School Daze

Sorry for the long time between postings. I was off on several wonderful vacations, and returned to a house with no Internet service until yesterday.

Because it's easy and quick, I'll start back into the swing of things with the annual first day of school photos.

A few days before school starts, the kids attend "Meet the Teacher," which is a drop-in event where you can meet your teacher, see where your classroom is, get your supply list, and find out who is in your class. Charlotte is in first grade, and Anson in fifth.

Charlotte is lucky enough to have the same teacher Anson had in first grade, Mrs. Shade-Gray. She used to be in theater and has over 30 years of experience as a first grade teacher, which makes for a fun and successful learning environment.

Although Anson isn't in class with his best friends, Wes and Rhys, they met up in the hallway. I enjoyed watching them swagger through the halls as a posse to see where everyone ended up. Fifth grade is the last year of elementary school before middle school, so they are "ruling the school" this year.

Charlotte ran into her buddy Sofia (Rhys' sister), who is in second grade this year. She was the only one willing to stay still long enough to get her photo taken. There was some serious excitement pulsing through that school!

At last, the first official day came, starting with the traditional shot in front of our dogwood tree.

Surprisingly, Russell made a quick stop at home on his way from one hospital to the other to see the kids off at the bus stop.

My, how backpacks have changed. Charlotte has a little area to keep her headphones and iPod, if she had one.

I couldn't resist getting a back shot of Anson, with all of the pattern and color. This is the boy, who like his dad, used to only wear gray, black, and navy blue. Now he's all 80s with his neon and crazy color combos. The socks are an especially "hip" thing at his school. Do anyone else's kids wear Nike Elite socks?

They both have had so much fun this week (Monday was the first day). I wish I could say that I've treated myself to some free time full of relaxation, but really I spent the first day getting a flat tire fixed, the next day working with the cable/Internet repairman, and the rest of the time grocery shopping and cleaning. But boy has it been nice and quiet around here!

Coming Soon...

I have been out of town just about the entire summer. DC to the lake to Indiana to the beach to the lake to Mexico. Any days spent at home have been taken up with laundry, bill paying, unpacking and repacking.

So excuse the radio silence. I'll be back at blogging in a few weeks. Until then, here are a few random shots from the summer. I haven't downloaded most of them yet.

A trip to the lake with friends...

A trip to Indiana to see family...

Some snow sledding (!!!) at a birthday party...

A visit to the hand surgeon after getting a splinter under her fingernail...



And on that lovely note, talk to you soon!

We Officially Know Someone Who'll be Famous One Day

Our good friends Kirk and Gina have three daughters, who have grown up with my kids since birth. Their middle child, Mimi, recently expressed interest in acting. Her parents decided they would let her give it a try, as long as she kept up with her schoolwork and such (she's 7).

Source

Well, several commercials later, she has just landed a role in the new Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) movie, Safe Haven. She plays Lexie, the daughter of the main character, played by Josh Duhamel.

Already there is a shot of her on set on the US Weekly web site. It won't let me post here, but you can click on that link to see it.

Can't wait to see her in action! Look for the movie's release in early 2013.

The Balsa Gliders

Some of you have heard about a band in which we know most of the members, The Balsa Gliders. As one newspaper wrote, they are the most over-educated band members ever.

Our three friends are an ENT surgeon, Episcopal rector, and lawyer. Not sure what the other three do, but something equally requiring advanced university degrees.

When they are not performing their day jobs, they are huddled in each other's basements or garages like teenagers, working on the band.

We've seen them in concert a number of times, but usually in dark, smokey, 21-and-over only venues. (I should mention that they aren't exactly touring; I think they play about three shows a year.)

Last night they finally played at a family-friendly evening concert series downtown. Unfortunately, we didn't have Anson or Charlotte with us, so the so-called band they hear about will have to remain a mystery.

Charles Marshall (lawyer) is the lead singer, Greg Jones (priest) is the bassist in plaid, and Michael Ferguson (ear, nose, and throat surgeon) in the keyboardist seated in the back left.

As they are all parents in their 40s, their biggest fans last night were the "under 7 crowd," as Charles said when dedicating a song to a small boy who is his neighbor. In fact, one wife of a band member brought poster board and markers, and the kids each made their own sign to wave.

For Russell and me, it was relaxing and fun end to a week filled with luxuries most parents can't afford (financially or time-wise). We saw three movies, ate out every night (even if it was just takeout), and made decisions on a whim. All for the cost of what a babysitter for one night would usually charge. And the quiet...ahhhh...the quiet.

As we left to head home, the sun was only thinking of setting.

Yep, we were home and asleep by 9:30, yes!

Tonight we going to celebrate Russell's 40th birthday, which is actually tomorrow, by having a proper fancy dinner out.

Camp Update

Although we can't speak to the kids while they are at camp, the camp does post pictures on its web site throughout the week. I downloaded a few to show you what they are up to. Amazingly, I was able to pick out a few closeups among the hundreds of shots on the web site.

This shot shows the campers in the amphitheater, where they meet for big group events. Charlotte is in the first row in the light blue t-shirt. Anson is right behind the counselor in the red shirt in the first row. He is walking toward the right with a dark blue shirt on. That's a mom for you, being able to recognize her own kids in a shot like this!

The first time I looked at the photos, this was what came up. My little girl front and center! I think there's been quite a bit of rain the first few days, which has meant coming up with inside alternate activities.

Anson chose lacrosse as one of his weekly activities. Luckily he was wearing a bright shirt so it was easy to pick him out of the hundreds of photos.

Anson has played team lacrosse on and off for a few years, and as you may remember, we usually see him suited up doing it. I bet it was a lot easier to play without the gigantic helmet and heavy pads!

Last night was the camp dance, and I saw a pic of Charlotte having her hair done by one of the counselors or older girls. I also found one of her walking to the dance with a crowd. If I recall, they have the oldest boys accompany the youngest girls as dates.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any shots of the kids dancing! That would have been good bribery photo.

Charlotte also had fun in and out of the pool with her buddy Anna and cabinmates.

It's so reassuring to see them doing fun things, because if I miss them as much as I do, I can only imagine what it must be like for them. Just two more days until pickup.

Independence Day

Yesterday both kids started sleepaway camp at Camp Kanata. I'm already feeling oddly like I've lost something, or forgotten something, or... It's just weird not having them around. They will be there for one week, so I had better get used to it!

Anson is in the same cabin with his friend Simon, who is older them him, though a "tad" shorter.

I am not sure why, but the boys chose to be in the bunk that sits smack in the middle of the cabin. By the time I asked Anson to sit in his bunk so I could take a picture, I think he was realizing our departure was imminent. Unlike last year, when he didn't even notice us leave, this year he was a bit more reluctant.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was miffed I took her away from her arts and crafts project for a few pictures. She jumped right in and was loving it.

Charlotte joined her friend Anna, a buddy from preschool, for camp this week. There weren't a lot of friends out there willing to go to camp at age 6, but we knew someone was up for the challenge!

I laughed seeing the differences between the boys' cabin and the girls' cabin. You can tell immediately with the way the counselors decorated the signs. Plus, the counselors in Charlotte's cabin had a specific place for everything, even the laundry bags. I don't think Anson even got his out of the suitcase last year.

But as we were leaving, I was cracking up. Charlotte was doing teeny bop dances on the front porch to pop music, while Anson and his friend kicked around a soccer ball. Coincidentally, their cabins are right next to each other. Charlotte screamed out "Anson! Simon!" to no avail. They were ignoring her. Get used to it, Charlotte!!!

Below are the boys signing up for their weekly activities. You can see the camp is wooded with cabins scattered about. There is a large lake beyond them, as well as a pool. Up to the left is the dining hall and bathhouse. Despite the decent amount of shade, it was HOOOOOOOT.

Charlotte's Cabin 7 below, which includes attached bathrooms (because of their age and it being their first year at camp, not because they are girls).

Anson's Cabin 9 below, which does not have a bathroom. They trek up to the hill to the bathhouse, which is apparently the worst part of camp. They have to undress in the cabin, wrap their towels around their waists, and walk by all the girl cabins to get showers. EMBARRASSING!

Wish me luck this week. I'm going to tackle all of those organizing projects I promised myself I'd do this year.

Splash!

Today is the last day of school, let the summer fun begin!