Regionals for Lacey

 

Four girls and four boys advance from Counties to Regionals.  And Lacey was selected as one of the four girls!  There is a girls doubles team, boys doubles team, girls singles (1), boys singles (1) and a mixed doubles.  Lacey was chosen to go to Regionals with her doubles partner, Lily Wells.  They played on Wednesday and were all smiles after winning both of their matches, earning themselves an advancement to the championship round the following day!

Sadly, they lost the championship match to the same doubles team from Chesapeake who they lost to in Counties.  So that was a bummer!  BUT their team as a whole won Regionals!

Way to go, Falcons!

Lacey and her doubles partner, Lily

First place as a team in Regionals

Second place finish overall as doubles partners

The four girls representing SPHS in Regionals

Lacey, Carys, Lily, Brynne

Their awesome coaches!

Bart, Emily, Jen

Mom and Dad there to support!

Time to celebrate!

It was definitely bittersweet watching Lacey play her final match of her HS career.  I'm so glad she had this amazing opportunity for the past three years as she has absolutely loved it and it has been such a great experience for her! 

What a week for Ella!

 

Ella has had quite the week!

She performed at school in her Dance For Athletes Concert.

Off the stage antics.

And in her school's chorus concert.

And played in a 4-game basketball tournament in Boyd's Maryland.  They won every game and emerged as Champions!  Ella even nailed a 3-pointer 🏀

And played in a soccer game in DC next to the Nationals Stadium.

And then, after all of that....... she crashed!

Just a couple more weeks until Summer, Ella!

Mother's Day

 

We started out the day by going to church as a family.  Tanner was the youth speaker at church, so it was extra special to hear him speak.

Three of my four are now taller than I am!

Lacey's creation.

We hosted dinner for Dave's family.

Mama Strom with her three "kids." 

Ella nuzzling up to Nana with her chocolate chicken from France, which is still in tact!

And, although I wasn't with my mom on Mother's Day, I'm grateful I was able to see her recently (2 months ago) and that Lacey will be out by her in August.  Thanks for everything, Mom.  Love you!

More mother's day weekend festivities.... flowers to the moms on Ella's soccer team (this is where I am during most of my free time - on the sidelines cheering my kids on.  This is a metaphor for life I think.  I'm their biggest fan and I'm just there to support them along the way.)

Thanks, Lacey!

I actually love this picture because it reminds me of what was probably my very favorite stage of life.  It was a hard stage, but such a fun one!

Thanks, kids!

Being your mom is my very favorite part of my whole life!! 💗💙💗💗

Priesthood Restoration Sight

 

Our Bishop (Doug Vanderwerken) and YM group leader (Jeff Lukowski) brought Tanner and four of his fellow peers in our Young Mens youth group organization to the Priesthood Restoration Sight in Oakland Township, Pennsylvania this weekend.

The gravesight of Joseph and Emma Smith's infant son, their first child,  in the McKune Cemetery.

From left to right:

Rudolpho, Kai, Nate, Evan, Tanner, Bishop Vanderwerken

Susquehanna River

National Girls Lacrosse League Playoffs!

 

This weekend was NGLL playoffs!

Ella's team (Maryland United 2031 East) finished the season 6-2 earning a spot in playoffs. 

Here they are, having a team huddle before their first playoff game against 3D Virginia.  They won, moving onto the Semifinals against Heroes.  

All smiles after their team's victory!

Sadly, they lost their semifinals match against Heroes, but it was a great season and we're looking forward to another match-up during tournament season next month.

Riley's team (Maryland United 2029 East) also went 6-2 this season and also earned a spot in the Playoffs.

They played against M & D Black (currently ranked 4th in the nation) and were tied 4-4 at halftime.  Sadly, they ended up losing 5-7, but the girls played tough and kept it close!

And with that, it wraps up 6 years of NGLL for Riley! From now on, it's all about high school lax and showcase tournaments, so it's the end of an era for her.

Proud of her and her team for a great season and looking forward to tournament season next month!

Go #34! 🖤

Happy Birthday to Dave!

 

Dave just celebrated another trip around the sun on Friday.

He celebrated his 47th birthday by taking the day off work.  I took him to lunch at Blackwall Barn and Lodge and then booked an appointment for him to get a massage.  Then, that evening, after coming home from our various activities, we reconvened as a family and surprised Dave with his favorite strawberry shortcake from Blue Crab Bakery.

Happy Birthday, Dave!  We love you!🎂

County Champs!

 

Now that the regular season of Tennis is over, 14 members of the tennis team (7 girls and 7 boys) continued on to Counties!  Lacey and her doubles partner Lily were entered into the County Championship tournament and were all smiles after making it all the way to Semifinals!

Their cheer squad (aka their moms 😀)

Getting some words of wisdom from Coach Jen during their semifinals match.

And some reinforcements from Coach Emily

And, after losing the first set 5-7, getting some coaching from both!

But alas, they came up short in the semifinals.

Getting some post-loss comfort from Coach Emily.

But their team as a whole won Counties, which means all three years Lacey was on the team, they won the County Championship - yay!

And Lacey and her doubles partner won third place overall, securing three points for her team!

Support from her tennis-loving dad.

Way to go, Lacey!

Nice showing at Counties, SPHS tennis captains 🎾

Kittens are Cute

 

Our foster kittens are 6 weeks old today 🐱🐱🐱🐱

They're now at the age where we don't have to bottle feed them every few hours, potty train them, weigh them, etc.  We just cuddle them and play with them.... in other words, they're at the fun stage!

"The cows" as we lovingly refer to these two siblings.