Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer!

The thing that I simultaneously dreaded and longed for has arrived.

Ella is done with first grade.

And summer has begun.

And now, like this blog post, our days have lost all their structure.



Goodbye wonderful first grade teacher! You had a challenging class full of dramatic 6 year olds and strong personalities, but you persevered beautifully. Thank you for being such a great teacher! We've been so lucky to be in your class.



Goodbye Daisy Scouts! Ella had her Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony, and that finally motivated me to hunt down all the patches that I'd been holding on to for her Daisy Scouts Apron. Except that apparently I didn't "save" as many as I thought. She's missing about 1/2 her petals. But I KNOW that she earned them all. (Surely we should know by now that I am not to be trusted with small things that must be ironed or sewn or kept in a safe place.) Nevertheless, the bridging ceremony was a riotous success (most of the riot coming from the girls who shouted "WELCOME TO BROWNIES!!!" every time one of their scout sisters walked over the bridge...)

Hello Summer Olympics Summer Games! If someone ever suggest you volunteer at Special Olympics, DO IT. In fact, look up now when the next event is & email their volunteer coordinator. It will be the best Saturday you have all month. My friend Marianne & I took the kids from church and IT WAS AMAZING. So fun. The atheletes were great, the races were inspiring, the whole thing was fantastic. Here's a blurry picture of one of my favorite teenagers helping hand out medals to the swimming champions (of which there were, perhaps, 200) (I KNOW!!! SO GREAT!):


Goodbye Friends! We've lost TWO good families this week. We're so sad our friends are moving. :( But we're happy when we get to have all-day playdates while their parents load the truck. This works not only because you're "being of service" while "watching their kids" (when really, playdates are an essential way to keep the peace in our house. Too much free time = crazy screaming = Mom loosing it), but then you don't have to help load the moving truck! (I'm just kidding friend, I'll help you load your truck. But are you sure you don't want me to just keep the kids out of the way??? And watch movies with them all day? Ya sure?)

When we're alone, the boredom is overpowering, but magically the girls find plenty of things to do when friends are over. Like makeovers...



Yes, she really did her own makeup.



Then dress up and Glamor Shots.



Which, of course, degrades in to this...



..and the inevitable GLOW wrestling/hugging match (which, just like the real GLOW matches, must be stopped before they lead to tears.)



And so we continue our summer, our days random and adventurous, and none of them alike. Except for swimming at the apartment pool and eating pickles. Both of which, according to Ella, no summer day is complete without.

So what are you up to this summer?