Sassy's (aka....) school year in review

Today is Sassy's last day of 10th grade.  As of tomorrow, I am the mother of a Junior in high school.  As I reflect on this school year with her, I have to acknowledge that the nickname I gave her years ago when I started this blog no longer fits.  She is not a sassy girl.  She does have a little sass from time to time of course, but don't we all?  Therefore, from this point on, I am going to talk about her with her actual name, Hannah.

This year for her was filled with laughter, family, friends, God, school, sports and so much more!  The memories she made this school year will be with her forever.

Lets start at the beginning (and the end):

Here she is:

excited for her first day of 10th grade (on the left) and really excited for her last day (on the right)

She was able to play volleyball for her high school ~ she was on the JV team,  but sat for the Varsity team 

and was able to play in a handful of games:

Once the high school volleyball season ended, it was time to play club volleyball.  Between that, offseason softball training and school there was little free time left.  She definitely worked hard at all three!

However, she was a "superman" for a friend who played on the high school basketball team and seemed to find time to make him fun treats on home game days as well as go to a few games when her schedule would allow

She also was able to go to a SnoDaze dance at a different high school that many of her friends attend

AND....

She attended her own high school SnoDaze dance and asked a friend (click the link to see how she asked) to go with her

March brought with it a big milestone.  Hannah celebrated her 16th birthday.

The day after her birthday, she easily passed her driving exam and got her license.

Once spring hit, high school softball was in full swing.  This is the first year in many years we didn't go anywhere for spring break.  Kind of a bummer to be home but Hannah was able to go to softball practice everyday!

This softball season brought challenges right along with it.  You see, Hannah usually plays shortstop or is a pitcher.  Those are the positions she has played in high school and club softball.  Those are the 2 positions she worked on all off season a minimum of a couple times per week. So, when her coach told  her to go to right field the practice right before their first game, her jaw hit the floor.  I'm not going to lie, it took a few days for her to wrap her head around this decision, but ultimately she decided her coach must have enough confidence in her to do well in that spot and to want her on the varsity team in general.  She worked hard all season long and for that I am very proud of her!

She also worked hard at church and this May was Confirmed

Also in May she went to prom with her"friend" and a group of others.  

She had a great time except for the fact that she had an 8am volleyball game the following morning!

This has been a great school year for Hannah and I am looking forward to cheering her on in softball this summer 

and enjoying our time together!

Thats a wrap!

A Dance: Then and Now

Sassy and I went shopping with our mind set on one thing:

finding just the right dress.

She tried on a few and we decided on one together.

The day of the dance arrived and I helped her fix her hair, get ready and attend to some last minute touch ups.

I pulled out the camera and started snapping away.

A Daddy - Daughter dance. 

She even issued an official invitation (check it out here)

She was so excited.

She loved fixing her hair, getting dressed up and applying a little lip gloss.

I loved watching her anticipation - joy - enthusiasm and touch of nervousness.

She had a blast  -  She danced with her Dad and her friends.

It was a great night!

Fast forward a few years

I had ordered a dress Sassy liked online because they did not carry it in the store. She received it in the mail, but wanted to go shopping to make sure she had the perfect dress for the occasion.  Sassy tried on many dresses, we took pictures of her in all of them.  She thought she had decided on a red one instead of the one we ordered, but wasn't quite ready to bite the bullet. 

Later that evening she tried on the ordered dress one more time. Her decision was made, it was definitely "the one", the red one was out!
Once that was decided it was time to shop for shoes and earrings.

Sassy knew she wanted her hair up, and thought I would be just the person to create the up-do she was imagining (I'm so glad she had the confidence in me that I was lacking!).  Thanks to online tutorials, I was able to create what she was hoping for.

She looked liked a fancied up version of her already beautiful self.

 She looked older and mature and I couldn't believe my little girl who just years ago was going through these similar motions for a dance with her Daddy, was going to this dance.

She's gone to other semi-formals with friends but this time was a bit different.
She was going with a young man for the first time.

She asked, and he said, "Yes"

(this was the girls ask guys dance)

Again, she was filled with that mix of feelings:

anticipation - joy - enthusiasm and a touch of nervousness

(I didn't want to post his picture without permission, so just imagine a handsome, polite young man)

She had a great time and created another evening to remember!

SaveSaveSaveSave

Sophomore

The years go by so fast.....

I look at Sassy and I am sometimes taken aback at what I see.  

The little girl who use to cry as we were trying to get out the door in the mornings because her socks didn't feel right, 

has become this beautiful young woman.  

(teaching her sister how to pitch)

Hard to believe she is in 10th grade, working hard at school and sports, preparing for confirmation and 

getting ready to get her drivers license (she earned her drivers permit this past July).

 (Passed the written test ~ on the first try ~ and received her permit)

 (Drove part of the way to a softball tournament ~ 14 hours round trip)

(yep, she drove into and through the city ~ gotta learn sometime)

She helped to fill our summer calendar with her softball practices, games and tournaments 

(a week long one in Colorado created lots of memories!).  

It is fun to cheer her and her team on.  Win or lose they played hard and are a great group of girls!

Sassy works hard at everything she does.

This season for high school volleyball, she made the JV team and was a "swinger" for the Varsity team.  Meaning, she attended varsity events, practices and games and played when called upon.  Her JV team ended the season 22-4, with one first place tournament finish and her Varsity team ended 24-2 with two first place tournament finishes.  She received a high school letter for her hard work.  

She had a fun season and made new friendships along the way.

She thrives on being busy.  I am always amazed at how well she does balancing school, softball, and volleyball, 

yet finds time to sneak in some fun!

Her sports never seem to end ~ she had softball tryouts for next summer's club team in August.  

They played a few tournaments together this fall and have winter training starting up soon.  

Winter club volleyball tryouts are next weekend.

(everyone needs to eat a giant donut at least once in their life!)

Her smile is contagious and her caring personality melts my heart.

Puerto Vallarta ~ Part 3 ~ The Final Chapter

Onto the final chapter.....

Thursday, the girls hung out with another family and did a little shopping while Hubby, 

Action and I went zip-lining.  Action was feeling MUCH better and was excited to have his turn.  

The three of us had a blast ~ it's a bit invigorating to find yourself flying through the trees and over a river on a beautiful, warm, sunshiny day.

Friday ~ kind of a sad day ~ our last full day in Puerto Vallarta.....

Since Hubby, Action and I missed out on walking around and shopping a bit, we decided to to that on Friday morning with the Sassy and Smiley.   It just so happened that Friday wasn't just any Friday, it was Good Friday.  We took a taxi to the Malecon.  The Malecon is basically a boardwalk with lots of little shops and interesting sculptures.  On this particular day, there were also lot sand sculptures.  

This was one of them:

very cool!

There were also stations of the cross set up along the walk as well.  

I was very impressed and know fully that this would offend people in the US and most likely would not be permitted.

We continued walking and enjoying the culture.

Personally, I loved the architechure.

We also were able to visit this beautiful church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. 

There was a Good Friday service in progress, so we just stood in the back and admired the inside of the church.

Sassy and Smiley had also gone in the day before when they were shopping with friends, and just like then, 

Smiley felt the need to kneel down and pray.

When we were finished, we headed back to the resort to enjoy our last day in the warm sun.....

(lots of handstands were performed in the pool)

Saturday we headed home.  

After a flight cancellation and an unexpected overnight in a hotel in LA, this is how we spent Easter Morning ~ 5:30am at LAX.  It was an adventure to get home, but we eventually made it.

This vacation was a much needed break from the run-around of our everyday lives.  

The hustle and bustle of school, work, sports and daily life.  

We had such a great time and made some awesome memories with each other and with our friends.