RVC in 2013

Time to get caught up here.  Social media of the latest variety keeps me current with life's news around me, but also zaps my time and makes me feel like I can and should try to do it all.  Of course, I can't do it all, and something always falls through the cracks.  I'm still trying to figure out how set priorities better and let the less important things go.  I still want to make time to write about our lives, and this seems to still be the best way to do it.

I've missed recording some of the important moments of the past few months, particularly what my kids are up to.  For now, my goal is to write a post about each one.  So, here's a bit about RVC.

Beautiful RVC.  It seems that I'm always finding something around the house that tells me that RVC has been there.  Usually it's some kind of craft.

Sometimes it's a note to her dad that shows just how mature and responsible she is becoming.

Most of the time, you can find her reading from her pile of books from the library, or on her Kindle Fire.  Sometimes she beats her dad at Words With Friends.  She stays up really late some nights--even after we tell her "lights out," so she confesses--just to read some more.  And so, most mornings this summer, she's not the first one out of bed.  But she's a pleasure to be around.  I enjoy her company and wish I didn't have to be a nagging mom to her a lot of the time.

Federation 2013

RVC turned 10 this spring.  It's a birthday party year for us, so she invited a few friends for a Spring Break, Breakfast, Book exchange, Birthday party, complete with waffles, pajamas, crafts, spontaneous silliness, and of course, books.  So simple to plan, and thus, my kind of party.

 Here was the craft.  RVC had seen it in a magazine and I happened to find a pipe cleaner/bead kit at Target that worked perfectly.  The girls went to town creating little bendable friends.

 I love how the girls really got into the book exchange thing.  Books are by far RVC's favorite things in the world.

We celebrated some more in the evening as a family.  

So many things I love about this girl.  She had a wonderful 4th grade year in Mrs. Brown's class at Rosecrest.  She excelled all around, but particularly in reading.  At the end of the year, the kids were reading for points and she was right there at the top along with this other boy in her class.  It was fun to see her competitive side (doesn't get those genes from me) as she tried to stay ahead.  Here's what she has to say about her school year:

 

    School has been fun.  This year I had two teachers, Mrs. Brown and Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank taught science and social studies, and Mrs. Brown taught everything else. In science we did lots of cool things.  Some of my favorites were making up booklets about animals and their habitats and whether they were vertebrates or invertebrates.  He also took us on a field trip to a wildlife refuge area by the Jordan River.  Other field trips we did were skiing, snow shoeing, a few museums.  Later in the year we had what is called a rendezvous (ron-de-voo).  We had different stations where we learned to boondoggle, throw hatchets, ride horses, etc.  We dressed up as specific trappers and western figures.  I was Annie Oakley.  My mom and dad came to help out that day.
           

Here's a cute picture I took of RVC on the day of her class pioneer trek.

A few more things I can add about RVC:

She does brave things, like join a soccer team of girls from a different school, and perform a piano solo in front of the whole school for a talent show.

She's a good, true friend and a wonderful big sister.

We're lucky to have her in our family.