Summer is here.

Ok, so summer has actually been here for a while. But I'm just now getting around to updating the blog. I have finally been pressured into signing onto Facebook, so now that all my high school friends are suddenly able to track me down, I want to appear competant at the technical writing habits.

May flew by. Mother's Day was rather uneventful compared to everything that happened in April. We didn't do anything special, though we did get together with our neighbors to play a game called "Fact or Crap" that was one of my gifts and a lot of fun. We sat out on the patio on an unusally cool evening and had wine/beer while the kids played video games inside until bedtime. Florence was already down for the night. I'm truly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - the "baby years" tunnel, that is. One of my other gifts was to go visit (again, without the kids) the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens. It was absolutely beautiful. Tony and I went in the evening to try and avoid some of the heat (we only fared so well, it was still about 105), but it meant we got to see the exhibit after the sun went down. It was gorgeous. I had not been to the gardens since we moved here, so it was also interesting to walk the paths and read up on the desert.

For Memorial Day, we hiked at "Hole in the Rock". This was Florence's first trip on foot - she's been several times in the Baby Bjorn, but this year, she climbed the steps herself. I think her favorite part was sitting in the dirt playing with rocks. The other kids went to the top with Tony. I just try and wave and not think about the damage that could happen if one of them tumbled. They did slide down the "buttcrack" this year - that's a crevice down the face of the "mountain" that is considered the shortcut down.

May was filled with parties celebrating the end of one "year" or another. Charlie and Lucy finished their 3rd and 1st grade years. Each of them finished strongly in school. Charlie had had some struggles adapting to the higher requirements of third grade - reading science and social studies text books and remembering information to answer test questions. And since they are exclusively writing in cursive now, he is constantly having to rewrite his spelling words so they are legible. I'm having great difficulty making this a priority as my own writing is barely legible some days. Often, he would get no grade for homework because he would forget to write his name on it, he's so casual about anything not video game related! But his last report card balanced out in As and Bs, so I truly can't complain. Charlie also had his first orchestra concert at the end of the year. I was so proud of him keeping up with that even when it meant setting his alarm to rise and get to school early. He is now going to orchestra camp which meets every morning. I've even letting him walk home on his own most days. That's a big deal for me! He did very well with his private lessons and plans to continue into the fall. Still not interested in piano. pooh! He is continuing his karate lessons - he now has a green belt.

Lucy did wonderfully at school. She is so intense and conscientious at her work that sometimes it left her in tears at her desk. She's reading really well now, even reads to Alex and Florence some days and is able to finish chapter books with only a little bit of help with some of the longer words. She started back to gymnastics in May - her first session since her broken arm in December. Her strength came back quickly. She also attended a week of camp, but while she had fun, it wasn't quite what she expected, and actually was uncomfortable with being away from home all day everyday. For someone who is such a social butterfly at school, it surprised me to find her clinging to me like a moth to a lamp when it was drop off/pick up time.

Alexander has one more year at home before kindergarten. He is starting to learn his letters and even some words...despite me, really. I haven't worked with him much - we spend so much time playing ball, climbing, dancing etc. I've thought I'd just let him learn at school, but since he is showing some interest, I'm going to make an effort to at least introduce him to the alphabet. He is extremely active, loves playing swords, spiderman, ball. He is also pretty coordinated with balls - he dribbles really well and can hit a ball if you pitch it to him.

Florence is really starting to be a stinker. She can throw a tantrum that makes me worry about her hurting herself. She loves to climb and I have had to pull her off bookshelves, the back of the couch, and the boys' bunkbeds. We're going to have make more effort childproofing than we ever did with the other kids. She is extremely observant - she's learning how to work doorknobs (my life will be over once she learns how to get into the laundry where the catbox is!). She is picking up new words everyday, especially names of people that mean something to her (neighbors, babysitters, etc.) She LOVES to dance. I can usually pull her out of a bad mood by putting the radio on (she's especially fond of 80s music, can't imagine why?!), and dancing with her. She loves spinning around and getting dipped. She is finally starting to get some hair, it's all curly in the back, and she is gonna be a red head. Maybe that explains the tantrums.

We are leaving in two days for our summer exodus out of the desert. June has been very kind to us with very few days over 100. We're really looking forward to the luciousness of the east coast, though, even if it means humidity in addition to heat. We'll spend a week visiting Tony's family (mom, two brothers with two kids each, and his sister with two kids, one a new baby born in May) and then we'll head up to the DC area to stay with Monica's parents. Tony will stay with us for a week, but then head back to work in phoenix while Monica and the kids stay on until the end of July. We'll go camping, fishing, swimming, up to Connecticut to visit Kathleen and her five kiddos, especially the new one, Ms. Aislinn. We'll also head down to Richmond to visit with John Gilbert and his new baby, John Rocco born June 12. John Rocco is doing very well despite his heart condition, better than they thought he would. They may even get to take him home before he has surgery. We are keeping our prayers going strong for him.

The only other new thing for this month: We've finally done the "green" thing and bought an electric lawn mower. I don't know how "green" we are actually having grass in a desert climate - and I have to put "green" in quotes so you'll know I'm not talking about the grass - but maybe with the electric lawnmower we'll at least break even with our footprint. Anyhow, the whole thing was a frustrating exercise in exasperation at trying to train a 100 ft long snake. Unfortunately I tried to learn how to use my new tool at 4 in the afternoon when it was blazing hot. I found myself wanting to run over the cord just to teach it a lesson. But I'm going to give it another shot because the pushbutton start is so amazing compared with the shoulder detaching, cord yanking, starter of the other mower.

For Father's Day, I took the kids to Kiddie Kandids to get their pictures made. It's amazing that I was able to get a good one of Florence, she was so uncooperative, but that's what makes the guys at KK so fantastic. Here's some updated shots of the kids from our trip.