Family Update

  One of the blogs I read, periodically does a family update on her entire family and I decided I wanted to start to do something similar so I can one day look back and remember what all of us were doing in our lives.

Joey:
-His favorite time of year has begun: softball!  He loves to play and is usually on a few teams each year.  His games are usually later at night around bedtime, so we can't come watch.  I hope we can get to a game or two and cheer him on. He usually always scores a home run.
-He has been so busy doing yard work around the house.  We professionally landscaped last year, but our plan is to add to it every year and we one day hope to have the best yard on the street.  He recently planted about 15 new bushes.  He is such a hard worker!  He also planted me a herb garden that I can't wait to cook with this summer.
-He continues to volunteer as much as possible at the kids schools.  He is so good at being involved in their lives.
-He is working with Dawson on his baseball skills and they practice hitting and throwing balls almost every night.


Me:
-I successfully made it through my first year of my master's program!!! Definitely one of the most challenging years of my life, but I made it!  I will be graduating next May.  This summer I will be spending four weeks in class.  I hate that I have to miss out on so much of summer.  I just keep telling myself that it is only one summer and it will be worth it in the end.
-I have not returned to work after having Emmy, but I continue to tutor.  I worked with a group of two girls all school year.  They showed so much growth and improved immensely in their reading.  Tutoring with Take Flight has by far been one of the most rewarding experiences in my teaching career because it is so effective with students with dyslexia.  I have started to private tutor out of our house and I have recently taken on another girl that I tutor three nights a week.  I will also be tutoring another student over the summer.  I love private tutoring, I just honestly can't squeeze in many students between my schedule and the kids' schedules.
-I interviewed at a local school just for dyslexic students. They offered me a position, but I had to decline since the hours just would't work for me this coming year for many reasons. I hope to apply again the following year when Gracie is in kindergarten and I am done with school and my other commitments.  I will be working at my same school a couple days a week as a reading interventionist this fall.
-I started to run again when Emmy was 6 weeks old and I had forgotten how much I truly love it!   With the weather warming up, I have been running outside with Ruby and I love it!  I wish I coud run outside everyday, but unfortunately I am usually stuck with the treadmill.  Better than nothing!

Ashlyn:
-She is almost done with 4th grade at School in the Woods.  It has definitely been an interesting experience for her this year.  I think it was pretty hard on her to have to leave all her friends and make all new ones.  I don't think it was the best fit for her, but she has had some truly amazing experiences this year.
-She looks forward to starting 5th grade at her old school and reuniting with all her friends at Chinook.
-A new girl recently moved in a few houses away and they have quickly became best buds.  They spend a lot of time together.  They are looking forward to spending a lot of time at the pool this summer.
-Ashlyn still loves to read and is making her way through Harry Potter.
-She continues to love art and is seems like she is always creating different masterpieces.

Dawson:
-Dawson is almost a second grader.  His teacher this year was absolutely phenomenal and at the most caring and compassionate teacher I have ever met.  He has grown so much this year.
-Jameson and Dawson are still best of buds and love playing video games together.
-He still loves Mario, but it also getting more into different video games.  He is our little gamer boy.
-Dawson has made friends with the new boy who just moved in.  Dawson loves playing out front after school with all the neighbor kids.
-Dawson has been doing so awesome at swimming lessons and looks forward to being a green band this summer and being able to swim anywhere in the pool.

Graceyn:
-She has also been taking swim lessons this year and she is becoming quite the little swimmer.  She also looks forward to swimming lots and lots this summer.
-Gracie got a new bike from her Papa, and she really enjoys riding it around the neighborhood. She is really good on her bike. She loves being outside more than anything.
-A little girl exactly one month younger than Gracie just moved in three houses down.  She loves playing with her and they are already good friends.
-Gracie is into looking "beautiful" lately and has to accessorize before we leave the house each day.  She has been putting on fancy skirts, belts, and a headband.  So fancy!
-We work a little each day on her workbooks and learning letters, shapes, etc.  She will start preschool this fall and I know she is just going to love it.

Emersyn:
-I'm not going to write about her since I just wrote an entire 4 month post about her.