Food, family, fun...

...that about sums it up for our Saturday night. We went to my cousins' house (Tom and Diana) for their son's high school graduation (Eric).

Eric and Diana
Cousins Tom and Jim as well as a friend

We were sooo excited that so many of our relatives, even some of our Florida relatives, could be there. My Uncle Bob and Aunt Pat (my mom's sister) drove up...

...and my cousin, Jim was also able to make it (although we missed his wife, Marci). Having everyone together was so much fun, and it brought back such fond memories all of the family gatherings at my Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob's house when I was growing up.

There was live music, compliments of The Spectacles. Their name is derived from the fact that they all wear glasses. :) My cousin, Pat, plays drums in the band, and my cousin, Jim, made a guest appearance. They seriously sound amazing. Their renditions of the classics are HUGE crowd-pleasers...

Caroline was so happy that she wore a "spinny" dress, and was convinced that some of the music was "Hannah Montana"!

Evan and my cousin, Mary, did a little dancing too. (I love her smile...it makes me happy!)

There was a little swing in the backyard that the kids loved. Henry informed me that it was the perfect spot to listen to the music and still be able to talk. It was there that he decided that he wants to start playing the guitar. Henry and I were talking about it on the swing when my cousin, Jim, joined us. He is a very gifted guitar player, and has always played the guitar at our family gatherings. (His version of Cat's in the Cradle is my absolute favorite!) He was so dear talking with us about Henry learning how to play the guitar. Jim even asked Henry if he could check out his hand, looking at the size of it and checking his strength. Jim said that with a lot of practice, Henry could do well. Henry was beaming!

We not only have future guitar talent in this family, but we also have future basketball talent. He needs a little boost now, but give him a few years.

****What a great party, Tom and Diana! Thanks for the pictures, Mary!

The Scout Camp Cookout

On the last night of camp, they put on a big cookout and show for all of the families. Tonight was that night, so we packed up the family and headed over to the camp ground together. It was fun to be with all of Seth's friends' families. I think Seth will miss this camp next week!

Here's a clip of a very long, mostly enthusiastic camp song performed by Seth's pack. It does have its funny moments, so watch if you'd like!

FINALLY...

...it came.

The past few days I feel like I've been stalking our mailman, watching for him and running out to the mailbox as soon as he delivers our mail.

You see, Kindergarten class placement letters were supposed to be delivered sometime this week.

I told myself as I waited that:

• it didn't matter which teacher Caroline had for Kindergarten, that both teachers were very good.
  

• Caroline will do well where ever she is, as she seems to adapt well and is an eager learner.
  

• it didn't matter if she had morning or afternoon Kindergarten.
  

• even if none of her friends are in her class, she would make new friends quickly and have playdates with her old friends.

But despite all of this positive thinking, I was still anxious about it.

Thank God the placement letters came today. I was driving myself a little crazy.

I'm happy with her teacher, the time she goes and how it fits into our schedule, and that she has a couple of friends in her class.

She was happy too, especially about her friends, and the fact that she has the same teacher that Henry had for Kindergarten. She told Henry about it, and they were so excited that they went running upstairs to get Henry's Kindergarten Memory Book. He proceeded to show Caroline a picture of "their" teacher, as well as pictures of things he did (and what she might do) in Kindergarten. Here's some of what she saw:

Kindergarten Henry

A sample of Henry's written work (Click to enlarge...I love the cross eyebrows and broken glasses in the picture.)

A memento from Hennnry's first day of school...really, he did know how to spell his name, but he was apparently really into those n's. :)

Our family tree, pre-Evan

She's OK

Yesterday, Caroline took a tumble off her bike. She was wearing her helmet, of course, but she did hit her cheek pretty hard. We watched her last night, but she seemed to be fine.

Today she complained of a headache, and after we got back from a playdate in the morning, she complained of a stomach ache too. She became nauseous and dizzy, and then told me that she couldn't hear me well.

I started worrying that she might have a concussion. I called her pediatrician and he advised us to head over to the ER. I did, but by the time we were in the ER, she started to feel better. The doctor said that more than likely it was the fall that was causing her symptoms, but it was a good sign that she was improving. She advised me to watch her carefully over the next 24 hours, and if she worsened again, I should bring her back in for a CAT scan. They also X-rayed her jaw because she was having some pain there, but that checked out OK too.

Tonight, she has been well.

I am so thankful that she is ok, but am still feeling a little jittery about the whole experience. I'll be checking on her a few times tonight... :)

(This picture has nothing to do with her accident, but I thought it was cute and needed to be posted. :) It was taken a couple of days ago.)

Seth the Scout

This boy has waited years and years (ok, maybe its only been 2 years) to have his turn at cub scout camp. He is FINALLY having his turn this week.

One of my friends has said that boys should join scouts just to take part in this camp. Seth has been so excited to go, especially because of all of the games and projects they do, not to mention archery, catapaults and bb guns. Dave was able to go with him on day 2 and took lots of pictures for us. Thanks, Dave!

Fluffy

Shortly before we left for our trip to Texas, Caroline found a caterpillar. As you may know, Caroline has a special place in her heart for caterpillars. She immediately fell in love with this one, requested a tupperware to make a home for it (which was stylishly and amply furnished), and named it "Fluffy".

The next day Fluffy made its cocoon. I am not joking.

Fast forward to today...we looked in on Fluffy. Much to Caroline's delight, Fluffy had become a beautiful, white, spotted moth. Here she is telling her own version of the story.

Bubbles in the Bath

Poor kids...today was not the most exciting day for our two youngest. (The older two were at a playdate and scout camp.) Mom was on a mission to catch up after the big trip to Texas. You know...phone calls, mail, unpacking, laundry, you name it. After they had their fill of helping me, playing with their toys, and even a little Caillou, they needed something else to do. It's funny and very sweet how excited these two were when I suggested a simple bubble bath.

And now tonight, I'd like to say that both my kids and my house is clean. But I can't. :) The kids are. The house isn't. However, looking on the bright side, I am a lot closer to a clean house than I was this morning, right?!

Henry's Third Grade Reunion

Henry's third grade teacher, Mrs. Messina, is very gifted and fun educator, as well as a very brave woman. She invited her entire third grade class (and their parents) to her house for lunch and a pool party. Amazing. The kids were thrilled to be all together again, reminiscing about the good old days when they were third graders.

Here are the new fourth graders, preparing to jump into the pool as a class:

They were thrilled when Mrs. Messina's dog, Daisy, decided to take a swim!