Fun with Emily

BCS 8th Grade Trip

Monday, May 16 - Wednesday, May 18, 2022

After 11 years at BCS, today was the day. Today was the first day of the 8th grade adventure trip! Emily was so excited. We woke up to rain, but that did not dampen any spirits. We quickly loaded the car and headed to school so the kids could load the buses and hit the road.

This post is a little hard to write since I did not go on the trip, but living vicariously through the pictures, I think I can tell at least part of the story. The kids' first stop was the New River Gorge in Fayetteville, WV with a picnic lunch. Oh! And the rain stopped!!

Then after lunch, the kids headed to zip line with adventures on the gorge. Emily LOVES zip lining and as you can tell from these pictures, this time was no exception.

Then it was time to go to the cabins and move in and get dinner. I wasn't sure what to expect about the sleeping situation because the kids were all asked to identify one roommate, but it turned out there were actually several kids per cabin and Emily got to be in a cabin with all of her besties.

Then it was time for dinner and evening activities which apparently included time to relax and also smores!

Day two brought more adventures! This time the morning/afternoon adventure was a high ropes course - another thing Emily loves. Apparently, not all the kids were too excited about the high part of the course, so Emily reported that she got to do the high part twice.

After the ropes course, the kids got to go to a fun little coffee/smoothie shop where Emily reported that the best food on the whole trip was her mango smoothie.

Then it was time for paintball! Emily was not especially looking forward to this part of the trip (and there aren't really many pictures from this part) but she did say it was kind of fun. Note the serious pic before the paintball war began.

Then, before they knew it, it was Wednesday - the last day. Today was white water rafting day and luckily yet again the rain held off. Emily reported that rafting was fun, but a little cold. It isn't exactly summer yet. Clearly, they had a great time!

What amazing adventures this crew had! So grateful for all the amazing pics taken by all the chaperones. Emily had a fantastic time and memories for a lifetime. We're going to miss BCS.

Stars on Ice

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Today was a very exciting day! Today was the day we got to go see Stars on Ice! We have had these tickets since December, and we could not have been more excited.

Emily's skating friends went too, which made the experience extra fun...of course front row, rink-side seats didn't hurt either.

We got to see almost all of Team USA including Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Jason Brown, Alyssa Liu, Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Mirai Nagasu. They were all really, really amazing in person and they all skated two solos each. I loved the group numbers too.

Then after the show, the girls and I had meet-n-greet backstage passes. They got to meet all the skaters and even pose for some Covid-friendly pictures. The most fun to meet were Jason Brown and Vincent Zhou. Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Nathan Chen were all somewhat shy, surprisingly. Then every skater signed a special Stars on Ice poster that we got to take home. This was definitely worth every dime! Then, before we headed home we got some additional signed photos and a t-shirt at the souvenir stand. So much fun! What a great day!

Mt. Lebanon Competition

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Today was Emily's next figure skating competition and her first with the new program JJ choreographed. We learned a lesson from Cardinal and this time we skipped morning practice ice. Instead, she slept in a bit and did some practice ice the night before. That definitely started the morning off a lot better! First up was her short program and she finally skated clean! She got all of her jumps in and everything. But the scoring seemed a little odd and she did not get credit for one of her spins and she didn't get all the levels we thought she would get on her other spin and her step sequence. So, she ended up 4th out of 5. Still, it felt good to get over the hump of not having a clean, short program.

After the short program we had a little break so we went out for lunch at the cute little Italian place that we ate in last year. I regret I cannot recall the name, but it was good. Then we had to head back to the rink for the long programs. For the second time today, Emily skated a beautiful, clean program. She even hit her double Lutz, double loop, double toe combo. The scoring this time was a little more consistent with what we expected and she ended up in second place!

After she collected her new medal we headed off to the smoothie shop for mango smoothies and coffees. We love this place and it was just as delicious as we remembered.

Later in the evening we drove into Pittsburgh for a night on the town complete with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (still Emily's favorite) to celebrate! What a great trip we had!

8th Grade Service Project

Friday, May 6, 2022

Today was Middle School service day. The 8th grade girls were selected to help do some household chores and yard work for an elderly church member. Emily was thrilled because she got to work on the flower beds and plant flowers! This girl is definitely all-in on her "I love plants" phase.

Then, after they completed their service, they made a quick stop at D.Q. Dickinson Salt Works. Emily had never been there (we haven't either) but she was very into the salt samples they had.

Finally, the girls got to have a stop at Starbucks for treats, Frappuccinos and lattes. They all had a great day! It is hard to believe that our time at BCS is winding so quickly!

School Pictures

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

The 8th graders get to have a special photo session for the yearbook. This year they did the pictures at Bible Center Church. I was hoping the pictures would be outside, but it rained in the morning, so they did the pictures inside instead.

I thought they came out pretty good and Emily seemed happy with them...and the girls really enjoyed posing for the camera.

Graduation Brunch

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Today, the middle school girls' youth group leaders had a graduation brunch for the 8th graders. Emily was very excited to put on her new dress and go. They played games, ate lots of yummy food and prayed over each other as they prepare for graduation in a couple of weeks. I am really glad Emily decided to rejoin this group. She has really enjoyed all of the activities.