Top Shots

 In the spring, Jaden and Cody joined a basketball team with their cousin Ryan and some boys from last summer's Farm League team. Their coach signed the team up for various tournaments throughout April and May and a few in the summer as well. Their team, TopShots, played against many very tough teams but learned and grew so much from the experience. It was so fun to watch this scrappy, hard-working team of boys!

Jaden often did the tip-off for his team. He faced off against some very tall opponents!

Jaden also served as one of his team's two primary point guards. He had great ball control and played very unselfishly-- passing the ball off regularly to his teammates. Jaden was a consistent rebounder and a top scorer for the team. His highest scoring game was 19 points! Jaden wasn't afraid to drive the ball into the lane and try shots against bigger players. He always worked hard and played a smart game. It was so fun watching our #15!

Cody was such a hustler for the TopShots! Aunt Kim even developed a nickname for him-- Turbo-- since he was so fast. He was fast dribbling the ball, fast jumping in for a steal, and (my personal favorite), fast in taking the ball away from an opponent who was attempting a fast break. Cody's signature move was turning on his high speed and knocking the ball out of a player's hands before they could go up for a layup. He effectively stole the ball like this so many times without even causing a foul. It was the best play ever to watch! Cody played amazing defense-- getting many steals and rebounds. At one game, Cody got 7 steals! While his strength was definitely defense, Cody also played confident offense and scored regularly for his team. He wasn't afraid to take tough shots and made some great assists too. We were proud of our #24!

The TopShots team didn't have a deep bench, so Jaden and Cody got a lot of playing time. They were often on the court together. It was so fun seeing their twin-minds work and watching them make plays together. Jason enjoyed keeping stats at the game and proudly determined that the boys' best game was when they had a combined total of 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 steals. Wow! 

Because they faced a lot of tough teams, many with much taller and much more experienced players, the TopShots didn't get a ton of wins under their belt. Out of the three weekend games they played, they usually won one game, though! And most importantly, they always fought hard and never gave up. At one weekend tournament, the team was thrilled to win 2nd place medals!

Kao, Ryan, Jaden, Cody, Creed, Jude, Quentin, Teddy

I didn't get very many photos of the boys' fan club, but the two sets of grandparents regularly attended their tournaments. These fans always agreed that all three Schleicher boys were tough, hard-working, talented players. What a great group of athletes!

May Misc

Whew! May is always such a full month! Here are some family events from this fun, yet crazy time of year...

 Fishing with Friends

Cody and Jaden were invited out to a day of fishing with their friend John in early May. John and his family took the boys to a pond in their neighborhood and let the boys borrow their fishing equipment. It was a perfect day for fishing. Cody had great success and caught three fish!

 

Jaden, unfortunately, didn't catch any fish but said he got a lot better with casting. He loved the fishing pole he got to try that day. Both boys enjoyed the time outside and the yummy picnic lunch with John's family. What a fun day with a sweet family!

Building Workshops

Adley attended two more building workshops this month. She sure loves these monthly events! Home Depot's event was creating a flowerpot.

Another weekend, Adley and I attended the Lowe's building workshop along with Aunt Kim and Nathan. We skipped over to Lowe's between some of Jaden, Cody, and Ryan's basketball tournament games. It was a perfect way to spend the downtime. The monthly project was a cute pop-up flower box. The flowers actually moved up and down as the kids turned the crank.

Nathan and Adley were excited to receive a treat from Lowe's when their project was done. The Kool-Aid drinks turned their tongues different colors!

Family Visit

My parents had the Walquist crew over for dinner one night this month to see some extended relatives--my Uncle Mike and Aunt Jeanene visiting from Chicago. It was fun catching up with them.

Mother's Day

What a blessing it is to be momma to these three kiddos! Our church had this fun photo booth on Sunday morning that provided a great photo opp.

Later in the day we gathered with the rest of the Walquist-Schleicher family to celebrate all the moms of the family.

Jason designed a creative "Advantage Moms" Jeopardy game. Not surprisingly, the mom team came out on top.

All three teams enjoyed buzzing in with their chosen "farm animal" sound. Ha!

Each team was awarded a candy prize for our efforts.

Many of the cousins put on a play for the family that afternoon too. We love seeing their creativity!

Salem Meal Packing

After church one Sunday, our family participated in a service project--meal packing for the hungry. Adley and I joined up with some good friends.

Jaden and Cody joined a meal-packing assembly line with other kids from their Tweens group. These 5th and 6th graders participated in the service project for a while and then gathered to watch a movie together. We love that our church gives us opportunities like this to serve.

The next day, each of the school classes participated in the meal-packing event too. We received a couple photos of Adley serving with her kindergarten friends.

Lost Tooth

Adley has been waiting for this day all year.... she finally lost her first tooth!! After quite a few days of having a very wiggly tooth, she let Momma pull it. She shed a few tears but eventually was very proud to put the tooth in her new tooth pillow. Adley was especially excited to lose the tooth before school let out so she could be added to the "Lost A Tooth" poster in kingergarten.

Spring Program

At the end of the school year, Salem hosted a fine-arts program. All of our kids participated in some capacity.

Adley sang a song with grades K-2.

Cody's handbell choir performed a challenging, yet beautiful-sounding piece.

Jaden played for all of the band songs that evening, both with the 5th grade and middle school groups. He had to learn a lot of music! We were sitting in a poor spot to see Jaden, as his bartione cast a dark shadow over his face. But, we thought his pieces sounded great! Here are two of the six pieces Jaden played.

Disc Golf

It has been such a treat this school year to have Fridays off along with Jason. In the past, I've always taught piano lessons on Fridays. This year, however, Tuesday was my piano-teaching day at the school, so Jason and I were able to enjoy many kid-free Fridays. Most of the time, we ended up doing house chores together, or he got wrapped up in some work commitment. Occasionally, however, we made time for something fun together. On our last Friday before the kids' summer break, Jason and I played a round of disc golf at a local church. Some holes were a little difficult to find, and I ended up losing one of our discs in a gully. Nevertheless, it was a fun, memorable date day!

End of School

A few end of the year special events included...

Cody's successful completion of his teacher's Book Bingo project!! Only 3 kids in both 5th grade classes combined finished this challenge. We were so proud of Cody for his great reading all year (16 books to complete this challenge!). 

Pastries with Parents!

Adley's kindergarten class welcomed parents into school for donuts and treats after dropoff. We loved having some extra time with our sweet girl that morning!

Last Day Fun!

Adley loved helping "clean the desks" on their last day of school.

The kids got a special ice cream treat for snack that day too.

One of the boys in Adley's class hand-made paper crowns for each classmate to celebrate the last day of school. Each crown had a different message. Adley's crown said, "First Grade, here I come!" What a sweet gift!

At the closing chapel service on the last day of school, each grade selected a class representative to talk in front of the school. The class rep had to talk about a highlight from the year and mention how they "stayed firm" in faith (like their school theme mentioned) throughout the year. Both Adley and Jaden were chosen as their class spokesperson. Jason attended the chapel and got videos of both kids.

Girls' Outing

Ever since my friend Andrea moved to Texas, she and I have celebrated our birthdays by planning a girls' outing together. We try to pick an activity that neither of us has done before. For Andrea's May birthday, we tried out this National Museum of Funeral History. Yes, we realize it was an interesting way to celebrate a birthday, but it was definitely a unique idea. We both learned a lot and enjoyed completing a couple of the museum's scavenger hunts. 

Ryan's Birthday

Jaden and Cody loved celebrating their cousin Ryan's 11th birthday with a slumber party at his house. Ryan invited both boys and one other friend to Altitude trampoline park and then a sleepover.

The boys enjoyed learning new games, playing basketball, being outside, watching a movie, eating yummy food, and most of all being with friends. What a treat to have this special birthday time!

Adley Misc

Adley always has a creative mind for looking at things in a unique way. After playing a game of Tetris Link, Adley wanted to use the pieces to make a picture. Here is her final creation!

Another day, she used the wipe-off boards from the game Just One to leave a special message ("You are loved by Jesus Christ") for the family at the top of the stairs. We love seeing evidence of her sweet faith!

Here are some of Adley's recent piano songs. She is making great progress!

And that's a wrap for May!