All About Ava

I haven't blogged much since school started because the kids keep us so busy and it's hard to keep up!  I wanted to post some pics of Ava and catch up on everything our girl has going on this year.

She ran for 3rd grade student council rep for her class in September and she won!  She was so excited.  Student Council has been great for her.  She loves the meetings and activities and she represents her class well :)

She just finished up her 3rd season of soccer.  She had a few goals this past season and was much more aggressive than the last.  She loves playing with her friends.  This picture of her backside as she waited to go on the field was the only one I could find!  Clearly two soccer games and a baseball game every fall Saturday kick my butt.

She loves 3rd grade because they are writing a lot and reading great books!  She's enjoying all the Roald Dahl books and I'm enjoying them all with her.  They have always been my favorites too.  I get to volunteer with her reading group every Tuesday and it's so fun!  She's read the BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda so far.

She was recently Amelia Earhart for 'Living Museum' at school.  I was so excited she chose her!  She read the biography, wrote a speech and performed for all the second graders and parents.  She was great!

(King Tut, Elvis and George Lucas were there too ;-)

I taught her Sunday School small group August - November and enjoyed this sweet time with her and her friends.

She requested Panda Express for her Thanksgving feast at school this year.  She was not interested in the cafeteria version of turkey and dressing.  We had a fun lunch and visit to the book fair.

Thursday night she was a reindeer in the 3rd grade musical at school.  It was a cute program!

 (Best Friend Bryn)

And last night she was a shepard in her our church's kid choir program.  They've been working on the play since October and it was beautiful!  We were so proud of her.  She sang and delivered her lines and really enjoyed performing :)

Lastly, we started volleyball last week for the first time.  She's been wanting to try it for a while so we asked around and several of her soccer/school friends decided they would join her and play during soccer off season.  She is really enjoying practices and her first games will be this Saturday.  I think it will be a fun season!

10 year Anniversary in Mexico

Jeff and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on October 21st!  We decided a trip to Riviera Maya would be the perfect way to celebrate!  We spent 4 days lounging, kayaking, snorkeling and relaxing at the beach.  It was an incredible trip!

We stayed at Secrets Akumal, Riviera Maya.  The reviews we read raved about the food and snorkeling and it didn't disappoint!  We saw sea turtles the size of Keegan as well as angel fish, parrot fish, zebra fish and a sting ray.  The Caribbean water was as beautiful as it appears in photos - blue from afar and crystal clear for snorkeling.  We took a glass bottom kayak out for a while one day but we had better luck with snorkeling.  

The resort was incredible!  We had Italian, Mexican, Hibachi and steaks.  We even tried octopus for lunch one day.  The food was SO good.  

We loved spending an hour at the spa after breakfast.  We enjoyed the sauna, vapor room and hydrotherapy.  We would head to the beach around 10 split our time between our beach chairs and the pool nearest to the beach.  The view was perfect.

This was our walk from our room to the beach every day!

One of the iguanas we saw each morning....

And this was our favorite spot every day :)

We saw a couple of shows - a fire show and a rock show.  They were really fun! We had a swim-out pool outside our room that we enjoyed the other nights.  

 It was really nice having the swim-out pool right outside the patio!

We walked to the shops of Akumal one afternoon for souvenirs for the kids.  

Jeff proposed on the beach with memorized vows and a new wedding bands.  It was such an amazing surprise.  I'm so thankful for the last 10 years.

I'm so thankful for this man and for our marriage and so thankful for this celebration trip ;-)

First Day of 3rd Grade and Kindergarten!

Yesterday was a big day for the Hutchison family!  Keegan had his first day of kindergarten and Ava began 3rd grade!  Our sweet guy has been asking for a month when he could start kinder.  He's been so ready and excited and he woke up ready to go :-)

He has five buddies from baseball and soccer teams in his grade and his teacher is Ava's second grade teacher from last year.  He was super excited because he got to know Mrs. Blazek during Ava's school activities last year and her son plays on his indoor soccer team.  

His walks with so much confidence everywhere he goes.  He had no nerves or reservations about starting "big school" and even though he was excited to go to school with friends and a teacher that he knows, he told us several times that "he wanted to meet new friends and play with everyone."  He's my kid that never meets a stranger and thinks he's 15 instead of 5.

He says all the time that he wants to be a policeman to catch the bad guys.  This is a step up from the lifeguard career he chose last year!  He truly loves the idea of saving people and being a hero.

And this sweet girl looked so grown up on her way to 3rd grade.  She wasn't anxious like in years past.  She was just so excited to see her teacher and friends!  She's starting school with a few less teeth but the same radiant smile.

She started writing songs this summer and singing them with her karaoke machine.  She says she wants to write her own songs and sing like Taylor Swift ;-)

Watching her walk down the halls yesterday morning with such joy and confidence was the greatest blessing.  New environments can be scary and intimidating for her but she put her things in her locker, hugged me at the door as I talked with her teacher and bounced over to her desk to see her friends.  

I picked them up at 3 and listened intently to the details of their day.  Ava absolutely LOVES her teacher.  Mrs. Harry travels the world and Ava loves to travel and learn about new places so this was exciting for her.  Her very best friend Bryn is in her class and she got to do some writing.  Keegan liked PE the best because they played a fun game.  He was not happy that his recess time was cut short due to listening to the playground rules. His teacher read his favorite David Shannon book "No David!" to the class and let them draw pictures about the story.  

As hard as yesterday was on my mommy heart, it was so comforting to know how much they loved their time at school.  I know they have great things in store for them this year and it will be exciting to watch them learn and grow.  My heart is still heavy today because spider man and batman are still laying where they were left early this morning and that just seems wrong.  But 3pm will come soon and our new normal will bring new accomplishments and adventures.  My heavy heart is also a thankful heart - for their school, for their teachers and above all, their joy.

Ava's 8th Birthday!

Our sweet girl celebrated her golden birthday this month!  We celebrated a couple of weekends ago with a Hawaiian Beach pool party at her request.  She wanted hula hoop contests, Bahama Bucks snow cones, pizza, a pinata and lots of friends.  And it was a success! It was a great day celebrating our 8 year old.  Here are some pictures from her big day!