Spring Activities

Spring brought another new activity to the Bowes household as Callie decided to try out track and field for Morton Middle School. John ran track in high school so was excited to see what she could do. He had forgotten just how long track meets could be, however. 

 

Callie ran the 200, 400, and 800 with some regularity. Her coach had her run the mile once, but Callie did not exactly enjoy the experience. She also ran a few relays and overall learned a lot about herself and the sport. Not sure it persuaded her to give up her soccer cleats, but we are hoping she has a couple more seasons in her.

Just like all sports, track was a great way to spend time with friends. In fact, based on how long the meets last track is more about time with friends than the actual sport. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Holland, pictured here, and Callie also got to run some relays together which provided a nice balance of support and competition all in one package.

Speaking of competition, Reese was selected for Young Achievers, which is a program we know little about but it sounds pretty good. We discovered that this in part meant she had to do a photo shoot. John got to take her and it was quite an experience. Reese loved the photo shoot and the pictures came out well. This program allows you to buy a couple of these pictures and they produce a poster for the school. Unfortunately we never actually made it into the school to see the poster for ourselves, so we got this photo from a mom who spotted it and sent it to us. Reese may not stay young, but we hope she keeps achieving.

Sarah has become the official hairdresser of the Abraham household, or at least the go to stylist for big events. Unlike a couple of years ago when she got the day of emergency call from Ella, she was booked weeks in advance for Claire's junior prom. Sarah still hasn't had the opportunity to tell the Abraham girls that this is not her specialty, but she tries to do the best she can to meet their expectations.

It just so happened that Claire's prom was on the same day as Callie's final night of cotillion, so the girls got ready together. It is important to note that spring is also lacrosse season, which is why Claire is sporting a significant shiner on her upper arm from an opponent's lacrosse stick. Like her older sister, Claire is a role model for our girls, and it is great to see her and Callie have this moment together.

Callie's Coto group was short several members on the final evening due to soccer games, but it was still a good-sized crew and Callie had a great time. The cotillion season came to an end and although Callie had a good time we are not sure if this is something Reese is going to be interested in when her time comes. Time will tell.

And just like that, Easter had arrived. The theme this year was Spa Day, as the Easter bunny realized that busy schedules and end of the school year anxieties needed to be balanced out by some sweet smelling lotions and soaps. Unlike cotillion, this is right up Reese's alley, especially because it still includes candy.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day and our church held an Easter egg hunt for the first time in a couple of years. Callie and Reese did a great job helping all the little kids find eggs hidden throughout the church and outdoor garden. It is a bit strange seeing them on the other side of these traditions. They are definitely getting older and we will see how long Sarah can hold onto her position as third tallest in the family for pictures like this one.

Easter for us always includes brunch with the Chrismans and a picture with the Abraham girls. This was the first year that Ella wasn't present for the photo, which is a big change. However, we still had to get it in even though we missed Claire at church. She drove over to capture the moment, which we are grateful for. And we are happy to report that this year we did not have any fires break out  during the meal.

The pandemic disrupted a host of school traditions, but we are happy to say that the Cassidy fifth-graders were able to participate in Biztown. It was actually the first time they had been able to run this program since Callie did it when she was in fifth grade. Reese was very excited to be the CFO for the Bluegrass Philanthropy Group. However, at the last minute her friend Meredith, who was assigned to be the CEO, was ill, so Reese was going to have to handle both job duties. She was up for the task, but certainly stressed out.

As they learn the ins and outs of the business world, Reese and her friends also learned the joys of the business lunch. In one of the soccer carpool drives in the week leading up to this day all John heard about from the girls was how their moms were forcing them to wear dresses for Biztown. While they may not all have ended up in dresses they cleaned up well and at least didn't have on their smelly soccer clothes. 

After lunch Reese was back to work where she took all of her tasks very seriously and was irritated that her mom, who volunteered to be there that day, kept trying to take pictures. Reese was very excited and relieved that Meredith was able to make it after lunch for the second half of the Biztown experience. That meant Meredith took on the responsibility of making the speech for their business at the end of the day.

Once Easter is passed we start to ramp up all of the end of the school year activities. This year we had a new one organized by Erin Oakley, the mother of one of Reese's buddies, Mary. It was a color run around the Morton track, so we have some good before and after pictures. Here we see Reese and Mary decked out in their pristine white Cassidy t-shirts.

And here are the same two kids minutes later after their run. Nothing like getting pelted with colored powder to make a run even more enjoyable. The run took place on a Friday afternoon, which of course meant that we were fitting it in to a packed evening schedule to kick off the weekend. Once the run was done Sarah handed Reese a clean set of clothes and a face wipe so she could pull herself together before going to a ballet performance of Cinderella at the Lexington Opera House.