Where Have We Been??

I had no idea it had been so long since I updated!  The last 8 months have been a roller coaster ride, that's for sure.

Last summer, Pat and I tossed around the topic of whether or not we should consider moving.  Jocelyn's 4th grade year was horrendous to say the least and the idea of her having another year like that was heartbreaking.  I took advantage of the volunteer good will I had built over 5 years and begged to get her into a 5th grade class with friends and a teacher she would enjoy and relate to.  I am happy to say, that's exactly what happened.  Jocelyn's 5th grade year was great!  She had so many personal successes this year from winning the Young Author's writing contest for the 5th grade, to having her artwork entered into an art show, to moving up a reading grade level, to building her love of reading, art and singing through Songbirds (chorus), and building relationships with teachers who support those interests in her.  And she topped off her year with a great performance in Simulated Congressional Hearings!

She also had another great year in Girl Scouts.  In her final year as a Junior, she and the troop earned their Bronze Award creating a life sized Jenga Game for DEFHR.  They will use it for trainings and camps as each piece has questions about the farm and horse care.  Of course, Jocelyn loved every part of the project, especially opportunities to spend time at the farm.

So back to the big decision.  Despite such a great year in 5th grade, Pat and I continued to be concerned about the quality of education Jocelyn was getting, and the kids that she is moving up with.  Jocelyn still struggles with spelling and math, and we were also concerned with how little homework she was getting. She was still getting bullied by other kids and the class environment was often affected by behavior issues from other kids.  Our final decision to move came over Christmas break when the state released "Report Cards" for all the schools.  As we looked over the information, we were very concerned about the schools that she would have had for middle and high school.  Between the education ratings and the over crowding, we just couldn't continue on that path.  So we made the decision to move.  It was a very tough decision.  We never would have imagined leaving our home and the area we had been in for 13 years.  But we had enough evidence to know that it was the right decision.

We met with the realtor we had used in the past.  She has been so wonderful in our past moves and was equally great to work with this go around.  We began working on getting the house ready to go on the market, and started visiting houses that were for sale in the area we wanted to move to. 

Long story short, after lots of work and stress and more money than we want to think about, we moved into our new house on May 21st, and yesterday, we FINALLY settled on the old house.  We can finally look towards the future.

Jocelyn is already meeting friends in the neighborhood.  She has toured her new middle school, and we're waiting for the orientations for incoming middle schoolers.  We are finding things all the time that we love about the area.  It's much less congested with lots of farmland and open spaces.  There much more of a small town feel.  Our neighbors are friendly and welcoming.  I keep thinking back to it, but during the middle school tour, they said the kids doesn't use locks on the lockers.  That says so much about the area and the kids that go to the school.  I can't wait to see how all this changes Jocelyn's education and life experiences as she gets older.

So as of today, we are happy to say we only own one house again!  We have unpacked most of our day to day items, and we're slowly tackling the rest.  Jocelyn is adjusting, and starting to let herself get just a little excited about middle school.  Two days ago, Pat and I celebrated 16 years since our first date.  We realize this past 8 months took us through some of the toughest challenges we've ever been through, but we know that we made the right decision and we are looking forward to making new memories here for years to come.

Another great year in Girl Scouts!  Next year Jocelyn will be a Cadette.  We are staying in the same troop because we love it.  It's going to be a bit of a commute, but worth it.

Saying our goodbyes to Butterfield.

Welcome Home!

 5th Grade Graduation Day!

Camping! We made it!

We finally managed to make it through an entire weekend camping trip!  Lodge camping of course, but still, we made it!!

This was the lodge we went to about a year and a half ago, when I drove home in the middle of the day so she could stay Saturday night.  This time, we were prepared for the whole weekend.  Jocelyn was very excited when she found out it was the same lodge!

Camp Woodlands, Annapolis MD.

Planning our day.  The girls all worked hard to earn there Eco Camper over the weekend.  Jocelyn and one other girl previously earned two other badges that all together completed another Journey!

We did some hiking through the woods and down to the lake to learn about leave no trace.

All the adults brave enough to spend the weekend with 19 girls!  Leslie, me, Colleen, Kelsey, Kerry, Carol, and Stacie.

Me and my favorite camper!

One requirement for the badge was to make a snack using little to no trash.  They made fruit salad.

No camping trip is complete without a campfire, singing and s'mores!

Our next camping trip is supposed to be at a different lodge in January.  Jocelyn can't wait!

A Girl and Her Horse

No, he's not really her horse, but she loves him more than any other, by far.

Two years ago, I took Jocelyn to her first Scouting Day at Days End Farm Horse Rescue.  She loved everything about it, especially this guy - Officer Barney.  She has had a love affair with him ever since. 

Now that we are volunteers, she gets to say hi to him whenever we visit the farm.  And the last time we volunteered, she had him all to herself!!

She especially loves the Fall Festival when she gets to ride him!

Scouting day was even more fun for her this year because she got to brag a little about being a volunteer and how special Barney is to her.  I got to take some really nice photos of her and her best buddy.

💜   Looks like love to me!  💜

We have a 5th Grader!!

Today is Jocelyn's first day of 5th grade.  Today is also the first day of Jocelyn's last year in Elementary School.  She's now one of the oldest kids in the school.  She's about to have a year full of "lasts".

-  Last first day of Elementary School
-  Last Halloween Parade
-  Last Cozy night of reading
-  Last time sharing Valentines
-  Last field day
-  Last end of year picnic
... and many more

And I'm pretty sure she doesn't realize it, but when this school year ends, she will say goodbye to all her teachers K-5 for the last time.  But we aren't ready to think about that...

Today is the beginning of her 5th grade year, and we are so hoping that it is better than last year.  She has her two best buddies, Kate and Ryan, in her class, and her teacher seems really bubbly and fun.  She has only 2-3 trouble makers in her class, near as we could tell from the open house.  So we have high hopes for the year to come.

My baby is growing up.

Five years ago...  First day of Kindergarten

Today...  First day of 5th Grade

Summer Wrap Up

The end of summer has come, and once again, I am so sad to see it go.  I love the time I have with Jocelyn for these 11 weeks, and it always reminds me of how fortunate I am to be able to stay home with her.  Some parents dread the summer with their kids, and others have to work all summer and don't get to spend time with their kids.  I feel so lucky.

We wrapped up the summer with some more fun.  We headed to the pool a couple more times.

We all went to Pat's company cookout and Jocelyn got to eat crabs for the first time ever.  She's of the same mind as her parents - it's a lot of work, for very little food!  (Not to mention they have beady eyeballs...)

We went out for lunch at Red Robin with Dad.

And finished our summer history tour.  We didn't make it to all the sites, but she got her prize.  We may still head to some of the other locations before the winter comes.

And of course, the summer is not complete without Mommy and Daughter pedicures!!

Hershey Park!

We've been waiting all summer for the right time to go to Hershey Park.  We had the tickets, we just needed the weather to cooperate for once!  It finally did last Monday, so we were off!!

Jocelyn finally made it to the Twizzlers ride height!  Which means she is allowed to go on rides that she has absolutely no interest in, like roller coasters!  Fine with me!  I have no interest in spinning in circles until I'm sick, thank you very much!

We were in the park no more than an hour and it was time to tackle a funnel cake!  Jocelyn is holding on to Hershey the cow.  He was purchased at our first trip to Hershey, and got to come back for a visit!

We took a train ride - definitely more our speed!

Then Mom beat some whack-a-moles so Jocelyn could win a narwhal.  Yeah, I had to look it up too.  It actually is a real thing!!

No trip to Hershey is without it's character photos!  We happen to be big fans of York Peppermint Patties and Kisses.  Don't tell the "ladies"!

Have you seen the old man dance?  This is their version.  Quite amusing I must say!

We did spend some time in the water park area.  The Lazy River was a favorite, no surprise, but Tidal Force (disclaimer in line "You WILL get soaked on this ride"), was an unexpected favorite!  We all loved it!  --There are no photos of the water park for obvious reasons...

I did however get photos of these two in bumper cars.  Guess where I was sitting taking this picture??  It took me half the ride to get myself unstuck in this corner, but once I was free, I happily slammed my car into the back of the kiddo.  She didn't complain!  :) 

We ended the day with the Chocolate tour.   Hershey the cow did in fact live to see his friends on the tour!  Another great summer memory!  But the summer is sadly almost over...