Cape Cod

Emily and I spent Memorial Day weekend in Hyannis, Massachusetts at the New England Soccer Classic.  Last year, this tournament was a disaster for her (and us).  She was overwhelmed, overtired and we spent a lot of time yelling at each other.  And her soccer was way below par.  Our saving grace was my friend Kate, who told me that it took her son a long time to learn how to play at away tournaments.  I realized that it was not Emily's fault, it was a lack of planning on our part, and the fact that we let others dictate our schedule, when really, we know what's best for us.  This year was much different.  Emily had a great time with her friends, but on a much smaller scale.  She slept 9 hours or more each night; she ate healthy snacks; and we had a plan (that we executed) between each game to keep her cool and rested.  It worked out great.  Below are some shots of our fun - the next post will be all soccer.

Abby and Emily getting breakfast at Dunkin Donuts.

Abby and Emily swimming at the pool at the hotel.

Rocking her new tournament t-shirt.

Walking to dinner.

Dinner with Meg, Abby and their moms.

The beach!  Last year, we never saw the ocean or stuck our toes in the sand.  This year, we vowed that we would.

Writing her name in the sand.

Selfie at Red River Beach.

Sagamore Bridge, view from the Cape Cod Canal.

One last shot of Cape Cod before we left.

Family Time

Lee's brother and his family came out for a visit last week and so we made the trip up to New Hampshire to spend some time with them, and Grammy and Grampy, at the lake.  We had a great time, playing catch, riding around the lake on the pontoon boat and fishing.  The cousins had a good time together - you would never know that they haven't seen each other in two years!

A little game of football.

The "original" LeBlancs.

The Arizona LeBlancs

Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly brought the girls ukuleles for their birthdays.

Learning how to tune their new instruments.

When they discovered a milk snake, they had to call Lee to the rescue.

Fishing with Grammy.

Love this photo. She may have my craziness, but she's all Lee when it comes to nature and science.

Emily - in a nutshell.

They both caught a fish!!!

Field Trip

Last week, I helped chaperone the 4th graders on their field trip to the state Capitol and Legislative Office Building.  Emily's class is really great and they enjoyed the trip - asking good questions and impressing our tour guide with their excellent behavior.

In the state senate, with Paul Doyle and Dante Bartolomeo.

Prudence Crandall, our state heroine.

Nathan Hale, our state hero.

Looking up at the dome.

The Genius and the dome of the capitol building.

In the legislature, waiting for Matt Lesser (our state representative) to arrive.

Emily spent a split second making her wish in the chair made from the Charter Oak.

Spring Concert

The spring Band and Chorus Concert was held last week and both girls had their chance to shine.  We are so proud of all of their hard work.  This was Emily's last performance with the Cadet Band, she has officially graduated to Advanced Band.

It's blurry, but here is Elizabeth being recognized for playing in the Regional Honors Band and All State Concert Band - both of which she was selected to after auditioning.

Emily and Hanna played a duet of "Love Me Tender" during the Cadet Band performance.

4th graders.

Emily and her BFF, Andrew.

Laila and Elizabeth - connected at the hip.

A portion of the Disney Medley sung by the middle school choir. That's our Elizabeth, singing and playing the flute.