Fun Times

The past few months have been quite busy in the Van Horn household. We cannot believe that the month of June has flown by. So much has happened, so much to look forward to!

In May, Sophia celebrated her 13th birthday on Cinco de Mayo...it is hard to believe that we have another teenager in the house! She celebrated her birthday with a few friends and went out for a movie and pizza.



Sophia turns 13!!

 The boys finished up their soccer seasons with winning records. Unfortunately for Alex, this was his last season with the AYSO League because he will be too old in the fall. He wants to try out for Hampton High School's soccer team next year.

Soccer Bros

In June, the kids were excited about getting out of school. They all did very well this school year. Alex did well on his SOL tests and learned that it is much easier to study and pass the SOLs than to take the final exams (he got out a whole week earlier). Sophia was elected Student Council President for next year. Both Sophia and Matt ended the school year with getting on Principal's List. We are very proud of their achievements.

A week after school let out, I volunteered to help drive and chaperone 9 Girl Scouts to a trip to Hershey, PA. Our trip was supposed to last 3 days but it got cut short due to foul weather. We did, however get the chance to go to Chocolate World. The girls had a blast. We took a very entertaining trolley ride around Hershey and we got to create our own candy bars!! The next day we were supposed to go to Hershey Park but the weather would not let up. The girls were disappointed since they worked hard selling cookies to go on this trip. However, the park was kind enough to let us use the tickets again next year.



Sophia with her chocolate creation in a personalized tin box.

We enjoyed a week long vacation in the Outer Banks with some good friends of ours. It was nice to be on an oceanfront property and not have to worry about packing up the car to spend a day at the beach. The first couple of days was cool and windy. Red flags were posted with "NO SWIMMING" but thankfully by the 3rd day, the kids were able to go in the ocean. The kids enjoyed boogie boarding on the waves and swimming out to a sandbar. They dug holes in the sand about as deep as they were. On the day we were leaving, we took a trip to Corolla, a northern town in the Outer Banks. We visited and climbed the Currituck Lighthouse. The views were simply amazing.



This beautiful sunrise was taken right outside the balcony of the beachhouse we stayed at in Nags Head.



Currituck Lighthouse

Southside view from the Currituck Lighthouse.

Family Pic

After our trip to the OBX, Alex had to leave for Boy Scout Camp for a week. Despite not wanting to go this year, he admitted that he had a lot of fun and made some new friends from other Troops, some as far as Texas and Florida. It was his first year "separating" from the rest of his Troop and participating in all water sports and water related activities at Claytor Lake. He even earned a small boat license! Speaking of license...Ted has been in the car with Alex practicing driving stickshift. It won't be long until he gets his driver's license.

Sophia joined her summer swim team again this year. She is doing quite well and enjoys being able to compete outdoors.



Sophia just got done finishing 1st in the 50M Backstroke.



 

Matthew just finished taking swimming lessons at the YMCA for the past two weeks.  He loved it and was happy to find out that he advanced to the next level. He is looking forward to attending Webelos (Cub Scouts) Resident Camp in less than two weeks with his father. I think he will enjoy it!

For the 4th of July (it was a very hot day), both Alex and Matthew participated as scouts in two different events. Alex, Ted, and his Troop performed a flag raising ceremony for the Knights of Columbus. They listened to Congressman Rob Whitman and a few of the Knights speak. Matthew and I attended a good old fashioned 4th of July Parade in Historic Hilton Village located in Newport News. It was a very short parade (about 4 blocks). The boys enjoyed passing out candy and handing out flags to the parade goers. Since we led the parade, the boys were able to watch all the Corvettes and Mustangs that were part of the parade. The Cub Scouts also got to meet Congressman Scott Rigell.



Boy Scout Troop 242 lead a Flag Raising Ceremony.




Cub Scouts from Pack 242 get ready for the 4th of July parade.

 We ended the evening watching fireworks in Yorktown along the York River. We arrived at the Yorktown Battlefield a couple of hours before the show (as suggested). It was definitely one of the best firework shows that I have seen in awhile (besides the ones they do at Busch Gardens during the summer) and worth the wait even on a very hot and humid evening.



Fireworks at Yorktown

 We hope you and your families are enjoying your summer!! Keep in touch!