Horsing Around

At the end of May, our GRACE homeschool group had a get-together.
Our kids had the opportunity to ride a horse.

Syndi was very excited, and was the first to ride.

Julia looked on eagerly, fascinated by the horse.

Soon, Junior and Jules were preparing for a turn.

Syndi returned from the ride...

...and Junior began to get up on the horse.

That's as far as he got.

He got a little scared, and decided not to ride.

I think he was bummed as he looked on dejectedly.

This is the barn for the horses.

Julia was fascinated as another horse came over to eat her carrots.

She was happy to feed it...

...until after it took its first chomp...then she was happy to let someone nearby hold that carrot.

Syndi enjoyed watching the horses.

Then she took Jules for a ride.

What a nice big sister!

Julia took it all in stride.

We get to ride horses every day, right? Not.

Aren't they adorable?

Junior Graduates from Kindergarten

Junior graduated from kindergarten in a ceremony held at a local college by our GRACE homeschool group.
Junior led the kindergartner procession, since he was first alphabetically. (He wasn't too thrilled about that.)

He proceeded up the aisle...

...and joined me in the front row.

Our guest speaker was Georgia State Representative Barry Loudermilk, of Georgia's 14th House district (representing part of our county). He did a masterful job of charging the graduates, as he expounded on Proverbs 3:5-6, though I doubt the kindergartners grasped any of it, LOL.

Junior marched up on stage and received his certificate of completion...

...from Melissa Casey, coordinator of our GRACE homeschool group.

He was quite proud.

Here he is pictured with his fellow kindergarten graduates...

...and with all the graduates.

It was a proud day for Junior and for us.

He was especially fond of the gifts received from the us and from the Blackwelders, as Martin, Joan and Cesilee were in attendance.

~

Congratulations, Junior!

We're proud of you!

The Spelling Bee

Syndi was in her first spelling bee a few weeks ago.

She placed second! Click on the image above to read the article and see the pictures.

We didn't know, however, that she would be getting her picture in the paper!
She didn't want to go at first, but agreed.

She was very happy with the results, and wants to do it again next year!

~

Way to go LuLu!

Time's A-Flyin!

The Caruvana family has been so busy lately, we just haven't had the time to update the blog. After Mom's death, we've had the end of the school year, bringing Aunt Lorrie home, arranging Aunt Lorrie's move to Texas, moving Lorrie's things from the house, packing Lorrie's storage unit on a truck to ship to Texas, the close of Awana (complete with hours [days] to create a slideshow video), and preparation for VBS (which starts next week).

Syl is teaching for VBS, so has been working to decorate her room, prepare her lessons, etc. And of course, when we came back from Michigan after the funeral, spring was in full blossom here in Georgia, so the lawn and garden have gone wild with growth, requiring lots of time. Syndi is having school testing done this week, so that takes more time. Jon was on deacon patrol in May, so he had to lock the building up after services.

Yes, it's been a busy month-and-a-half. Syl and the kids will be leaving for Michigan in only a week-and-a-half (right after VBS finishes), so we'll be crazy preparing for that. Jon will have time to post after they leave, but no family members of which to post any pictures. So we'll be back in full swing sometime around mid-summer. Hopefully we'll have the Awana slideshow posted for all to see in the next day or so. It may be large, though, so it may give people difficulty in loading.

Probably, y'all are just as busy as we are, so won't even have time to read this. That's OK. 'Cause I really didn't have time to post it.

Junior's First Test

JuneBug had his first test for school this week.
It was a math test (naturally), and was administered by the school principal, his Dad. And Junior got a score of 100% on it, earning an A+ and a green star.

He was quite proud. Way to go little man!

Olive Garden & School Pictures

Well, tonight we finally made it to the new Olive Garden here in Rome! It was kinda spur-of-the-moment, last-minute. We used a gift card and enjoyed a wonderful meal! There was no wait at all, as we were seated immediately. We had ordered within 15 minutes and were eating salad and breadsticks shortly thereafter.
And in honor of the occasion, I bring you new school pictures of our little tykes, starting, of course, with the oldest.
Synthia Lura Caruvana

7 years old

Second Grade

Jonathan David Caruvana, Jr.
4 years old
PreschoolStephen Thomas Caruvana
2 years old
Future Linebacker

Julia Grace Caruvana
11 weeks old
Smilin', Laughin' & Talkin' up a storm!

YMCA Homeschool Swimming Class

Syndi and Junior are again enrolled in the Y's homeschool swim class. Syndi is in the older group (as seen above), comprised of students who can swim on their own. They do their class in the deep end of the pool.
Junior is in the younger class (as seen above), where kids cannot yet swim on their own. Syndi began here two years ago and is now a very good little swimmer. She's not fast yet, but is working on it.
Syndi is the smallest kid in her class. She seems so big to us, but seems so small next to these other kids. Above she is seen swimming with a kickboard, used to help focus on leg and kicking strength.
Junior uses a kickboard also, but because he cannot swim on his own. At first this year he struggled with being willing to swim. I think he's just getting a bad attitude in some areas.
But on the day Jon took the kids, he talked with Junior, who decided to enjoy the class that day. Notice the smiles and "sticking-his-tongue-out" excitement.
JuneBug used this pole to work on going underwater in the deep end.
And back in the shallow end, he worked on floating on his back. He did very well that day, and boy was he proud!
Syndi did well, also. She really enjoys swimming. Here she practices diving form as she dives through a hoop. This has been a great opportunity for homeschooled kids to learn how to swim at the YMCA.

Labor Day Weekend, Part 3: Lookout Mountain & The Incline

While we were in Chattanooga, we made a trip to The Incline, which rides up the side of Lookout Mountain.
It seemed interesting, and it's kinda cool to say you've been on it.
You can see it is a one-car trolley-style train, and it rides up a pretty steep incline to the top. The "breathtaking" 72.7% grade of the track near the top gives the Incline the unique distinction of being the steepest passenger railway in the world.
Well, I never lost my breath. At least not on the ride. We waited in line for an hour-and-a-half to get on the train. That could take your breath away!
The kids enjoyed finding their own seats.
Except Jules...she was kept close to momma.
Jon sat with Junior and tried to enjoy the view.
This view through the front window of the train car shows that encroaching trees were filling most of our view, except down the track, where one could see the extremely steep slope.
The view of Syndi gazing out her window was highlighted by her reflection.
Junior loved hanging out at the poles.
At the top, we learned the wait was even longer to get back on the train. We said no way and opted to stay on the train to return to the bottom. So we never got off at the top.
Junior hid most of the way down. He was scared of the steep slope.
After returning to the bottom, we got in our minivan and drove to the top of Lookout Mountain. It took us so much less time! We should've just done that from the beginning.
It seemed one could see forever from the top of Lookout Mountain. Apparently from Rock City, which we drove into as we headed for the top of the mountain, you can see 7 states from one vantage point (on a clear day, which we didn't have). Pretty cool!
Well, it was a fun afternoon. We could have gone without standing in line for what little we got. We'd recommend just driving to the top, unless you want to buy the T-shirts and be able to honestly say you rode the Incline Railway.

Before the Incline, we had a blast at Chuck E. Chesse. The kids loved that! After the Incline, we headed home. It was a fun weekend, and we enjoyed ourselves.