Hailey Finally Relearns How to Ride Her Bike!

Hailey, Hailey, Hailey. We taught her how to ride a bike when she was in kindergarten or first grade. I'm sure the post is on this blog somewhere. Well, fast forward about a year or two and she needed to go to the next bike level because she grew and she couldn't pedal with her knees up to her chest. 

She's got this!

But, she refused. She did not want to ride the new bike and give up the old one so she simply chose not to ride a bike anymore. She missed the 3rd grade bike rodeo at her school (where they need to pass to ride their bike to school). During winter break during her 4th grade year, we told her that our Disney Adventures trip to Australia included a bike ride around the Sydney Harbor and over the bridge. You'd better learn, we said, because we all wanted to do the bike ride. She didn't listen but she tried when we were in Sydney and the guide promptly pulled her out because she was a danger to herself and others. Luckily, it was a Disney trip so the awesome guides took her back so we could enjoy the ride. 

A few months later, we were in the Maldives for spring break and the primary mode of transportation there is bikes that every villa gets. We had to order her one with training wheels so she could ride with us and not hamper our daily activities. She didn't care that she was 10 years old and riding a bike with training wheels.

Fast forward to the 5th grade - there were no trips to require her to ride a bike but there was a phone that she wanted and friends that were now making plans to meet up at the park or at each other's houses. Relearn how to ride your bike, we said, and we'll get you that phone. I guess that's all it took because just a few days later she went out to practice and quickly relearned how to ride her bike. Sure she got a phone but really she got something a lot more valuable than that - freedom. 

She now rides her bike almost every day to her friend's houses, to the park, to town. Thankfully, she relearned how to ride at just the right time so she could enjoy her summer with her friends. And she sure is!

So easy!

Her sister and her even went for a bike ride to the park

Father's Day 2025

The one time all summer that we know we will be in Michigan is Father's Day weekend. It's usually a good time to go because soccer goes into a lull for a bit before it kicks up again and the girls are usually free too from their activities. 

The crew and Auntie Do Do's cooler!

So despite not having been to Michigan in over 6 months, we were able to steal away for almost 48 hours (for me and the kids). Tom went up a bit early to get the place ready for us and my Dad who always comes up. This year, we invited my brothers and their families too to celebrate all the Dads so it was a big crew. 

The weather heading up on Friday wasn't great. Lots of rain, but once we arrived, it seemed to clear up enough for the kids to play some yard games and us to sit outside for a bit. Tom smoked a brisket and we ate well (all weekend long, actually). 

On Saturday, in usual fashion, Tom, Austen and Papa got up early and headed to the golf course. This year, they played Hawks Head which is by our house. They said the course was really nice and a bit easier than the course they had played the past few years in Benton Harbor. The rest of us (minus the brothers) went shopping in downtown South Haven then hit Virtue Cider to sample their ciders (I had the blueberry) for a bit before returning to the house for more yard games and more food and drink. 

We took lots of pictures, took walks to the beach and admired the sunsets. People joined in on puzzles, indoor games, outdoor games and had a good time giving each other a hard time (including Papa who might've gotten everyone up an hour earlier than need be on Saturday due to Michigan being in the eastern daylight time zone).

Sunday was another relaxing morning with lots of food, gifts and cards before heading back home around noon because Peyton had to work late that afternoon. 

Hoping we get up there again sooner rather than later so I can clean out the fridge and the kids' closet since they fit into none of their clothes up there anymore! Just need the time to do it in between the kids' still busy schedules!

Just the girls minus Hailey!

The big cousins!

Papa and Austen on the golf course

Peyton's Makes JV Cheer and Lands Her First Job

First Day of Work

It's been a few months of lasts for Austen and Hailey since they both "graduated" from their respective schools so lots of content to post about for them lately. But, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all the exciting things that have happened to Peyton during this time too.  

First, she made JV cheer again for her sophomore year. She wasn't too worried about tryouts and certainly didn't practice as much as last year but knew that since she is one of the few that has tumbling skills on JV, that she would make it. She's come so far too - last year she could only basically do a round off. Now, she has a round off backhandspring, standing back handspring and is working on a standing back tuck. She says she's very good at jumps and is an excellent main base for stunting. She may need to work on smiling though (and she wishes she was a better dancer but for not having really any dance practice, I think she's pretty good). This year, JV will compete so they didn't take as many cheerleaders as in previous years. She's also working on making Varsity next year because they get to travel to Dallas for their competition if they qualify. 

In between her cheer practices/camps (of course it's already started for the fall season), Peyton decided that she wanted to get a job because there were many things that she wanted to purchase this summer. So she took the lifeguarding class and went on some intereviews at our local pools and ended up taking a job at the country club pool at the end of our street. So far, she really loves it and it's been good for her to not be sitting around all summer. The social aspect is a plus as well as being outside and getting some UV rays (with sunscreen on of course). She's met some great people and is making money doing something she loves. I call that a win! So happy she's still swimming too even if it's not her first love anymore. 

Summer is off to a busy start with cheer and work but that's how she prefers it. Keeping busy.

Hailey's Lasts at Prospect

Our last child has finally ended their career at Prospect Elementary school. We started at that school in the fall of 2013 with Austen (Hailey was not even born yet) and finally reached the end in the spring of 2025 with Hailey. That's almost 12 years of consecutive time at Prospect. 

Elementary school seems so long while middle school and high school just seem to fly by perhaps because our kids get busier as they get older. Since it seems like we've been there for years (and we have), I can't say that I wasn't looking forward to being done with Prospect although we've had really great years and some great teachers there. 

Hailey was better about the end than I thought she'd be. It started in early May with a visit to the middle school for step up day. The incoming 6th grade girls then got together for a meet and greet at the local park complete with some getting to know you games and fun. Then it was time for her last Daddy Daughter Dance with Tom. A few awesome moms from our grade set up a special dinner for all the 5th grade girls at one of our restaurants in town before the dance. Then all the 5th graders walked on down to their red carpet debuts for their Hollywood themed dance. So much fun and Hailey looked very grown up! Of course I had to do her hair several hours beforehand due to the fact that I had to leave at noon to take Austen to a soccer game in Wisconsin and I wouldn't be back in time before she left for her pre-dinner. This was actually quite hilarious as I tried some bendable rollers in her hair the night before. However, I put a shower cap on her head for her to sleep in with the rollers (came with the rollers) and that effectively made her hair and all the products in it sweat so she woke up with wet hair and condensation in the shower  cap! I could not stop laughing although I had to redo her hair in the morning. Despite this memorable moment, she looked great and had a good time with her Dad and her friends. 

The lasts came to an end last week with her "promotion" ceremony for our 5th graders at Prospect on Thursday afternoon. Austen and Peyton were both present with Tom and I to see Hailey receive her diploma. 

And while she's not exactly excited about middle school, she did not cry leaving Prospect. I'll take that as a win for my child that doesn't love change. Congrats to Hailey on finishing out 5th grade strong and qualifying for both advanced math and advanced language arts in middle school (the only one of my kids who qualified for both entering middle school - the other two only qualified for advanced math entering middle school). 

5th graders!

Dad and Daughter - Last Dance!

Girls and Dads!

A Few Friends

Hailey and Her BFF Bree with Diplomas

Hailey and Katerina Getting Clapped Out of Prospect

We Love our Hailey!

Congrats to Our Girl!

Peace Out Prospect - It's Been Fun!

Austen's High School Graduation

It was touch and go all week as the week started off with some pretty terrible weather. Lots of rain and with the rain came the cold. Austen's high school holds their graduation ceremony in the stadium and if they decide to call it and go indoors instead, then each student only receives four tickets to the graduation ceremony. We received many emails stating that they will wait until the last possible minute to make this call as they were going to make sure that they really could not hold it outside. And they did.

The weather cleared up on Thursday (May 22nd) albeit it was a bit cool (which made me change what I was planning on wearing for the ceremony). The Seniors had their run through and then celebrated their last days with a Senior class picnic. After that, it was back to their elementary school to take a picture in front of the sign and for them to chat with their 5th grade teachers for a bit before returning home to get ready. 

We had a 4pm dinner reservation at our club which is just down the street from the high school. Parking was sure to be a problem so we decided to walk from there and just leave our car in their parking lot. We got in some early pictures with us and the grandparents in his graduation garb too and we all got to eat. We arrived at the ceremony a bit after 6pm. There were still seats available (I did not run like many others to reserve them earlier that day which was against the rules. I thought that rather ridiculous since they asked us not to anyway). There were plenty of seats still available too. We settled in and it was shortly thereafter that the graduates started to process into their seats. Austen ended up on the other side of where we were sitting but friends were sending videos of all the kids they saw walking in so we got one of him walking in too. The ceremony was just under two hours - it went fast (except the announcing of the 600 plus names in his graduating class and being an "S" certainly proved a long wait to get to Austen going up to receive his diploma). But, almost as soon as he got back to his seat, the ceremony was done aside from the throwing of the caps. Then the celebrating began and the cigars came out! 

It was a long but special night that I'm sure we'll all remember. Now it's on to all the graduation parties! 

Back to Elementary School - Good Turn Out for Graduating Seniors!

Austen and His 5th Grade Teacher - Mrs. Legner

Grandparents 

Siblings w/ Their Red/White

All Done! 

Lots of Lasts

This week is Austen's high school graduation so I am feeling all the firsts of a first born and all those lasts as he ends his high school years and prepares to go off to college in a few short months. I haven't been particularly weepy about most of it so I was surprised when this simple act that I've done for the last 12 years made me a bit sad.

The Last Lunch

I will never again pack him a lunch. And, I will never again pack three lunches. I can't say that I loved making lunches for 12 years (and they all bring a lunch because they said the food in middle school and high school is really bad or the lines are too long) so I'm not sure why this made me a bit sad but it did. 

It also made me a bit sad the morning that Austen and Peyton drove out of the driveway on their way to school together for the last time. They will likely never go to school together again. And, I will never have kids in the same school at the same time again. There's something sad about that if you've ever gone to school with your siblings. You may not like them (at the time) but it's comforting to know you have a sibling there with you. I know Austen and Peyton have had many conversations in that car to and from school. Maybe not deep conversations but ones I know that have helped form bonds that will exist long after they both leave our house. 

Last Day of 3 Lunches

There's a lot more lasts to go before Austen leaves but tomorrow is a first - a first high school graduation for our family. We can't wait to celebrate him and his four years at Central!

Last Day of School Senior Year

Last Drive to High School for Austen and Peyton

Mother's Day 2025

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we had no games on Mother's Day. And, while I kind of like going to games to watch my kids play on Mother's Day, I was okay with having a day where we weren't running around with sports. 

The day started with some spring cleaning. We have lived in our house for almost twelve years now and aside from a pretty robust cleaning out five years ago during COVID, we haven't done much since. Truly this takes months and it has. We've also been upgrading carpet, repainting/cleaning outside light fixtures, redoing our deck, repainting - all things that you probably let go in 12 years. So that morning, we spent a few hours working on our clean out. Then we went to church. I wanted to hear what our cool, young Priest had to say about the new Pope Leo. He started with, "I'm still trying to reconcile that my new boss is a White Sox fan." (He's a Cubs fan, obviously). The he adds, "But as one parishioner said to me, Pope Leo is known to be for the downtrodden and weary!" Ha! 

Anyway, after church, we went to my favorite breakfast place for brunch. They had just opened a new location close to us and despite it being new and more spacious than the one we used to go to, it was still crowded! Good thing I got on the waitlist early! 

After lunch, it was back home for a bit more work and then Austen and I hit the golf range for a little bit so I could work on my drive. Dinner at home and presents/cards rounded out the beautiful evening on our "new" deck. 

And, while I didn't get a picture from that day with my family, I of course took one while we were at the restaurant to mark the day. It was a great day!

Hailey likes her chocolate milk!