Last Day of Preschool :(

We're all sad that today is the last day of Molly's preschool, and now she's home for three months! She's already signed up for five-day preschool next year, and her teacher will be the same teacher who Josh had when he was 3. This teacher is the one who first alerted us to Josh's issues, and we're hoping for a somewhat smoother year with Molly next year!

Weekend at Debordieu

It's been almost three years since our last beach weekend in South Carolina with Tim and Hannah, when Josh screamed and cried half the way home for us to turn around because he wanted to go back to Tim and Hannah and the beach. We were a little worried about today's departure, but thankfully the weeping and wailing was more abbreviated--even though the weekend was just as fun.

We went swimming, flew kites at the beach, ate brunch at the nearby restaurant and hung out at the beach condo. I forgot my running shoes but thought it would be a good idea to run barefoot on the beach this morning; it was a great way to start the day until I got back to the condo and realized the bottoms of my feet are now big blisters. Chris and Tim ran on the paths around DeBordeiu, where apparently the alligators like to come out to sun in the mornings.

Many thanks to Tim and Hannah for a wonderful weekend!

Here's Molly and the ever-tolerant Taza, who endured Josh and Molly's affections with great patience this weekend.

Happy Syttende Mai!

I have recently made the acquaintance of several Norwegian people at town meetings I attend for work, so I'm now in the loop with the Sons of Norway organization in Charlotte. We took the kids to the May 17 celebration today, which honors the signing of Norway's constitution. I marched in the May 17 children's parade when we lived in Norway, and it was a treat to get to march in another May 17 parade today with Molly. Josh freaked out at the sight of the parade, so he and Chris watched from the sidelines.

Josh had no problem with Norwegian food, however, and he happily ate Norwegian hot dogs and creme cake.

The children were encouraged to draw pictures of trolls and vikings at the craft table, but Josh had no idea what either one was. He's not quite sure here about the toy troll he's holding.

We Belong in the Zoo

We met my good friend from college Brian and his family at the N.C. Zoo today, a trip we've been trying to get together since 2006. Brian and I met during freshman orientation at UNC, and this is the first time all of our kids have met. It was a very fun day, and thankfully the zoo has lots of trees that shaded us from the 90-degree heat.

The kids received stickers upon arrival that said "I belong in the zoo." Very appropriate.

The African animals were a huge hit, as was the zoo playground. We ate a picnic lunch on the grounds, where we were instantly surrounded by Canadian geese hoping to share our meal. Chris' dad will be pleased to know we let Josh and Eric, Brian's son, chase the geese around the park while we ate.

Josh, Brian and Katie, Brian's youngest

We ended the day with ice cream and a ride on the carousel.

Writer: Maybe. Artist: No.

As we continue our series of repeats from last year, Chris and I attended the kindergarten "Author's Tea" on Friday, where kindergartners read aloud books they have written and illustrated about themselves.

Here are some highlights from Josh's book:

1) While other students dedicated their books to their friends, parents or siblings, Josh's dedication went out to Henry and Homer, our cats, because "they make me happy."
2) Josh does not like his name, but he concedes that it's special because I picked it out for him.
3) He's an expert at riding his bike. I'm not sure where that came from, because it couldn't be farther from the truth!
4) His favorite foods are snap peas and pancakes.

Josh's reading group consisted of him and three girls who are very good artists. Josh clearly does not have a future in the visual arts:

Josh has taken to heart his teacher's admonition that good illustrators label everything, so he spends much more time on the labeling than on the pictures.

Josh wanted to point out that he drew the "E" in "Welcome."

Hold the Slobber

We dogsat Ellie, Tim and Hannah's neopolitan mastiff, last weekend, and she and Josh became fast friends. We had a great time with Ellie, and there was much weeping and wailing when she went home Sunday evening. As has become Josh's custom, he posted some rules on our glass door for Ellie to read and follow.

The first rule is to not "slothr on us," which we have interpreted as "no slobbering." Ellie was unconcerned, and Josh really wasn't either as he didn't mind the occasional sliming when Ellie greeted him. We look forward to Ellie's next visit!

Hundreds of kindergartners, dancing

We attended our second annual kindergarten program today, and thankfully the music department changed up the song selection so it wasn't a repeat of last year. This year, the kids danced to summer-themed songs, including one about how summer is so great because there's no school, they can go to the beach and stay up late every night. Right.

It was very hot today, and Josh wilted toward the end. Unfortunately that lessened his enthusiasm for the freestyle portion of the dance, which was hilarious last year. The teachers tried to get the kids to do a freestyle Twist this year, but a lot of them, including Josh, just stood there looking confused.

Molly was exhausted from being out in the sun so long (you have to get there early to beat the parent rush and secure a seat in front), which made her even more enthusiastic about having her picture taken.

A dog, a wedding and an alien

Tim and Hannah are back from Peru, and they have returned with two dogs, Ellie and Taza. It's hard to tell which the kids are happier about--having Tim and Hannah here or the prospect of having a dog around occasionally. Tim dropped by with Taza last week, and Molly was thrilled.

Here's another random picture of Molly looking somewhat alienesque in my shoes and her goggles.

The kids spent this weekend here with Chris' dad while we went to Steph's wedding in Charleston. In the span of 48 hours, they went swimming twice, visited the children's museum in uptown Charlotte and went to the zoo, which is 100 miles away. The kids are tired and very distressed that Grandpa is leaving tomorrow--it's not quite as fun to stay with Mom and Dad and go to school!

Here we are at the wedding with our dear friends we used to hang out with in Wilmington. It was a lovely day and a lovely wedding, and being kid-free allowed us lots of time to catch up with our friends.