Memorial Day Weekend

 What a great weekend!

Saturday - 

Hannah's team was really hoping for a win, but had to settle for a 2-2 tie.  Hannah had two shots on goal and a beautiful assist for her teammate's goal! 

Matthew had two games. They were outmatched in the first game and lost by quite a bit.  But they rallied for their second game and learned from their mistakes (and won)!  We were so impressed by the toughness Matthew demonstrated. He got knocked down repeatedly and even took a ball to the face, but kept his focus and determination!  Also, endurance is not usually his strength, but even at the end of the second game, he was still sprinting from one end of the field to the other.
That was likely his last game of the season (there's a very small chance that a game that was cancelled will be rescheduled).  He's looking forward to football in the fall, but would really love to rejoin this team in the winter and next spring.

Saturday night Scott grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us, and we ate around the campfire.  (And had s'mores, of course.)

Sunday after church we gathered at Camp Carl with some of our close friends to witness 8 kids get baptized.  It was absolutely perfect. 

Then we got to spend time eating, talking, and playing in the sunshine. 

Monday morning we continued our tradition of running in our town's 5k.  Micah was thirty seconds faster than last year and handily won his age group with a time of 19:22 (that's a pace of 6:14/mile).  Hannah continues to surprise herself with her ability.  She was more than a minute faster than last year and got second place in her age group with a time of 24:51 (8:00 minute mile pace).  I was very happy with my time of 28:05 and was actually third in my age group.  And Matthew ran the mile in 8:34, achieving his goal of being faster than last year.

The girls in 1st and 3rd are both 13-year-olds, while Hannah is 11.

The Hays came over for brunch (delicious pancakes and bacon made by Scott) and games.

the big kids playing Settlers of Catan

The younger siblings opted to stay in the air conditioning.

Then in the afternoon, the Oysters invited us out on their boat!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out on the water.  It was very relaxing for the adults and a lot of fun for the kids.

McKinley, Matthew, and Hannah

we anchored for some swimming

Micah and McKinley

We finished the weekend with pizza and a good night's sleep!

5th Grade Graduation

Students and parents lined the hallway and did a "clap out" for the fifth graders.  video link

The ceremony started with a video of pictures.  Conveniently, Hannah is the first one.  Then there are more candid shots if you want to skip to 11:45.  YouTube link

Each student gave a short speech about their time at Cornerstone.  Some were funny anecdotes; some were more meaningful.  It was neat to hear each kid's personality in what they wrote.  Here is Hannah's: video link

Hannah and Stella played ukulele and sang a duet at the beginning of one song.  video link  And here's part of a song with the whole class.  video link

There was lots of excitement afterward, and the girls didn't want to leave!  We finally got them out of the building with the promise of ice cream.

Just to top it off, here are all her first day of school pictures by the sign: 

Kindergarten

First grade

Second grade

Third grade

Fourth grade

Fifth grade

Now on to Tallmadge Middle School!

Awards/Last Day of School

 We could not have asked for anything more from Matthew this year in second grade.  His grades are outstanding.  His peers love him and talk about how kind and helpful he is.  His teacher has only positive things to say, and other staff and parents at school have said the same.  He was chosen for the "Christian Character Award" this year, which is only given to one student in each class.  My tendency can be to focus on the areas where he needs to improve, so I am grateful for this opportunity to recognize the ways that he is growing and allowing God to work in him.

Hannah got to have a special graduation ceremony, which will have to be its own post.  But here are pictures of her first and last days at Cornerstone.  This school has been a gift from God for our family, and I'm incredibly thankful for her time there. 

August 2016

May 2022

Ice cream at Handel's - first day of kindergarten...

...and last day of fifth grade

Dr. Smith, the head of school, greets students every morning with a high five or fist bump.  Hannah has had a running joke with him for years where she ignores all his attempts.  She decided on the last day of school to act like she was going to finally give him a high five, then fake him out.  (He got the last laugh, though.  During the graduation ceremony, he made her shake his hand extra long.)

Micah came home from school with a whole collection of awards! The first group are all related to grades.  He maintained A's all year in science, history, STEM, and language arts.  While he did not have A's every quarter in algebra and French, he was close.  And both those classes are actually high school level.  The Presidential Award is for his high GPA.

These awards are more for character/behavior.  The Diligence Award was only given to one boy and one girl on his "team" (about 70 students).  And the P.E. award was for his specific P.E. class (20-25 students).  Micah continues to be the kid who just quietly does what he's asked with little complaint.  He is trustworthy, reliable, and consistent.  We're proud of how well he sailed through middle school and excited for new opportunities in high school!

first day of middle school

last day of middle school

All The School Stuff

Hannah - field trip to "Get Air"

Matthew -  a very, very wet field trip to Nature Realm

Matthew - Form Fantastic Friday week 1 - biking

8-year-olds acting like teenagers...

Hannah - Form Fantastic Friday week 1 - live action game of "Clue"!

The students worked in teams to visit the different rooms and characters all over the school to solve the murder mystery!

getting instructions in the dining room

Miss Peacock 

Micah - 8th grade class trip.  Traditionally, this trip has been to Washington D.C., but covid regulations earlier in the year made the school decide to switch gears.  Instead, they did a tour of Ohio.  In two days they went to Dayton, Cincinnati, Newport, and Columbus, visiting a variety of museums, aquariums, and a science center.  Micah didn't exactly send us selfies, so all I have is these two shots his teacher put on Twitter. 

Matthew - field trip to Hale Farm

Hannah - Form Fantastic Friday week 2 - swimming at Kent State

Matthew - Form Fantastic Friday week 2 - biking

Matthew - Try-a-thon (Hannah had championships for track, so she'll complete her try-a-thon goal another day.)  Matthew's goal this year was to run a 5k without stopping, and he did it!  Here's our "before" picture with a sign of one of our favorite sponsors.

Micah - Color Run (PTA fundraiser)

Sadly, I have not seen an "after" picture, but he was very colorful!

Hannah and Matthew - Field Day

Matthew - class picnic

Matthew's "fruit of the spirit award" this year was love.

Class picnic - Hannah  (I may have more pictures to add later as parents share them.)

Hannah's fruit of the spirit was patience

And Micah's class picnic is tomorrow!