Adventures in Arnold

Two days after school let out, we headed to Arnold to kick off our summer with Hop, Mop, Charlie, and the Stecher crew. The good news: The new cabin survived the onslaught. The bad news: It may be hard to keep our crew away from there!

We helped Hop finish making the seating around the new firepit, roasted S'mores, went swimming, visited a lake and playground, and had some wild and crazy times with cousins.

Living Life to the Fullest

Summer is apparently going pretty swimmingly for Clara Jane. Overheard in the yard today:

"Joey, I'm so glad we didn't die when we were babies! We didn't know we were going to have THIS much fun!!"

Break Out the Tissues

This school year flew by alarmingly fast... like every parent everywhere, I'm wondering how on earth the days can feel so long, but the years seem to go by so fast!

Here's our crazy trio on the first day of school, and on the last day of school... almost unrecognizable now that they've adopted their summer uniforms of bathing suits, flip-flops and tans!

Cousin Cray-Cray

Who better to celebrate the last day of school with than your crazy cousins? We left 100-degree weather in Moraga to join our favorite gang of girls in 60-degree Daly City for some hot tub fun, a riveting game of Ticket to Ride, and lots of squealing and mayhem.

With this group, everybody has a buddy, especially the mommies... since the dads were off at an alumni dinner!

Molly at 3

Our last photo session with Molly, after she turned two, involved a crying, screaming little girl who had to leave the portrait studio and take a break at the Sweet Factory. Apparently, there's been a lot of growing up this year, because she could not have been more cooperative at three! 

Our secret? Letting her wear "grown-up shoes" at first, and then breaking out the big guns... her favorite red boots! 

Rumpus in the Rainforest

There was a "Rumpus in the Rainforest" in Joey's first grade class last week, and it involved a lot of nervous, giggly first graders putting on their first class play. It may not have been the most polished performance ever, but it was definitely cute! 

Luckily, no real theatrics were involved for our certified non-performer, and Joey wasn't called upon to sing or dance, or act like a jaguar, monkey, sloth or ant. Mrs. Bailey knows him well, and wisely assigned him the more sedate role of "storyteller" or narrator. 

The best part? Playing with his buddies afterward!

Clara With an Exclamation Point

Clara lately has taken to signing her name with hearts and an exclamation point. If she's still signing checks like this as an adult, I won't be surprised at all. 

She's exasperating, lovable, and full of mischief and silliness, and while she's hard to parent now, more than one friend has pointed out that what makes her a challenging child today just means that she will someday be an awesome adult. As we chug along on the road to get there, we can't help but marvel at her independence, determination, stubbornness, and willingness to try anything, anytime.

This year she tackled her first dance recital, gamely hit baseballs and trotted around bases, spent hours crawling in the dirt looking for ladybugs, bravely dove into the swimming pool for her very first swim meet without a backward glance, plugged away at learning to read, and made friendships wherever she went, collecting girls in her posse at swim practice, on the baseball field, and at preschool. 

She's five, but often seems like she's fifteen, and it's hard to believe that she just finished preschool, and has many, many more adventures ahead. While she's been sent to timeout more this last year than anyone else in the house, she's the one we worry about the least -- our fierce middle child who is completely unafraid. Her exclamation point life will never be boring!

Rocking the 4th Percent

Our littlest monkey is definitely our most petite, and sometimes looks downright emaciated. I can count Molly's ribs despite the fact that I know her diet is rich in lots of whole milk, "silly-ami" (salami) and guaca-molly. Really, could she be eating more fattening foods? Luckily, her doctor seemed unfazed at her 3 year checkup this week, and decided that she's simply a small girl who will likely always be on the short -- and sassy -- end of the spectrum.

Her stats:

Height: 34 3/4 inches (4th percentile)

Weight: 27 pounds (13th percentile)

No trip to the doctor would be complete without trepidation over getting shots, and hiding behind a garbage can in the corner of the exam room.

 

Luckily, no shots were on the docket! Phew!