camp and a concert...

At the end of April Ashlyn headed off to fifth grade camp.  She was a little scared and nervous.  In the morning before she left she told me she was sad that she was going to miss me.  My sweet girl.  I assured her that I would be here waiting when she got back and that she was going to have an amazing time.

Saying goodbye was hard.  I knew this was going to be a great experience for her.  Thankfully, I was completely at peace with her going.  I prayed for her while she was gone and I know this is one of the first steps on her road to greater independence.

A few of the moms on the trip sent me pictures of Ashlyn's trip. She had a blast!

One of the things she was looking forward to the most was the giant tree swing…

She said archery was more fun than she thought…

but her most favorite was the zip line.  

The joy on her face is pretty evident.  I love seeing my kids so happy.  
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Landon had his third grade recorder concert last week.  His class filed into the multi-use room and his face lit up when he saw Chris and I in the audience.

The day before when I asked him how the rehearsal was he exclaimed, "It was AWESOME!"  Not exactly my feelings regarding a recorder concert but I knew how excited he was and I wanted to be supportive of him.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wasn't super thrilled with the not-so-soothing sounds of the recorder.  When the kids first started playing, our friend's daughter promptly put her fingers in her ears.  Gotta love the unfiltered honesty of little kids.  

Thankfully, the kids didn't solely play the recorder.  Each third grade class sang a few patriotic songs which Landon had been practicing at home for weeks…at the top of his lungs.

They also memorized a few lines and when it was Landon's turn he totally nailed it!  

Proud of my kids!  Only 3 more days of school left to go (but who's counting)!!