Red, White, and Blueberry Picking

June was a big month for a number of reasons, including the conclusion of Callie's first year of kindergarten.  But just as important was the World Cup.  John spent a fair amount of time watching the games and he was excited to get the girls involved in the fun.  For the first game the U.S. played against Ghana we were invited to watch the drama with some friends down the street.

Four years ago Ghana knocked the U.S. out of the World Cup.  It just so happens that terrible loss occurred on a wonderful day, the day that Suzy and Brian were married.  Still, we were looking forward to some redemption.  John led the girls in a quick USA! chant before we headed out the door.  And in case you missed it, the U.S. beat Ghana 2-1 in an absolutely thrilling match.  Too bad the rest of the Cup didn't work out that way for our boys.

June is also when the blueberries get ripe at Reed Valley Orchard, so we packed up a picnic lunch, hopped in the car, and made our annual trip to pick some berries and consume some wonderful slushies.  It was a great day, not too sunny and not too hot.  We made sure to build up our energy for the picking ahead and then we were ready to go.

It is fun to see the girls every year as they get into the picking routine.  They certainly know the lay of the land, and each one has had the experience of picking blueberries while they were in a baby bjorn.  Although they are fully capable of walking now, they still wouldn't mind being carried around like that.  Or at least that is how we interpret Reese's whining.

Callie and Reese have become skilled blueberry pickers, but they have expanded their taste horizons and picking skills in the raspberry bushes at the orchard.  These certainly are a little bit more difficult because thorns are involved.  But this year the bushes were full of great raspberries, and both girls did a great job of getting the berry without mashing it in the process.  Wish we could say the same for us.

If you ask them what the highlight of the excursion was, though, it might be the discovery of the farm cat.  She was pretty friendly and followed us around the raspberry bushes once she realized she could get some love from the little ones.  This is when all the motivation to pick great berries came to a halt and we had to turn our minds to the reward we had earned for our efforts.

Reese really enjoyed her slushy.  The smile says it all, doesn't it.  She smiles a lot for pictures, but you may have noticed that she has developed a kind of canned smile.  This one here is the real deal, and it captures the joy and energy she brings to our lives.

This picture is both good and bad.  It is good because it similarly captures Callie in a joyful moment, sitting on the porch at the orchard and indulging in the slushy.  Yet it is bad, because it makes it clear that Callie is growing up and getting older.  As much as we would like to keep her as our little girl, we cannot ignore the fact that she is maturing in leaps and bounds.

The Zoo with Grammy

By the time this picture was taken Grammy had already been here for a week, and she had spent a lot of that time playing with the girls, feeding them, and getting them to and from Music and Arts Camp.  

However, with the success of the girls' recital and music performance the time had come to celebrate with a trip to the Louisville Zoo before we took Grammy to the airport so she could fly back to California and get some rest.

This was not our first time at the Louisville Zoo, but it is never difficult to find new things there, and the girls enjoy hanging around with both real and inanimate animals.  They also have gotten used to the fact that when we go on a trip they will be asked to pose for pictures in a variety of places and with a variety of things.  The turtle was an obvious choice for a group shot.

Callie has had six and a half years of this paparazzi treatment, so she has not only become comfortable with it, but now actively seeks out shots that will be either aesthetically pleasing or somewhat funny.  This one is certainly in the latter category.

If you have spent more than a day with Reese, you know that energy is not in short supply.  Like her sister, she also enjoys a good laugh and is willing to work with the camera if you catch her in the right mood.  This energy is also a big reason why Grammy Gayle went home exhausted.  We know the feeling.

The Louisville Zoo has a really neat carousel that they tout as one of the 40 oldest in the country, or something along those lines.  In any case, it is fun to ride and Reese and Callie were excited to get the chance to go for a spin.  It was a fun way to end a great week with Grammy.  And once we got back to Lexington, John was home and we could prepare as a family for our next adventure.

Dance, Music, and Arts

The arrival of June can mean a variety of things, but for us it now means that the time has come for the annual dance recital.  This year was a special one because Reese was going to make her debut on the Lexington Opera House stage.  And although she was a little timid during rehearsals, all signs indicated that she was ready to embrace her big moment.

Somehow Callie worked her way into Reese's class's dance number over the past five months by assisting Miss Lauren.  In the days leading up to the recital there was talk that Callie would lead the crew on stage as well.  Callie didn't get called up until the very last moment, but she was excited to be a part of the Bunny Rabbit Blues dance.  Reese loved having her big sister on hand, but she also clearly loved the spotlight.  It is going to be hard keeping her off the stage in the years to come.

This was Callie's third recital, so she has become accustomed to all that goes along with it.  And we certainly had no concerns about her willingness to do everything she needed to do.  This was a big deal because John was out of town for the recital which meant Sarah had to get both girls ready and had to manage all of the make-up and costume changes.  Thankfully, Grammy was there to assist or it could have been a disaster.

Here is Callie's class getting ready to go on for their "I See the Moon" dance.  It is amazing how much these girls have grown in the three years they have been in dance classes together.  Clearly they get along quite well.



This year's special someone dance was (to the surprise of no parent of a girl between the ages of 3 and 12) based around a song from the movie Frozen.  Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

The girls loved getting to wear their colorful winter gear for this dance in the middle of summer.  Callie got to have Grammy as her special someone and Reese got to do it with Sarah.  It is also important to note that Sarah was selected to be the parent line leader, which is an honor she took quite seriously.

And here are the girls with the woman who has made their dance class experience so wonderful.  Miss Lauren is the greatest teacher we could have asked for, especially when Callie was first starting out.  And as we have mentioned before, Reese would settle for nothing less than a class with Miss Lauren.  The girls know excellence when they see it - they also know a warm and gentle soul.

Dance recital week always seems to fall on the same week as Music and Arts Camp at church, which means there is a whole lot of singing, dancing, and commuting during that time.  Once again, Grammy saved the day and Reese made her big debut.  And like Callie's debut at Music and Arts Camp, we have very few pictures to document it.  But she claims she enjoyed the week.  The theme this year was Moses and the Freedom Fanatics.  Callie is pictured here with the bugs so artfully drawn by Caitlin.

Out of the performances we have seen over the past four years, this by far was the best.  Everyone seemed to know the songs and sang them passionately.  In this picture Callie is there along with her fellow slaves demanding freedom from Pharaoh.  Reese was a frog in the production that focused on the animal plagues as opposed to the rivers of blood.

This week was a tough one for Reese's ability to pull out the beaming smile she is more well known for.  Such is life.  We have all had weeks like that.  And truly, by the time Friday afternoon arrived the girls were exhausted and were ready to take a break from the rigors of the performing arts.