Lifeguard

CC has wanted to be a lifeguard for the last few years, and she's finally old enough! She completed the training and certification course last weekend, and worked her first shift the very next day.

It didn't come easy, though. She's a strong swimmer and wasn't really worried about the course. They started with the swimming tests -- including swimming while holding a brick in both hands, and treading water with no hands. CC passed, but over half the kids failed and were sent home. For the rest of the weekend, the instruction alternated between classroom lessons and practical demonstrations and practice. But CC was really demoralized when she struggled hard to do the "passive deep water rescue" (rescuing an unconscious adult from the bottom of a 10-foot pool, bringing them to the surface, and getting a backboard underneath them). After many unsuccessful attempts, while battling a bad cold and being outside for 11 hours when it was cloudy and drizzling, she was ready to throw in the towel. She begged us to come pick her up, declared she no longer wanted to be a lifeguard, and insisted it just wasn't worth it.

We were sympathetic, but didn't want to enable her to quit. I told her I couldn't force her to finish the class, but I wouldn't go pick her up early, either. I stopped responding to her texts and spent the rest of the day with a knot in my stomach, wondering how she was doing. Fortunately she got through that day, and was willing to go back the next day. 

The final activity was the exam, which required her to demonstrate everything she learned. She was so proud to tell us that she completed the passive rescue on her first try! Everything else was a breeze compared to that, so she is now officially certified and ready to start making some money.

(First expense: reimbursing Mom for the lifeguarding class!)

CC on Pointe!

CC has realized her ballet dream! After a year and a half of hard work, she has been deemed ready to go en pointe. 

She loved every minute of the pointe shoe fitting, which was done by a talented woman who fitted her almost entirely by feeling the shoe and CC's foot, not by looking. It was impressive! The woman also gave CC a ton of advice on how to keep her points shoes -- notoriously flimsy -- lasting as long as possible. CC is on cloud 9, and immediately sewed the elastic and ribbons on.

This summer she is required to take four week-long classes on pointe, to continue to develop and strengthen her foot and ankle, and learn to dance in the pointe shoes properly. She can't wait to get started! 

Sweet Pea's Spring Show

Of all the days in April, May and June, Sweet Pea's cirque recital was on the same exact day and time as CC's ballet recital. And since CC only has one recital with her studio -- and Sweet Pea has multiple -- we decided to go to CC's. But I am so thankful that the cirque studio took pictures and videos of all the performances! 

Sweet Pea's trapeze duet with her bestie, Joni, is one of her favorite routines ever. And I have to agree! It's so fun, from the music, to the costumes, to the skills.

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/0K1WOf9Ukuo

CC's Ballet Recital

CC switched to a new dance studio this year, to focus more exclusively on ballet. This studio has a reputation for being very strict, which is exactly what CC wanted: teachers who would make sure she was doing everything right, and fellow students who love ballet as much as she does. And she has been very happy there! She took six classes every week, and it really shows: her technique has dramatically improved, and I was impressed by her gracefulness and musicality. 

Last weekend was her big recital, and she was in five dances. The theme was Candyland, and she was a peppermint stick (Intermediate Foundations), a gumdrop -- twice -- (Grade IV in the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum), an ice cream swirl (Cecchetti 2), and a chocolate swirl (Lyrical).

I recorded 4 of her 5 numbers at the rehearsal, so it's not a perfect performance, but it is a good snapshot of where she is right now. We're so proud of all her hard work!

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/wdbbBgn2mic

Little Man's Tennis Debut

Now that he's decided his baseball career is over, Little Man has chosen tennis to be his next sport. And MJ and I are pleased with that, because now he can play with us! 

Little Man has taken lessons for most of the year, and this spring he joined the juniors team at our club. And even though it was his first year, he's had success already! He played three doubles matches, with varying levels of partners, and won two of them. And lucky his partners were very kind, so he enjoyed himself. He also played three singles matches, which were losses, but he had a lot to be proud about: he rarely double-faulted on his serve, and he had a ton of sustained rallies. So at least he forced his opponents to earn their wins; he didn't give up points easily.

Here are a few clips I got of him at a juniors' clinic this spring. The second one makes me laugh: "It's the balls, Mom!"

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/bOpZnQyyiZA

Special shout-outs to Aunt Susan, Aunt Carol, and Pepere, who were all able to watch a match! Pepere even got to see one of Little Man's doubles wins. 

He enjoyed the season, and he thinks he's a much better fit for tennis than he was for baseball (and we agree). It's an extra bonus that this is a sport we can all play together!

CC is Driving!

In what seems totally shocking, CC is now old enough to have her driver's permit. She took the classroom portion of driver's ed over Christmas break, and the behind-the-wheel portion when we got back from spring break. 

Her biggest concern was that she might not be able to reach the pedals. Seriously. But we reminded her that if Grandma can reach the pedals, so can she. And sure enough, if she moves the seat all the way up, she can reach both pedals. 

I was lucky enough to be able to ride in the back seat during one of her driver's ed sessions. I was happy (but not surprised) to see that she's an extremely cautious driver. 

Once she turned 15, she took the permit exam ... and failed. She was devastated. But she learned a valuable lesson: you have to actually study. The test is full of questions that have nothing to do with driving! 

So last Friday she took the test again, and this time she scored a 100%. Well done! She's been driving nonstop since then. Even Pepere, Aunt Carol, and Aunt Susan had turns riding shotgun while she drove this weekend. "Does anyone need to go to the grocery store?" "Can I drive Little Man to tennis?" "Can I drive us to church?" Her slow speed is slightly infuriating, but I'm sure she'll improve. Until then, we'll have conversations like this:

Me: What's the speed limit on this road?

CC: Thirty-five.

Me: What speed are you going?

CC: Um ... eighteen.

Sigh.

CC's Confirmation

What a special weekend! CC made her Confirmation, and everyone turned out to celebrate. Aunt Susan was her sponsor, and flew in with Hayden for the Mass. Aunt Carol was there as her godmother, and Pepere and Grandma and Grandpa came too. Patrick and Karen even came with Braxton and Bryson. CC was really touched by the turnout, and was all smiles the whole weekend.

CC chose St Therese of Lisieux, or "the Little Flower," as her Confirmation saint. Unbeknownst to her, Memere loved St Therese, so my heart was happy when CC told me who she picked. I know my mom was absolutely with us this weekend, filled with joy.

Afterwards we celebrated at one of CC's favorite restaurants, and really enjoyed spending time with everyone.

CC was initially frustrated by the church's rule that dresses had to be at least knee-length. All her favorites are really short! But we went shopping and she ended up falling in love with this maxi dress from Altar'd State. She looked gorgeous, and it was so nice to see her radiating excitement and confidence.