Park Day

We set out this morning to go blueberry picking but when we made it to the farm, it was closed. (The website made no mention of closings so we schlepped 35 mins. to get the bad news! Our "usual" farm doesn't grow blueberries so we have to venture further to get them.)

So as not to lose out on a gorgeous day and the picnic lunch we already had packed, we decided to instead dour to a great park near us. It's so rare for us to get a July day with no humidity that we just had to take advantage of it. The girls played on all of the new equipment that has been recently installed and after lunch we rode the minature train around the park.

We finished the day in true summer style as well - the girls applied tons of bug spray and grabbled jars to catch fireflies in the backyard. Next time I'll remember to get chocolate bars and we'll make s'mores. Now THAT would have made the day perfect!

Tomorrow is supposed to be equally nice so we'll decide in the morning where our travels will take us!

VBS Concert

The last day of VBS ends with a concert. Over the course of the week the kids learn about 6 or 7 songs complete with hand motions. It's definitely one of their favorite parts of the day. We listen to the song CD in the car driving to and from each day and Molly can't understand why I don't do the hand motions while I'm driving!

The show is always a highlight for Brenna and Molly was in 7th heaven to finally be able to do it too. This is one of their favorite songs called "Obey-o."

Final Hours . . .

Tomorrow will be our last day of Vacation Bible School and I think the girls are really going to miss it. We've all had a fun - and tiring! - week and have enjoyed the program. The water theme has been perfect for the steamy hot temperatures we've had the past few days.

And I now have a new respect for teachers! I come home exhausted each day and I only have 12 very well-behaved 4 & 5 year olds for a half day! I think part of it is that Dean has been away for a full week so I've been running around with kids in tow nonstop. He's due back tonight so the thunderstorm watch we are under had better not get in his way. This momma needs a break!

Thunder

Today's heat brought 2 hours of rumbling thunder tonight. Thunder automatically closes the pool. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but tonight was going to be Brenna's first swim meet.

So although Miss Bren said she never wanted to swim a meet, evidently her coaches have been giving her good feedback and she decided she was ready to try two events - the 25m freestyle and the 25m breaststroke. Needless to say, she had hyped herself up just enough to be disappointed with the cancellation. The next team they swim against has several kids from her school on it so I'm not sure if she'll want to sign up for that one. She's still pretty self-conscious when it comes to athletic pursuits. I was impressed that she was willing to try this meet and hope that's a sign of more self-confidence.

Earlier in the day her VBS teacher came to my class and said she just wanted to tell me what a great kid Brenna is. She said Bren is always attentive and cooperative, always excited for activities, friendly with all of the kids (especially given that she knows none of them) and she's just generally a great kid to have around. As a parent it really does your heart good to hear that! I made sure to tell Brenna what I was told because I think it's important for her to know that her good behavior never goes unnoticed. She can be so quiet that sometimes I think she feels overlooked when adults are actually just grateful she's so good and doesn't require a lot of attention!

So I guess Brenna is really starting to "come into her own." Sometimes I see her struggling to fit into her own skin, so to speak, but she's apparently managing just fine. She's just growing up before my eyes!

VBS

We are elbows deep in "Take the Plunge" Vacation Bible School (and yes Dad, it really is at a Catholic Church. He doesn't believe me!) Brenna has been doing this camp for 3 years and Molly has been dying to do it as well. She's spent previous years in the childcare room while I volunteered doing crafts so she's happy to finally be in her own class. And wonder of wonders I'm back voluntering - this year every day. Silly me said I would teach this year so I have Molly's class - a group of 13 kindergarteners called the "Steadfast Starfish." They are great kids and we are having a ball.

As you can see, today was Hawaiian shirt day. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the program, the people and the fun activities. It has always been one of Brenna's favorite summer highlights and now Molly and I can see why.

Fortunes

I took the girls out to our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner tonight. It was a fun "girls night" and when the fortune cookies came, we were all having fun.

Molly opened hers first and it read "You will be showered with good luck." Mine was next - "You will receive good news by mail." Then Brenna read hers - "The more you give, the more you have." I wondered if she'd understand what it meant but she immediately started explaining if she gave to others or helped them with something, the happier she would be and that meant she would have more love in her heart.

I was sitting back, basking in that brilliant child's insightfulness when Molly piped up, "And mine means that every time I take a shower, I'll get more good luck! Woohoo!!"

God help me - she's blonde inside I guess :)

Fish + Friends= Fun!

We had a great time at the National Aquarium today with our friends. It's a beautiful facility and the kids really enjoyed themselves. There is a feature exhibit about Australian rainforests which was neat since both my girlfriend and I have been to Australia and have seen the Barrier Reef rainforests. The girls were most impressed with the dolphin show and the sharks, but I'm 100% sure that there wasn't a single thing there they didn't enjoy!

Pool Rats

Brenna shows off her new bathing suit (she's all about the racing style ones now) while Molly shows off the new hole in her head!

Lawnmowers

These 2 little guys (and quite a few of their sisters and brothers) have become regular visitors in the past few weeks. Last year we saw rabbits quite often but this year they have clearly multiplied in population! We see a bunny on our lawn or on one of our neighbors' at least once a day. Luckily they aren't nearly as destructive as the deer!

Movie Time!

Because the girls don't do a lot of summer camps, I try to fill our calendar with lots of activities in and around our area. And lucky for us there are lots to choose from if you know where to look. Today we headed out to a movie theatre that has free movies on Tues. mornings and saw "Curious George." Tomorrow we'll hit a local shopping complex where "Animal Ambassadors" will do a show. Thursday is a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium with friends and I can't even remember what we have planned for Friday! We've also been at the pool nearly every day for Brenna's swim team and both girls are quickly becoming little fish. They are both registered for the library's summer reading program and all three of us will be at Vacation Bible School at a nearby parish next week.

So keeping checking back - we never sit still for long in this house!

Tooth Fairy Coming Again!!

The Tooth Fairy is becoming a regular in our house lately.

Poor Brenna looks more like a jack o'lantern with all the gaps in her smile.

This time the poor fairy might get a little mixed up though.

She'll have to find the right room because this time things are different . . .

Now Miss Molly has a hole in her head! Her loose tooth has been hanging on for days and finally, after much drama (why are these first teeth so traumatic?!) it's out. Just goes to show that you never know when these things will happen. Brenna has been one of the last in her class to lose teeth and Molly is one of the first. Go figure.

It's funny how such a tiny tooth can leave such a big hole. She really looks different!

HAPPY FLAG DAY!

And in our house that also means

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The girls and I will make him a his special Heath bar/Cool Whip/angel food cake concoction and see if he still has it in him to blow out the candles!

Zoo Day

It's been a while since we've gone to the zoo. It's so close by and we have a membership but with school and activities, it's hard to carve out the time during the year. Summer is much easier (as long as the weather cooperates - the many hills are killers in the humidity!)

Well today was perfect so we grabbed out best buddies and spent almost five hours checking out all of our old favorites. The zoo is on watch now as they wait to see if the female panda Mei Xiang is pregnant again. That would be big news! We also picked up the schedule of summer concerts which the girls love. My guess is we'll definitely be back to the zoo sooner rather than later!

Portraits

Here are Molly's belated 5-year-old pictures. It took me awhile to get them done and scanned. I love the shots with her arms crossed. I initially didn't buy those but when I saw them printed, I just had to get them since they most capture her personality.

My spunky little sailor girl!

Ahem! Has Anyone Seen a 3rd Grader?

Oh wait - here's one now!!

Today was Brenna last day of school and the excellent report card she brought home tells me that we have a new third grader in the house. YIKES - Grade 3!!

She was sad to say goodbye to her teachers in Gr. 2 - especially since we learned the wonderful Gr. 3 teacher will be leaving. However the new teacher has already been hired and "word on the street" (she'll be coming from another school nearby) is nothing but good. The school is also losing one more teacher - Molly's! So both girls will have new faces in their classes but we trust that they will be wonderful - and the school has been right on with all of their recent hires so I'm not at all worried.

The only other recent hire for the school is . . . me! I was offered and accepted a job in the school office. I guess they figured I was there so much that they might as well hire me. The timing was perfect since both girls will be there full-day next year so I just couldn't refuse.

So after a long week of work (I've been in the office the past 2 weeks) and parties and every other imaginable "extra", we are all ready to kick off our vacation in style. We'll start by sleeping in!!

Rooting for the Home Team!

A great time was had by all at Girl Scout Night at the Nationals yesterday. It was the first time we've been to the stadium. But boy are we tired today - it was a late night!

Can you stand one more?

This is just a 20 second blip of Brenna at her final Irish Dance class last week. My camera is on the fritz and kept seizing up so I didn't get much else. She looks happy at least! Her teacher wants her to compete in a feis this summer but Brenn says she doesn't want to. It doesn't matter to me either way so I told her she could try it or not, change her mind, whatever and that would be fine with me.

Scouts

Today was Brenna's last day of Brownies. They had a big luncheon for all 75 Girl Scouts at her school which was a great way for them to end the year. She received the last group of patches she's earned this year and loves sporting them on her vest.

Now she'll have a two week session of Girl Scout camp to look forward to in July!

One more Recital post

The girls had their dance recital Saturday evening. They were wonderful! Sadly my camera fritzed out on me and nothing that I taped in the "movie mode" came out. Big bummer because I had Brenna's Yankee Doodle jazz number that was fabulous and the Finale to Dreamgirls that was great too. All I wound up with was a single shot of the Finale. . .

Brenna's there just to the right of center. They were all wearing tiaras and shirts with gold stars and their names. It was a nice little show with just enough dazzle without all the razzle! Both girls want to return for next year so watch this spot same time next year for more dancing!

Last Day

Friday was Molly's last day of school. She insisted on bringing her two teachers these enormous balloons. PreK has been a very fun year for her and we are looking forward to a nice number of years with the group of kids that make up her class. All 21 of them are moving on to Kindergarten and will be joined by 9 new kids. Then, God willing, they will move together through the grades.

A big part of the reason I love the school is the wonderful spirit there. Because so many kids are there for 10 years together, it really becomes a special place for them. Friday was also the last day for the oldest kids as the 8th grade gradulated that night. A school tradition is that all of the classes, teachers and staff line the hallways and Gr. 8 makes a final trip through the school collecting hugs and high fives from all of the people they've come to know and love. There wasn't a dry eye in the building!! It will be very emotional when my kids the big-kid end of that rather than the little kid end!

The only bad part of the day was that Molly wasn't able to wear the "last-day-of-school" dress that she agonized about picking out Her class had their Relay Field Day so they all needed to be in shorts and sneakers. She had so much fun that I think she forgot all about the dress!

It's been a great year!