Parade

 Camille walked with ThunderRidge in the Western Welcome Week as part of Color Guard! Audra and I walked with them as the water crew which was pretty fun. It was actually really fun. And it was awesome to see Camille. She's pretty incredible! And so fun to watch!

Dance Camp

 Camille started dance! She did a dance camp and had a blast! It was a lot of fun for her, and she's pretty good! Ben and I find her mesmerizing and can't take our eyes off her.

Softball

 That's our Camille- playing some softball! She is doing some softball camps to keep busy this summer and is as cute as can be out there! This is her batting. I think she got an RBI on this one, where she hit the ball but it went as far as a bunt and she made it to first the runner came home, so it worked out well.

Another Teenager!

This month has been INCREDIBLY busy. Like, absolutely insanely busy.

But, we were very happy to be able to take an evening and celebrate this sweet girl! We can hardly believe that she is a teenager!

She chose a Greek restaurant to enjoy for dinner as a family.

I took her to soccer practice, and then we drove over to the mall, and Ben, Audra, and Claire met us there after Claire finished soccer.

The YW decorated our house for Camille!

Apparently we are in the "shoes" era. Both Claire and Camille are obsessed with shoes, so Camille got some Nike sneakers to enjoy.

Here's Camille at 13:

-This last year has been pretty rough for her. She had some real and scary struggles that we had to work through, but she has worked hard and is making incredible progress and reaching some pretty important goals, and we are super proud of her

-She is excelling in middle school! She is a bit of a perfectionist, sometimes to a fault, but she works really hard and it shows

-She does stretches every night- she really wants to be able to do the splits

-Her favorite color is green

-Her favorite subject is art- she makes some absolutely beautiful artwork

-She loves to cook, and does a great job with her Family and Consumer Science class. She wants to do ProStart (the culinary program at the high school) when she's in high school

-She started out loving being on the competitive soccer team, but her confidence was thwarted being with bigger players. It was hard to watch. But, it has opened her up to other opportunities like Winterguard (which was absolutely wonderful for her), and now she wants to try dance which is awesome

-She keeps her bedroom perfectly clean and organized, but that does not translate into keeping her table spot clean or putting her shoes and messes around the house away

-She dropped band, much to my dismay

-She LOVES reading Marriott Madness every night

-Sometimes at night she can't sleep and comes and knocks on our door every 3 minutes to see if we are asleep. She somehow is scared until we are asleep and then she can fall asleep. I don't understand it, it makes no sense to me

-She likes making money, though opportunities for baby-sitting are sparse. She is mowing a lawn for money, and that's been good for her

-She is finally almost 5 ft tall- but not quite yet

-She loves the show "Even Stevens"

-She is great at giving mom eyerolls

Piano Recital

 It was Audra's last piano recital, and one more recital for Camille. They both played beautifully.

I somehow ended up randomly throwing up during it. Thankfully, I was able to hear them, but had to suddenly leave and race to the restroom in-between songs.

I ended up with a pretty bad stomach flu and throwing up every 30 minutes on the dot until 1 AM. So, I missed Mother's Day at church (where I was supposed to teach a short RS lesson in conjunction with our Mother's Day RS Brunch), and I was pretty crummy.

But, the recital was beautiful and our girls are amazing pianists! Audra says that piano brings her a lot of joy, so I really hope that she continues it at college.

Audra got a special honor for graduating this year

Principal's Award

 Ca

Camille was one of only 4 -7th graders to earn the Principal's Award- meaning all A's all year! We knew she was getting an award, but didn't know it was such a prestigious one. She has worked really hard to get where she is at- she never, ever settles. She always does her best in everything she does. Sometimes we have to remind her that she doesn't need to be perfect all the time, but she naturally wants to always put forth her best effort. She is pretty awesome, and this award is well deserved! Go, Camille!

Hmm....

 I'm not sure how I feel about Camille's response to my text...

Art Show

 Camille refused to let me take a picture of her, but her art was chosen to be on display at the DCSD art show! This is a big honor, and we are very proud of her. She loves art, and her ceramic sewing machine was absolutely beautiful. It was fun to go to the Legacy center and see her art on display.

April Fool's

 Camille got us good with this fun "prank":

Winterguard Ends

 To end an unbelievable season. Camille got to perform at The Coliseum! She was pretty proud of herself for being able to perform in such an iconic place. It was really fun to see her perform! And also really bittersweet for the season to end. It has been life-changing for Camille as she has fallen in love with this sport.

Glitter in the Air

Now Camille is looking forward to Marching Band with Color Guard!

First Competition!

Camille had her first Winterguard competition- she is so beautiful and such a joy to watch! She was a bit nervous and ended up being too scared to throw her flag, so she needs to work on that. But they did great, and it was a lot of fun to watch them! Her coaches LOVE her and said, "by the time she is a senior, she's going to need private coaching! She is catching on so fast and we can't believe how good she is already!"

 

Winterguard

 Camille decided to try something brand new- Winter guard! It's color guard in the winter time.

It's a new program for ThunderRidge High School so they let middle schoolers sign up. She LOVES it!

They had their first performance and got to get all glittery, which she really liked. We had to drive down to Colorado Springs in the snow, but it was worth it. I about cried watching her perform- she was beautiful! Her movements and lines were stunning. She is simply unbelievable, and it was awesome to see her do something so different from anything else she has ever done. I'm so proud of her!

Ranch View Day of Service

Several Ranch View students came to Trailblazer to do some service, including Camille. It was hot outside and she got tired of weeding, so she and her friends convinced their teacher to let them come inside and help me. It was such a highlight having her there, and reminded me how much I miss having her at school with me!

Fall Pillows

 Camille wanted some fall pillows, so she sewed herself some.

Camille Soccer

 Camille's life now revolves around school and soccer. She begged us to try competitive soccer this year, and we decided to let her try. She tried out and made United Gold- a mid-level competitive team that doesn't travel a whole ton, which we appreciate.

She is playing mid-forward. She has a really great coach. She has practices 3 times a week, and not a whole ton of games- only about 8 per season. She is on the team for the whole year, though she might get winter off depending on what the team decides.

So far she enjoys it. It is a higher level of play, so hopefully it will get her ready for high school soccer, which is her goal.

Camille's First Triathlon

Camille completed her first triathlon! She did it with her friends Amelia, Lana, and Bree. She ROCKED it! Seriously, she did awesome. She was worried about the swimming, but she made it look easy. We are so proud of her!