April is always a packed month for us, and this year’s was no different. On top of soccer, we had two school performances, a field trip, and Savannah’s birthday. Here are the highlights:
We started out the month with the 3rd Grade Dinner at the Mill on April 1st. Each grade had its own night where they showed off the things they’d been learning or doing in art, music, Spanish, and STEM. Savannah’s class (along with another class) performed a couple of songs in Spanish. Since Savannah started kindergarten right in the middle of the pandemic when things were so abnormal, this was actually her first ever school performance. She was nervous about it, but she did it! We were proud of her. It was so sweet that Mrs. Borys came to watch her class perform. Afterward, we headed to the gym to check out the artwork and STEM tables. The girls enjoyed showing us how to use VR headsets. Savannah’s monster that she sewed in art class wasn’t on display that night, but she was so excited to bring it home later that week.
Enjoying a yummy marshmallow Easter treat :)
At this point in the school year, Abigail was amazing us with all of the big words she was able to read! She really came so far from the beginning of kindergarten when she didn’t even know all of her letters.
Soccer practice on April 4th – Cici came to the rescue since Travis was on work travel, and all three girls had practice at overlapping times in two different parks.
On April 5th, I was glad to be able to go on Abigail’s kindergarten field trip to the EarlyWorks Museum in Huntsville. Brooklyn didn’t go to EarlyWorks in kindergarten, and poor Savannah didn’t have any field trips in kindergarten due to Covid, so this was a new field trip experience for me. The kids got to learn about the water cycle and make a “cloud in a jar”, do a craft, listen to a story, and explore and play in the different areas of the museum. Abigail had a fun time with her friends, and we enjoyed the day together!
Savannah’s class visited the library this week and practiced telling time, and Brooklyn learned about how to measure volume in math class.
On April 6th, Brooklyn had the first game of the day at 8:30 am on Dublin 6. Paw and Rae Rae came up for the games today! Brooklyn’s team won the game easily, and the final score was 6-0. Brooklyn had a nice assist on a corner kick. She played a little defense and midfield the rest of the time. The referee complimented her after the game and told her she had nice touch, passed well, and she “could take her game as far as she wanted to go with it.” I thought that was really nice of him!
Abigail played at 9:30 am on Dublin 4, so Travis walked her down to her field a little before Brooklyn’s game ended. Her team lost 5-2, but Abigail scored her team’s first goal today. She happened to be in the right place at the right time in front of the goal and was able to poke it in. She wasn’t happy after the game because she said the girls on the other team kept pushing her and knocking her down. It was definitely a team of pretty tall girls! Luke’s team was also playing at the same time on the field right next to hers, which was neat. We got to see his team score a couple of goals, and they won their game.
We then drove over to Palmer 9 and caught the last few minutes of Carter’s game before Savannah’s team played at 11 am. They were playing a team with all 10U players today. Savannah’s team is pretty young by comparison (mostly 9U players with 1 10U player). It looked like it was going to be a close, tough game at first, but I was surprised that Savannah’s team really held their own and starting scoring. Savannah scored her team’s first goal and scored again later, making 2 goals for the day. Her team won 5-1! Coach Bob was very proud of them after the game. I am continually impressed with Savannah’s closing speed to the ball and how hard she hustles. I love watching all my girls play!
We ate lunch at Freddy’s with Paw and Rae Rae after the games, which was a special treat!
After our busy morning, Brooklyn fell asleep in the recliner! She rarely naps anymore, so she must have been really tired.
But somehow Savannah had enough energy to stay up a little past bedtime to watch part of the basketball game. It was Alabama’s first time making it to the Final Four! They lost to Connecticut, but it was still a fantastic season.
A little Zingo on a Sunday afternoon!
On April 8th, there was a solar eclipse that covered between 85-90% of the sun that afternoon for a brief period of time. The school district provided eclipse glasses for all of the students to use so they could view it safely at school. I was actually in Birmingham that day because Dad was having surgery, but I stepped outside briefly around 2 pm to see what I could see. It was funny to see a bunch of doctors and nurses also standing outside of the hospital all looking up at the sky. It was a cool moment!
More pictures of Savannah’s class at school that week – I just love how Mrs. Borys provides so many opportunities for her students to work in small groups doing hands-on activities. They also paired up with Mrs. Tyree’s kindergarten class to help them practice reading, and they had a picnic lunch with Mrs. Barnes’ class one day too!
On April 9th, Brooklyn came home from school and said she was eating her roll at lunch and out came another tooth! She’s lost a BUNCH of teeth recently :)
Another weekly math update from Brooklyn’s teacher, Mrs. Hess
Dad’s stay in the hospital ended up lasting longer than we thought it would, so I headed back down to Birmingham on Friday, April 12th to help relieve Mom and stayed through Monday afternoon. I was thankful that Travis was willing to hold down the fort over the weekend so I could do that! A special bonus was being able to hold baby Christian while I was in town :)
That weekend, Abigail’s game actually got moved to Friday night, but Travis and the girls had already committed to going to our small group dinner that night, so she missed her game. She wasn’t very happy about that, but we didn’t want to back out of the dinner at the last minute. On Saturday, April 13th, Savannah had a game at 12:45 pm at Dublin 3. Her team went down 0-1 in the first quarter, but ended up winning 2-1. Travis said she was frustrated at first because she was having a hard time dribbling through “traffic”, but she didn’t give up and had more success in the 2nd half. She had a breakaway chance that bounced off the post in mid-air and was close to going in! She said she had a fun time. Brooklyn’s game was originally scheduled for 10 am, but had to be moved to the afternoon at 2:30 pm because their original field was wet. Travis forgot to take any pictures but said they won easily 4-0. Coach Theresa apparently told them they weren’t allowed to score any more goals after that 😉 Brooklyn played mostly defense in the game.
I was happy to see my crew when I got back home on April 15th! The next morning, Abigail was doing some serious multitasking on the walk to school ;)
Brooklyn had her 11 year old well visit on April 16th, which involved a few shots. Thankfully shots are easier with older kids than babies/toddlers. Her appointment was during her lunchtime at school, so I let her pick where she wanted to eat after we were finished, and she chose Culver’s. Travis was even able to meet us there!
Savannah’s class had a donut themed day at school that day. Mrs. Borys turned her room into a donut shop, and the kids had to complete several math challenges around the room. Edible donuts as a special treat made it even better!
That afternoon, the girls drew with chalk on the walking path on the way home from school :)
Abigail really got into building with Magna Tiles this week and wanted me to take pictures of the houses she made.
Savannah and her kindergarten reading buddy paired up again :)
Abigail’s class visited the library to play some spring bingo and had a fun time.
April 19th was “Purple Up” Day to honor and show support for the many military families at Mill Creek and in our community.
On April 20th, Brooklyn had the first game of the day at 8:30 am on Palmer 7. It was windy and cool this morning. Brooklyn’s team seemed to be a bit asleep during the first half, but finally got things going in the 2nd half after it was still tied 0-0 at halftime. Brooklyn scored her first goal of the season today! Her team ended up winning 3-0, but had many more chances that just didn’t make it into the net. It started to thunder toward the end of her game, and by the time we made it home, there was a storm rolling in. It rained pretty hard but not for long. Unfortunately, Abigail’s game at 11 got called off even though it had stopped raining by her game time. She was pretty sad and cried about it. We were hoping they might be able to make it up during practice the next week though.
Savannah’s team was actually able to play their game in at 1 pm on Dublin 9. Her team won 4-0, and Savannah scored her team’s first goal when she ran up and got the ball from the other team’s goal kick and kicked it right into the back of the net. It was a big booming kick! She also had two assists today when her teammates scored. She had fun!
Super proud of Abigail for reading a Puppy Place chapter book!
Travis finally agreed to part with all of his notes from his college classes that have been collecting dust in our attic for years. It made for a huge stack of paper to recycle!
We celebrated Tyler’s birthday on April 21st :)
We took care of Pixie for the Johnson family from April 20-29 while they were out of town. The girls enjoy helping out and earning some extra money too.
Travis went on a work trip to Denver/Colorado Springs from April 22-26. He sent us a few pictures that he took of the mountains off in the distance.
Unfortunately, that meant that he had to miss Brooklyn’s 5th grade Dinner at the Mill on April 22nd. The theme for the night was Earth Day, and Brooklyn’s homeroom was showcasing their STEM projects–musical instruments made out of recycled materials. Brooklyn and her friend, Whitney, made a guitar out of a 2-liter bottle, fishing line, and a wooden dowel. We were impressed by their creativity!
Brooklyn had soccer practice on April 23rd, and Savannah and Abigail brought some books along to read.
We always enjoy seeing the Reynolds crew in the morning on our walk to school!
“Mommy, take a picture of me with these cones.” :)
Abigail’s team (the Drama Llamas) had a makeup soccer game on April 25th during their practice time because their game from the previous Saturday had been rained out. On the way to Dublin, Abigail told us that she was “planning to score 2 goals tonight.” 😊 We dropped Brooklyn off at her practice on Dublin 5 and then walked over to Abigail’s field. Cici was able to come and watch for a few minutes until she took Savannah to her practice at Palmer. Abigail played hard and had fun. The game was a close one and was tied 3-3 at one point…until Abigail scored the last two goals for her team. They ended up winning 5-3! I thought it was funny that she did exactly what she said she would by scoring 2 goals.
The girls and I had a fun night after supper on April 26th. We drove over to the greenway and parked, and the girls scootered to our new favorite spot at the creek. They took turns swinging on the swing that hangs over the water. They’d never tried it before, but had lots of fun this time!! They also gathered sticks to make a hut/teepee. The weather couldn’t have been better. It was one of those times that I hope the girls will remember when they get to be adults. We made a quick stop by the “purple park” in our neighborhood afterward so Abigail could show me how she has learned to do the monkey bars at school. Sure enough, she is really good at them!
On April 27th, Brooklyn and Savannah’s games overlapped at different parks. Abigail and I took Savannah to her game at 8 AM at Dublin 3. Savannah and Gabriella were very excited that Mrs. Borys was coming to their game!! She even brought her husband, her daughter Josie, and a friend who surprised her for a visit over the weekend. It was a beautiful morning weather-wise. Savannah sat out the first quarter, but played the other 3. She played mostly defense and midfield. She said Coach Bob offered to let her play goalie, but she declined. Apparently she has practiced goalie a little bit in practice and done well, but she’s never tried it in a game. Savannah didn’t score today, but her team controlled the game pretty easily and ended up winning 4-0. Savannah made some nice passes today, including an assist to her teammate Yenni who scored.
Afterward, we headed over and caught the 4th quarter of Brooklyn’s game. Her team was winning 3-0 when we got there, but they ended up winning 6-1! Brooklyn was playing defense during the 4th quarter, and did a great job. She said she also played some midfield earlier in the game.
Abigail played at 11 AM against one of her former teammates, Abi, who is really good. Abigail’s team didn’t have any subs today, and it was pretty warm by the afternoon. She got tired by the end of the game, but played hard. She scored her team’s only goal on a nice left-footed shot. I wish I’d gotten it on video. She also kicked two really nice corner kicks that her teammates almost scored on. Her team lost 5-1 or 6-1 (I lost count), but I was proud of their effort. Luke also was playing at the same time on the field right next to Abigail’s, so we got to watch part of his game too. Brooklyn and Savannah enjoyed playing with Carter and Barrett during the games.
This year, Savannah decided she just wanted to go strawberry picking and go out to eat for her birthday instead of having a birthday party. We offered for her to bring a friend along, but she said she just wanted it to be the 5 of us, so that’s what we did. We left the soccer field and went to Sam and Greg’s for lunch and had pizza and gelato. They had a specialty flavor of gelato (banana pudding) that was delicious. The birthday girl got birthday cake gelato though! 😊
We were originally planning to pick strawberries at Brown Farms in New Market where we’ve gone before, but I happened to see on Facebook that they were going to be closed over the weekend to give their berries more time to ripen. So after looking around for other options, we decided to try Reeves Peach Farm in Hartselle instead. It ended up working out nicely because it was a shorter drive anyway. We were able to pick 2 gallons of berries pretty quickly. Now that the girls are older, the picking goes much quicker 😉 We also liked that the paths in between the rows of berries were grass instead of dirt/mud like at Brown Farms. It was a fun afternoon, and Savannah was happy for a simple celebration this year. As if that wasn’t enough activity for one day, we ended the night with a Dvorak family dinner at Gary and Vicki’s house! Whew!
The girls enjoyed playing Trouble together on April 28th.
Brooklyn’s math class learned about measurement conversions this week at school. Savannah worked with a friend on an assignment and spent some time building Magna Tile towers with her kindergarten friends from Mrs. Tyree’s class.
We walked to school the next morning with Chloe and her dad!
I ate lunch with Savannah on her birthday, and she loved the chocolate sprinkle donut as an extra treat. She also found a butterfly on our walk home from school.
Savannah also had soccer practice on her birthday, so we waited on her to open some gifts until after practice. An especially thoughtful gift that she received was a polar bear that Brooklyn made out of Perler beads. Brooklyn glued it into a box and painted and decorated it to look like a polar bear’s habitat. So sweet!
Savannah also got a Tetris game for her birthday, and she and Brooklyn had fun playing it the next day.
We ended the month with Brooklyn’s soccer practice at a local park because the soccer fields were closed ;)
Notes and Quotes from April 2024:
- 4/16/24 – I was asking Abigail about the name of a song that her class was going to be singing at an upcoming school performance. She responded, “I can’t remember the name. Sorry, babe!” Then after a few seconds, she added, “What’s a babe??” :)
- 4/24/24 – Travis has been out of town for work this week in Denver. The girls and I were talking about bad dreams on the way to bible class tonight. Savannah mentioned that most of her bad dreams have to do with something happening to Abigail. She started telling us about one bad dream she’d had where she was in the Star Wars Universe, and Sabeen handed her a gun to start fighting the enemy. Savannah accidentally shot Abigail though and turned her into a tortilla chip! Then Abigail started crumbling and falling apart into a bunch of tiny pieces, and Savannah said she started to cry in her dream. After we listened to Savannah tell about her dream, Abigail asked, “So did you eat me?” Savannah replied, “Of COURSE NOT!” Abigail said, “But why not?? You love tortilla chips!!” Haha!
Thanks for reading!
