Summer!

Abbie's final exams ended last Wednesday, so she has already enjoyed a full week of summer break. She was SO ready to be done!

She finished the year strong even though it was a busy time. May kicked off with a three night class trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi where they studied the civil war, did some old fashioned dances, performed skits, and played games. She loved the battle fields, but was also shocked by life in Mississippi. "I think there was a church on every corner!" she said.

She doesn't look happy about being a soldier

Blurry, but having fun playing Spoons

Abbie also had her last String Orchestra concert. She will be taking a break from it next year, so this really was her last non-school concert for a while. It was impossible to get a good photo of her on the stage, but I did manage to get a good one after the performance.

Abbie also managed to snag another award before the year ended. This one was the Penguin Award for outstanding achievement in 7th grade honors math. Her math teacher said, "Abbie, I have really enjoyed teaching you in math this year! I love that you are genuinely curious about how and why math works the way it does. This curiosity to understand every detail will take you far in life . . . never stop asking "why"! Keep working hard, but don't forget to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. I hope you have a great summer! Stop by and say hi next year."

With the school year over, Abbie was able to pick up some extra pet sitting work, which she was excited about because she wants to bring a fair bit of money with her to France. Also, she is doing tennis/swim camp with Emily this week, but then nothing next week, so there is plenty of time for relaxation. In her off time last week, she decided to Marie Kondo her clothing, so that kept her busy. Once she saw how little she had that actually still fit her (and brought her joy), she decided that a shopping trip was in order, so we spent a bit of time on that this past weekend. Next week she may spend a couple of nights with Eleanor before our traveling begins. Other than that, there is not much excitement to report. I expect that our summer trips will remedy that, however!