Awards Ceremony

Warning.....brag alert.  I apologize up front.  

Our oldest had her award ceremony this morning.  Out of 178 students in her grade, she received the highest average in all four major subjects:  AP World Geography, Honors Biology, Honors English III, and Honors Algebra II.  (By the way, these are the most difficult classes offered in 10th grade, and are given the highest point value toward GPA.)

She also received the Patriot Scholar award, was on the Principals List, and received MVP of her soccer team.

Her classmates told her to sit on an aisle seat next time.  :)

Strawberry Jam

The season for strawberry picking is finally here!  The berries weren't perfectly ripe yet, but we couldn't wait.  










Our favorite place is Hunter Farms, about 10 miles away in Easley.  The only downside is that our little one did not get to milk the "cow".  It's a wooden cow built for the kids to practice milking.  The utter broke off, so they are building a new one.







After picking two beautiful baskets full (and eating quite a few more that weren't weighed), we hurried home to wash, chop, and cook about 1/3 of freshly picked strawberries.










Eric does a nice job making jam, and he's perfected quite the recipe.  Not as sweet as most jam's, but plenty tasty.  The kids love it with their PB&J's and on morning biscuits.








These 9 jars will last us about 4 months, so we'll be heading back out to pick again soon.  The jam also makes great teacher gifts at year-end!  Now, if only we can hold out for the peaches, then the blueberries.....ah, we love this time of year!  :)

U6 Soccer Season

The Under 6 yrs old players had their final game this week, then they celebrated with a pizza party.  Coach Eric looks forward to this event as much as the parents and players.  He starts off giving a wonderful pep talk about how much the team has learned over the season and how far they will continue to go if they stick with the sport.












Then, one by one, each player takes the stand (or chair), as Coach Eric speaks to that child's individual highlights for the season.  Each player then receives a medal as their teammates applaud.




Before it's time to go, the team huddled for one last "Go Team!" like they did before each game.  It was a wonderful end to a great season (1st place)!