Memorial Day weekend

After a mild season so far, the weather this Memorial Day weekend really warmed up and made for the perfect beach days. It actually felt like Summertime was upon us. We spent most days at the beach with lots of neighbors, Eric's good friend came to visit from VA Beach, we grilled out, and fished. Our neighborhood even had a concert on Saturday and Sunday night.

This Memorial Day we want to honor those who have given their lives for us. This one has hit especially close to home, as Eric has lost two of his dear Army brothers within the last 7 months. Both of whom were standing up with us at our wedding. In October he lost one of his best friends from college and the Army, Green Beret Special Forces soldier Matt Andrews. 

And on the 17th of this month, we lost Army combat veteran Mark Woods. He was Eric's team leader in Iraq and officiated our wedding.  He served his local veteran community in multiple capacities, the city of New York as an NYPD detective, and was a member of the Clarkstown Town Council. 

I am so thankful for their service and their roles in Eric's life. They are greatly missed. 

Soccer

This Spring was Bonnie's first time playing soccer, and it seems like she liked it! They would meet for an hour on Saturday mornings, the first 30 minutes was practice and the last 30 minutes was a game. She is super fast and seemed to do really well when she tried during practice, but by the time the game portion would roll around she seemed to be tired and lose all motivation. She was basically kicking rocks out there. 

On her very last game, she was determined to score her first goal, and she turned into a beast! She stole the ball from anyone who got ahold of it (regardless of which team they were on) and successfully got a goal. It was fun to watch her try something new and she says she wants to do it again.

We also got to watch the cousins' lacrosse games after practice one day which was so fun! The kids loved getting the extra time with them - I hope this can happen more in the future!

Camping

The guys in our small group all decided to take the older kids (4ish and up) on a camping trip. Bonnie has been asking to go camping for a while and all the kids were so excited! They played games, skipped rocks, went fishing, climbed trees, made s'mores, went on night exploration walks, and had the best time. The guys said all the kids did so well. They got to stay up wayyy past their normal bedtimes and loved every minute of it. The guys are hoping to make this a much more regular thing. Bonnie also happened to be the only girl and didn't care at all - she had a blast!

What a fun bonding experience for them! And it was fun for Riser and I to have some one-on-one time together too!

Ballet

Bonnie has been taking a little ballet/dance class since January once a week. It's probably the first thing she's done that she has always been excited to go back to week after week. At the beginning of May, they had their recital which was very cute. Bonnie loved the girls she met and is already asking to do it again in the Fall - we will see!

Day of the recital.

Bonnie with her teacher.

Bonnie was so, so excited that Aunt Katie and her cousins all came to see her dance!