened!
We ended the day with a cookout at our house and Mama Ruth coming over to join us. It was a really nice night!
Avery's dance recital was this past weekend at the Lyons Township high school (same place as last year). She had her cheering section - Mom, Dad, Morgan, Mama, Papa, Mama Ruth! The dance studio did something different this year to keep things moving, where they had 5 "acts" each with continuous music and the dancers would just leave off the stage as the next group would come on the stage. It actually worked really well and kept the show moving.
Here she is with all her gear ready to go!
Morgan loves the lollipops they have each year!
Hopefully, I can get some videos of her dancing and post them here once the dance studio releases them!
Avery got recognized for dancing 3 years with DPDC
Her medal was engraved with her name!
Of course, we went for blizzards afterwards!
Avery danced in Chess (The Last Pawn) and Monopoly (Greedy)
The girls each had a summer camp this week. Avery did a BAM theater camp where the kids learned and performed Seussical Kids. Morgan went to Adventure Camp through the park district. She got to go on three fields trips - Putt Shack, Urban Air and Pelican Harbor. It was a little chilly for the water park, but she said she still had a good time.
We started off the week with a new sport! The girls are giving volleyball a try this summer on Monday nights. They both loved it! Next week, we'll have knee pads, which will make it a little better!
Avery's recital is this weekend, so they had dress rehearsal on Wednesday.
On Friday, Avery's theater camp put on their show. Matt and I went to watch (Morgan was at the water park.) The show was cute and she had a fun time!
Avery's coach, Coach K, also coaches the 2011 girls team and was in need of some players at their game this weekend, so he asked if Morgan could help out. Of course, she jumped on the chance! Avery and I were only able to stay at the game for a short time because we had to head to Avery's piano competition. Since Morgan didn't start the game, we only really got to see Morgan play for a few minutes. But, in those few minutes, she scored a goal off a penalty kick. One of the other teammates got pummeled and had to leave the game, so Coach K yelled over to Morgan to come in and do the penalty kick. And I actually got it on video! Morgan looked small compared to the 2011 girls... some of them were really tall! Unfortunately, the team lost.
Today, Avery participated in the IMA piano competition at Wheaton College. Grayson, Beckett and Hunter also participated. Originally, Avery and Grayson were competing in the same group against each other. But, their piano teacher was able to move Avery so that they wouldn't be up against each other. When we showed up, they didn't have Avery on the schedule at the new time, so she was a little upset and worried she wouldn't be able to compete. But, we were able to get it all worked out!
Avery played Night Clouds, the song from her recent recital. She did mess up one note, but kept on playing. She also got dinged for playing the low note at the end too loud. But, other than that her performance was very good! She ended up with a second place trophy! I think she was able to pull it off even with her mistakes because her song was a more difficult choice for her level.
Here is Avery's warm-up and performance:
After the competition, if you win a trophy you have to come sign the paper and pick it up.
We were lucky that Mama and Papa were in town and were able to see the kiddos perform at the competition.
Here's Avery's score sheet... she got some nice feedback!
Grayson had competed earlier in the day (at Avery's original time slot) and he got a 1st place! Erin said that two other kids played Avery's same song during that time slot. So, lucky we got moved!
Avery has been dancing with the same company for 3 years now. They hold a gala for the dancers at 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, etc. So, she got to go this year. Morgan and I tagged along for the fun. They had food (pizza, chik-fil-a, pasta, sandwiches, etc) and drinks. They even had teal champagne for the adults (teal is their signature color!)
The girls had an epic Jenga battle at the party in the game room! It was almost getting too tall for them to put the pieces on top! Then, it crashed to the ground!
There was a balloon artist at the party. Avery got an elephant and Morgan got a guitar!
We stopped to take a few pictures!
Here is Avery with her dance teacher, Miss Sharice. She really has enjoyed being in her class this past year! We kind of lucked out because Avery and one other girl were the only ones in this class, so it was like a private lesson! For the recital, they are dancing with the other jazz and tap classes.
A few of the girls' friends were at the pool and one of the Dads got them playing a ballgame using the corner of the pool as home base. Here they are... Avery and Morgan are both by "1st base".
The girls love going to the pool... it's like a playdate for them because we usually run into someone they know, whether from school or soccer or some random camp they went to last year! The lower pool is being filled now, so soon both pools will be functioning.
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