Officially summer

School is out of session. The pools are open. But it's officially summer because I have a sunburn. Yep. I'm careful, but it happened anyway. We had a great couple of days in Kansas City. A night and two days at Great Wolf Lodge. Sophia was excited that one of the wolves was girly.

Most of the time was spent at the pool, of course. Sophia's swimming lessons are already paying off. She had a blast playing in the pool nonstop.

Our weekend was capped off with a soccer match between my San Jose Earthquakes and The CoMo and Stewartsville VanDykes' Sporting KC. It was a great match. The good news is that all three goals were scored in the net right in front of us. The bad news is that only one of them was scored by a Quake. Sophia enjoyed some quality time with Casey during the match. Asking lots of questions. All the kids did great. It was a great time.

Today is just a relaxing day to catch up on rest and laundry. I love three-day weekends. Hope everyone has had a fantastic and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

Turning the Page

Today was Sophia's last day of preschool. She's been sad about it, but she is definitely in the bargaining stage of grief. She's trying to orchestrate some superschool with her old friends, plus a new friend she made the other night (more on that later), plus her old teachers with her new classroom. It's all very intricate. That is when she isn't just saying, "Nope. I'm not leaving Samuel Preschool. Ever. I will ask my friends to stay too." Samuel Preschool has been an incredible experience. I know I've mentioned it before. It helped with our transition to St. Louis, and it has helped Sophia transition to every day school. She has made friends, and so have I. She has made academic and social progress. I am just amazed every day at what she comes home with in words, art and stories. I am thrilled to start this next chapter in our family life. I am excited for Sophia to become a school girl. Sophia's preschool does not have graduation, per se. Instead, the big kid class performs the Three Piggy Opera for their parents and the little kids. Sophia has been talking about this ever since she saw it last year. That was her entire reason for wanting to go back to school. Sophia played the Mama Pig and sent her little piggies off with grace and selflessness. However, she did instruct them to write and visit every Sunday night.

Honestly, I am going to miss every one of these little piggies. It's been an honor to get to know then and their parents. I've learned a lot this year.

Almost Ten

Our ten year anniversary is getting closer all the time. One of the things I appreciate about being married to Erick is that he lets me take self portraits of us as often as I want. I love this man. There is no one in the world I'd rather have my face pressed up against for posterity.

I just love being a mom. Especially on Mother's Day. Then Sophia has to smile for pictures.

Along with normal school pictures, we ordered these at the Samuel Preschool Auction. A photographer with kids in the preschool donated her services. Wasn't that cool? Anyway, we also got the disc so we can print what we want. Problem is, I'm not sure what I want. I'm going to order some wallets. Let's say you were to get a wallet sized photo of Sophia. Which of these would you rather have? A

B

C

D

E

My fav is "E", the black and white closeup. Sophia's fav is "B", the colorful full shot with her pleased grin. I get it. That's particularly cute, too, but it's not as artistic and intense. Both poses show sides of her personality. Rather than doing a poll, I wanted people to comment. Assuming anyone is reading and/or gives a flip. Exercise your right, people. Vote! I may or may not listen.

School Pictures

(also, my scanner's not working, so it's a picture of a picture. Classy, no?)

Hanging with the Cousins

This weekend, we got to hang out with Aaron, William and Henri all weekend. The three of us had a blast with them, and we didn't even leave their house once - although Erick did leave on Sunday morning to get donuts... We all spent lots of time on the couches together.

There was also lots of noise. Henri enjoyed being the entertainer now and then. This was a big finish to one of his songs. Notice the intense rock star gaze.

Once David and Casey got home on Sunday, we went to William's piano recital. Well, we thought it was his piano recital, but it turned out to be a private performance. The recital changed, but their calendar hadn't. Still, it worked out great for us to get to hear him regardless. Sophia was very proud of her cousin. Isn't he handsome?

It was a fantastic weekend for all of us. Full of laughs and random yelling. Who could ask for more?

Continuing Education

Is it weird that I get giddy every time we get the catalog from the local Community College with their random offerings for the semester and/or summer? I have yet to take any of these classes, but I most certainly will one of these days. So far, this summer's top choices for me are: Indoor Composting: Making Bokashi Buckets - yes, please!! I love to compost but have no yard of my own. This would be awesome. French/German/Italian for the Traveler - Now I just need to decide where to go and I'll learn how to ask about the bathroom when I get there! Ballroom Dancing: Beginning - Do I really need to explain this one? Why is it such a natural desire to want to be able to glide across the dance floor? Any dancing, really. Sign me up. My partner, too, of course. Right, Erick? The Magic of Coincidence - I have no idea what this class would be, but it looks like a hoot. Re-live the 1904 World's Fair - You get to cruise the former grounds and eat foods that were prepared then. Awesome! All of the Creative Writing Workshops - these I will one day attend. Just not this summer. Have any of you ever taken Community College classes like these? What was it like? Great stories?