A Ten Year Old's Party

We had Sarah's 10th birthday party on Saturday, March 11th.  She invited just a few friends to her party.  After they were dropped off at our house we headed to the Derby Rec Center to do two of Sarah's favorite things, play basketball and swim.

Above, from left to right, Hannah, Sarah, Lauren, and Savannah ~ Sarah's best friends.

We shot around, played Knock Out, then played a game. Eric, Sarah, Silas, Savannah vs. Stacee, Hannah, Lauren, and Phoebe.

Popee and Nanee came to the party too.  They enjoyed watching us all play basketball.

After playing basketball we all changed into our swimming suits and swam for about an hour.  The girls had a lot of fun in the pool swimming, shooting baskets, floating on noodles, and climbing on a water rock wall to see who could climb the highest.

Silas liked playing in the pool's zero entry area where there was a small fish slide, and mushroom water fountain.

Back at home after the Rec center, Sarah opened her gifts from her friends...

A water bottle and the movie "Moana" from Savannah.

Lego sets from Lauren.

And a big color your own puzzle and Sharpies from Hannah.

My wish for these girls is that they will always remain good friends and that they will take care of and look out for one another throughout their school days together.  A good friend is rare and a treasure.  These girls got along great together, smiled and laughed, and had a great time together at Sarah's party.  They were fun to be around and polite.  I am thankful for their strong friendships with my daughter.

Happy Birthday Dear Sweet Sarah!  Happy Birthday to YOU!

Later that day, Sarah opened some gifts from Popee and Nanee.  She was especially excited about the big gift wrapped in the newspapers....

The Barbie Pop-Up Camper!!!!  She had been wanting this for at least a year now.  Thank you Popee and Nanee!

There was also some cute new clothes from Popee and Nanee.  And, a present came in the mail from Grandma Sharon...a new dressy outfit and shirt.  Thanks!

Ten Years Old

Double Digits!  Sarah turned ten the first weekend in March.  Unfortunately for her she got a stomach bug during the night and ended up feeling terrible all day long on her birthday.  She got super familiar with the bathroom and the shower that day.  Poor girl.  She felt well enough in the afternoon to open some presents, then laid back down to rest for awhile, before deciding that she wanted Olive Garden for her birthday dinner.  We weren't sure that was such a great idea given the nature of her sickness... Eric ended up picking up our order and bringing it home.  Sarah ate about a fourth of her meal and saved the rest for later in the week.  No dessert was eaten that night.  She just wasn't feeling well at all.  (Anyone who really knows Sarah, knows she never passes on dessert.  So this should tell you immediately that she felt down right awful. Poor poor girl.)

She opened a Disney Lego set, clothes, and a necklace from Daddy and Mommy.

She got a camping Lego set from Silas.

And, she got books from Phoebe.

A box came in the mail from Uncle Eric and Aunt Lindsee....

A box of clothes!

The next day, Sarah was feeling better and picked to eat some birthday ice cream sundaes and cupcakes with candles on top.

They all started giggling, laughing, and doing big smiles during the birthday candles and song and couldn't stop.  Silly kids.

Happy 10th birthday, Sarah!  We're sorry you felt so yucky on your special day, but glad we could still celebrate a little that day and spread it to the next day too.  You are growing up so quickly, (gotten 3 inches taller since last November and your foot is about the same size as mine now, women's 8 1/2 or 9).  You are athletic, smart, kind, and fun!  You like to play any and all types of games and you are a serious competitor.  You love to win.  I love your heart and compassion for others.  You see people with caring eyes.  You love animals and take good care of our dog, Jessee.  You have been my little friend and special sidekick since you were born.  You will always be in my heart.  I am so grateful and blessed for the gift God gave me, in you, 10 years ago.  The special blessing, in his perfect timing, of YOU!

Sarah's January And February Schoolwork

The winter months can get long sometimes, but not this year.  Sarah has had school projects to complete, homework, and been busy reading these past couple months.  She got to enjoy baking bread in her classroom and met her teacher's Mom, who came to school to help the class bake.

Sarah's teacher has been teaching her class a letter a day in cursive as time allows.  (I love this.  Cursive should still be something that is taught to the students in every school.)

Sarah likes to go roller skating with our family and some friends once a month in the evenings at her school's fundraiser at the local roller skating rink.  In January there were a lot of her 4th grade friends there.  Pictured below from left to right: Bella, Mercedez, Hannah, Lauren, Sarah, Savannah, Nereli, and Bayley.

It was the end of the 2nd nine weeks and we had parent teacher conferences in February.  Sarah continues to do very well academically in school.  She is a good leader among her classmates demonstrating kindness, integrity, and responsibility.

You had to prepare, give an oral report to your classmates, and participate in the 4th Grade Wax Museum.  Tell me about it.
Sarah:  My character was Buster Keaton.  I had to do research, write a report, and make a poster about him.  Then I had to memorize the report and speak in front of my class.  It was scary to give the report to my class.  I did good.  Last we each had to be part of the Wax Museum in the gym of our school.  Adults and students got to walk around the gym and push our pretend buttons to hear the reports from all the 4th graders.  I think I had to give my speech 20 - 30 times that day!

Sarah wore a costume to help her look like Buster Keaton.  She borrowed a black tie from Uncle Charlie, an old camera from Uncle Matt, and wore a old straw hat that was Great Grandpa Grant's.

Sarah did very well on her presentations and the display board about Buster Keaton.  GREAT JOB, Sarah!

Tell me about your Valentine bag and your school Valentine party.
Sarah:  My class all made a Valentine sack to put our Valentine cards in.  At the party we got to look at our Valentine's and eat food.

Tell me about affirmations in your school/classroom.
Sarah:  Affirmations are kind things you say about people or to people.  My class has been writing affirmations to each other.  One time I wrote one for everyone in my class!  Affirmations help people feel good about themselves.  They might say they are kind, pretty, athletic, or nice.

Tell me about the diorama, pictured below, that you made.
Sarah:  We each picked a chapter book to read first.  After we finished the book we had to take an AR test on it.  Then we made a diorama to show the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  We wrote a paragraph and drew a picture about each part of the story.  My teacher showed us how to fold the paper to make the diorama.