summer camp.

I thought I would share some pictures of where Maddy spends her days... a couple views of the pond....notice the paddle boats? Maddy loves to put on a life jacket and go fishing...

Here is a couple of pictures of the amphitheatre. It sits in between the lower elementary & the upper elementary. This is a picture of Maddy's summer camp group doing the play "Madeline" from last summer.

The elementary pool & diving pool sit to the east of the amphitheatre.

Batting cages to the left and one of the swingsets on the right...

Tire swings in the middle & another swingset on the right...

There is a rock climbing wall with a cover for shade next to the sandbox...

A view of the elementary sandbox...

Some of the climbing apparatus.... There are 3 elementary basketball courts...here is one of them...

Here is a view of the front of the lower elementary building. Maddy's classroom (during the school year is on the bottom right hand corner. There are 4 classrooms...2 upstairs & 2 downstairs. In the summer (during camp...) this building houses the library, art, board game room, and techno room (which is full of wii's & playstations & other video game equipment.) This is a picture of the back of the upper elementary...this building houses 3 elementary classrooms and the school library. Out back is a covered area with picnic tables for lunch (weather permitting). During summer camp, it houses cooking, big games (ping pong, pool, skee ball, etc...), cooking, and the mystery room.

Here is a view of the diving pool...

and a better view of the elementary pools.

We also have a couple of soccer fields.

On past the soccer fields is the archery wall (which I don't have a picture of) and the creek and Mount. R. I would say it's a pretty fun place for the elementary aged child to spend their school days and have lots of summer fun. :)

she's growing up...

My baby girl is growing up! She will be 4 years old in a couple of weeks. I just can't believe it! She is having some BIG lessons at school...

Here is a picture of Ms. Ann's metal inset. The ellipse. Obviously working on using a pencil correctly and tracing...

Here is Elly's. :) She made a book! Yay! This takes a LONG time when you are 3! There are MANY steps involved...getting a tray, a board, one piece of metal inset paper, a pencil holder, 3 different colored pencils, both parts of the metal inset. Then you have to carry it to a table very carefully... She also wants to make a calendar...so she has been learning her numbers and counting. She has been learning even & odd numbers. And now, she is practicing writing them! This is zero and one. :) She made a whole book! 5 pages front and back! Wow!

Elly also wants to make a planisphere map. First, she has to practice "punching" out the continents. This helps her learn the names...soon she will "punch" out each continent and save them (instead of gluing them onto a small piece of paper) and bring home a map like this... This is Maddy's Planisphere map from 2005! Isn't it beautiful...I know they are not in the correct places (which really is NOT the point!) we just want them to be in the correct hemisphere. :) I tried to get a picture of her name...which she wrote in cursive ALL BY HERSELF! But, it did not show on the black construction paper. :( It takes a long time to complete a map like this...especially for a 3 year old. They have to "punch" out all of the continents and remember which ones they have punched out. And, keep them in their file so they don't lose them! Because, if you lose one (or all)...you have to do them again! :/ It's a LOT of work!

Elly also punched out the quatrefoil...a metal inset. Again...she is strengthening her fingers to do all of the those big Kindergarten works! ie~handwriting! WooHoo, Elly! We are so proud of you, Gracey Girl! :)

tooth.

Someone lost a tooth in our house! Can you guess who? :) *I never realized Elly's eyes are almost a green shade while Maddy has her daddy's brown eyes until I saw this picture!

home.

This guy has been working his tail off for the last 7 weeks...working for the Parks & Rec dept. and running a concession stand (single-handedly) as a fundraiser for FCA. He had his last baseball doubleheader last night & now he is ours! Welcome home, daddy! :) We have missed you.

thank you.

We owe Grandma Vicki a huge thank you! We appreciate you!

Check out the cool monkey cake she made with the Wade girls! :)

fireworks.

We enjoyed a quiet weekend at home over the 4th. We had a yummy meal, made homemade ice cream, and bought these... Elly doesn't like fireworks...she thinks they are too loud. :) So, we just set off a few...

The girls were in charge of picking out which fireworks to set off & Kevin was in charge of lighting them...

Elly made her special shirt at school...I think it turned out adorable! :) They really liked running through the smoke bombs.

Elly spent alot of time covering her ears..."too loud!"

We had a fun evening. We made it to watch the big fireworks & Elly did fine. Maddy, of course, thought all of it was a blast! :)

4th of July Parade.

On Thursday, the summer campers had a 4th of July parade around the primary playground. I went & got Elly (who was having her swim time...so she is decked out with her blue swimsuit & swim goggles!) I forgot my camera...so had to use my phone instead. I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out! The campers have been working all week on flags...

Some walked on stilts...

They rode the little trikes with wagons & waved flags.

Some campers rode their bikes or scooters.

Some brought boxes from home to make one person floats.

They painted their faces... Do you see Elly?

Maddy didn't want to make a float...she really wanted to play her recorder! She was so sweet at the very end playing her recorder! :)

Spotting Elly at the parade... It was a long parade...winding around the path, over by the swimming pools...

around the playground...

by the tire swings and primary soccer goals...

here comes Maddy again...playing a little tune. :)

Reaching out to Elly...we moved spots so we could see her again! :)

The end.

Have a safe & fun 4th of July!

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We are grilling pork tenderloin & corn on the cob and making homemade ice cream. Yummy! We have fireworks to shoot off later & will go and watch the BIG fireworks tonight. Elly has been very brave (since the loud booms scare her) and has decided she wants to go...we will see what happens. :)