LAST DAYS OF KINDERGARTEN

Just as I was starting to get the hang of it, kindergarten ended for Nicole! With a few fun end-of-the-year field trips, and a kindergarten presentation for the parents, the first two weeks of June flew by! The kids presented a few songs to the parents at the end-of-year concert, and I, for one, was pretty impressed with their version of "God Bless America" which was sung AND performed in full in sign language by the kids!There was a little celebration in the cafeteria after the show. We were very happy that Grandpa Powell was in town to enjoy the show with us! (Well, I was also very happy he was there to help keep the boys under control. One look from grandpa and the boys retreated to their seats and cowered there for 10 minutes!)The very last day came too quickly for Nicole, who seemed happy at pick-up time, but burst into tears when we got home because she was going to miss her friends, and her class!Nicole was very happy to have another good year with one of her best friends during her entire three years in preschool; he was the only person she knew who would be attending the same school for kindergarten, and quite serendipitously, they ended up in the same class!

School's out for summer!

TYPICAL WEEKEND WITH JACK:

Daddy's lament:

(Nicole did egg him on a little, but Jack came to me with the costume, insisting that he wanted to be Snow White. Who was I to turn him down? Although according to a very upset daddy, I should have! But really, he's 2!)

Mommy's lament:

(I know the picture is a little blurry, but yes, that was his finger planted solidly in his nose---and it was held there for quite some time! And not surprisingly, daddy was not remotely bothered by this one. But I was!)

Ahh, my little man...what DOES the future hold for you?

ANOTHER GRADUATE!

While Max's preschool graduation was a big deal to us this year, we had an even bigger graduation in the family! Big brother Joe graduated from high school in early June! The ceremony was at the Sovereign Center in Reading. Wow, look at the size of that graduating class! (There's Joe in the yellow cap and gown!)

We celebrated with Joe and his mom, and other relatives back at their house after the ceremony. What a fine-looking crew!Congrats to Joe on his hard work in high school! Although Joe was interested in college in California, we are very happy he will be going to school right outside New York City! Not only will we see him more, but we may get a few extra trips to NY out of this! (Don't worry, we won't stalk you up there, Joe!) We are very proud that Joe is receving scholarship money to play water polo at his new school. He has been playing for years in high school, and is the best! Best of luck and much love to you as you embark on this new era of your life!

RECITAL!

May ended with Nicole's 2-day dance recital. The girls worked hard all year at Crane Performing Arts, and did a great job tap dancing to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." She enjoyed her friends in class!

She enjoyed posing in her fancy dress as well!We were very proud of Nicole for being placed front and center as the "lead" in the performance. (Pics are poor, no flash photography and no video cameras were permitted!)We were also proud of Nicole's friend Madison, who was the lead in her dance as well! These girls have known each other for almost 4 years and are always very happy to see each other!

OUR LITTLE GRADUATE!

Our little Max is officially a preschool graduate! With great report cards and an ever-increasing roster of friends, we are proud to say that Max flew through preschool with flying colors!

Max and his graduating class put on a presentation of songs they have learned through the year, and we were pretty impressed with the kids' memorization of the many, many, many songs they sang at graduation!

Here is Max with diploma in hand!Proud mommy gives him a hug!Daddy and Jack are happy too (Nicole was in kindergarten during the ceremony)!Max will miss his best buddies from school; almost everyone he knows from preschool will be going to different schools in the fall!Jack was in on every step of the action; he was fighting to be by Max's side the whole time, and he kept telling all of the parents "I graduate today!"Since Jack will be starting preschool in the fall, in the same class that both Nicole and Max started in, I am sure his graduation day will be here sooner than we know!

PROM!

Nicole and daddy went to take pictures of big brother Joe and his beautiful date heading off to their prom! Nicole wanted to be part of the action as well! Joe's date was very sweet to Nicole and told her she could come with her to her prom next year if she'd like! (She'd like!!)

I never did get the details on how the prom went that night, but judging by behavior of all seniors at all proms nationwide, it's probably just as well that we don't know!

'TIS THE SEASON

Nope, not Christmas in July again...at least not yet. It's the season for cheesy and over-priced FAIRS replete with greasy food, screaming children, and rusty-looking rides that shake and rattle until you're sure your child will be the first fatality of the season!

We took a brief sidetrip to the Chester County Hospital fair in May. We laid down the ground rules beforehand---only a certain amount of tickets will be purchased; only a certain amount of rides will be ridden --- so make your choices wisely; there will be no food or drink purchased at the fair, we don't care HOW hungry or thirsty you are; and when mom or dad announce it is time to leave, you will smile and walk quickly and quietly to the exit at an even pace with no sounds of whining to be heard! This actually worked pretty well for us...for the first time we didn't stay all day and spend all of our money at a spring fair!

Nicole and Max were snaked out of a front seat on a car by a snot-nosed brat who RAN in front of them from behind once the gates were opened by the ticket-taker. They recovered after their initial upset, and even managed to look like they were OK getting a back seat on the ride!

Nicole has forever been a fan of the big slide.

Max has always been afraid to go down the slide (except on my lap) but bravely climbed to the top himself this year. I thought he would be screaming at the bottom after I saw another child fly over a bump, but he had the time of his life and wanted to go again! (Nope, he should have thought of that before he used up all of his tickets elsewhere!)

I thought I would have a hard time containing fearless and energetic Jack when he saw the fun rides he could go on with his brother and his sister! He spent almost the whole time like this and didn't even want to get out of his stroller!

That's ok! He just may be my get-out-of-fair-free card this year!!

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

I was very happy to have been invited by a friend to her birthday party in May. This friend is a very special friend to many people---she is a fun, energetic and very motivating group fitness instructor at the gym I belong to. She has a large contingency of "groupies" who follow her around every day and pack her classes to maximum capacity! You will never be bored in one of her classes and you will never complain that you didn't get a good work-out!

My friend threw her own party and invited a group of us to celebrate her birthday; we had a night of great food, drinks, and conversation (and an occasional party-crasher interrupting the fun--who IS that guy in the far left of the picture??)

A few tears were shed at the generosity of our gift, but we were all in agreement that Diane is worth a lot more to us than what we gave her!Happy birthday Diane, from your groupie AND your friend!