Sydney has had a remarkable recovery so far!  She has been in the wheelchair for 3 + weeks now and she is maneuvering around on her own and doing it well!  She will go to PT next week and they will start her in the walker and try and rebuild some muscles in her legs from not using them for 1 month.  Kylie has been to visit her several times and she is always in such good spirits.  Kids are remarkable healers!  Way to go Sydney!

Barbi and I took Zach, Jordan, Kylie and her friend Nichole to Sky High at the end of June.  It was not crowded at all and at one time, the 4 of them were the only ones in the dodgeball court.  They had fun and got real sweaty after 1 hour!  And, Barbi and I got to catch up on everything... fun stuff!

Kylie's best friend Sydney had surgery at Children's Hospital for her femoral torsion (her femur bones are rotated inwards causing her to be pigeon-toed) thus resulting in hip pain and other problems with walking and soccer and dance.  They opted for surgery to correct the problem so that down the road she doesn't have issues.  We visited her at the hospital last night and she is such a trooper!  She was in immense pain and very sleepy but smiled at us and thanked us for coming to visit her!  Take care Sydney and get better!  We will help in any way we can!  Kylie misses you already!  Please keep Sydney in your prayers for a speedy and trouble free recovery.

Kylie also had a busy year at school.  She was involved in many activities including choir, broadcasting, student council, library helper and safety patrol.  Whew!  So many things to keep track of but she loved every minute of it.  Great job Kylie on your report card too this year as you showed improvement in some areas that we know you worked hard in.  Great job on all your hard work!  We are proud of you!  Hang on Crestwood, just one more year for Kylie!

At the 8th grade awards ceremony, Zach raked it in!  He was awarded Student of the Quarter for Geometry, Student of the Year in Woodshop, 4.0 for 8th grade, 4.0 for both 7th and 8th grades, the President's Education Award for outstanding academic excellence and the final one was "Heart of the Mustang" award which was voted on by the teacher's and they nominated the top 5 boys and top 5 girls in 8th grade.  Zach was one of them!  Woohoo!  Jeff was able to get off work and surprise Zach at the ceremony.  Another stellar year for Zach and now he is on to High School next year!  Oh my goodness!  A freshman in the midst!  Great job Zach! We are very proud of you and all your hard work these last 2 years!

I love celebrating the Dad's on this day but it makes me miss my Dad that much more.  I know he would be proud of our kids and their achievements and I just wish he was here to celebrate.  Miss and love you Dad very much!  Tina went to his grave and put some flowers down and took a picture.  Thanks Tina for doing that when I am too far away.

We were able to go to Kingston for Father's day to share the weekend with Jeff's brothers and their families and his Dad and Andrea.  We got over there just in time for dinner on Saturday night.  Greg and Linda and their kids were there on Friday night and Darren and Shannon and Ryan came over on Sunday morning.  The weather wasn't so great but we still had fun on the swing down on the beach and watching Ryan dig for crabs.  We love hanging out with family and wish that we all had more time and lived closer.  Happy Father's Day to Jeff, Gary, Greg and Darren!  You are all so special! I completely missed getting a picture of Jeff and his brothers with Gary...darn it!

Kylie's girl scout troop hosted the entire service unit bridging event this year at Crestwood.  There were 76 girls that bridged to the next level in their troops with about 50 or so of them in attendance.  Their leaders read off their names and they had to stand up in front of everyone...some posed and some were just embarrassed.  Hmmm, yes, Kylie was a little embarrassed but smiled great anyway.  For being the 3rd highest cookie seller in the service unit, Kylie received a girl scout photo album.  Um, we have 2 already so now we have another.  She really wanted the chapsticks that were cookie scented.  Maybe we'll have to go to the girl scout store in Bellevue one day and she can spend her cookie dough.  Great year Kylie!  We are proud of all your accomplishments.

One of Tina's friends participated in Relay for Life and Tina purchased a luminary in our Dad's memory and her friend took a picture to share with us.....thank you to Tina and her friend for honoring and remembering our Dad.

Kylie went over to her friend Pearl's house after school one day and came home with a new do...pretty cute and creative I'd say!  They found a video off you-tube and followed the instructions.  Nice job Pearl!