Last Day, Part One

Today was the last day of school for my girls. So I hauled them out into the yard this morning for a not-so-quick photo session. Luckily, they were both champs! 

Despite having a bit of a rocky year, Lucy is sad for the school year to be over. She is going to miss her friends and teachers, and spent over an hour last night drawing and writing notes for them. Most of the cards included an invitation for the recipient to come over and see her Easy Bake Oven. She really is a hoot, this one. Luckily, she gets to bring a part of her classroom home with us over the summer in the form of Peace and Harmony, the classroom rats pets. I didn't really want to volunteer to give them a home for the summer, but last week Lucy flooded the bathroom twice in two days, so I felt like I owed the school something. 

Maggie isn't really upset about school being over, but that's mostly because I don't think she really gets it. For example, her dance class is also over now, but she keeps asking if she has dance class tomorrow. I'm a little worried that next week she's going to be pissed, because this kid loves school. And dance class. I would try and woo her with the swimming pool, but she's not really that into it. I guess I'll be forced to bust out some play dough, which is her favorite in-school activity.

And just because they're sisters, here's a picture of them together!

And here's their picture from the first day of school. I was going to try and have them wear the same dresses, but they both grew so much this year that the hemlines were indecent. Where does the time go???

Choke

These past two days were a wonderful time, and our weekend was pretty much perfect, thanks to friends, family and little kids dancing around with pink teddy bears. However, there was one little blip that made things just a tad shy of absolute perfection: Sam's hockey tryouts. 

Sam is seven years old. He's never had to actually try out for anything before. And apparently we didn't  do a very good job of explaining to him that it was basically going to be just like a practice session. On Saturday morning, he was limping. 'I don't think I should go to tryouts, mom. My foot hurts.' I sent him to see Dr. Dad, and he wasn't entirely sure Sam was faking it, but wasn't entirely sure if he was hurt, either. Since he had been fine and dandy until just that morning we decided to go.

As soon as we arrived, he asked why so many kids were there. All along he had been thinking that he was going to have to go out there and skate all alone, and I think he seemed relieved when he realized that were going to be 25 other kids out there with him. But as soon as he relaxed a little, this guy walked in.

So I guess Pascal Dupuis lives in our town, and I guess his kid/kids play hockey. Sam was nervous once again. He looked around for some of his friends who play hockey here (which is why he wants to) but couldn't find them. 

They got out on the ice and he seemed to be calming down, but as soon as the actual drills began, I knew he wasn't really going to give it his all. The very first kid in his group to do the drill was awesome, and Sam has this really annoying habit of not wanting to do something if he can't be the best at it. His skating was lazy and he did seem to be weirdly not using his one foot. The he fell, and it was pretty much downhill from there.

Will he get on a team? Probably. I don't think they turn too many kids away, and even if they do there were some younger ones who would likely get cut before him. But I honestly can't say for sure. And if he doesn't it's going to be a bad, sad scene. For all of us. Keep your fingers crossed!

Weekend Escapes

The past day and a half have been pretty freaking awesome. I want to sit and write about it, but I don't want to miss too much of the fun! We've spent time with family...

Went swimming...

And went to Maggie's first dance recital, which was every bit as amazing as you might think. Just see for yourself...

Summer vacation can't come fast enough.

I Wish My Life Were a Fairy Tale...

We have had some big challenges this week, but yesterday Sam performed in his first grade spring concert about fairy tales. It was beyond awesome. So I'm just going to ignore everything else and watch this over and over again...

Now Get Out There and PLAY!

Many people might think that hockey season is over, but they would be wrong! The spring clinics are in full swing, in anticipating of try out season in a few weeks. Then summer camps will be beginning. Not to mention the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not that I care since the Flyers are out and all, but I know that there are some folks here in Pittsburgh with a pretty serious interest. Hockey is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. But if you love it, you really love it.

In case you were wondering, my son is the second kid from the left, with the green mouth guard, looking straight at the camera instead of listening to his coach.

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This photo was entered into May's I Heart Faces photo challenge.

Buyer's Remorse

Last summer when we were house hunting, we looked at several homes with pools. As a child SOB had a big in-ground pool and thus was very interested in having one again as an adult. (Never mind the fact that he very nearly drowned once as a child, as in unconscious and needing to be revived very nearly drowned.) However, most of the homes with pools were vetoed almost instantly by yours truly. My thalassophobia extends a bit into generalized aquaphobia, not for me but for my children, (and if we're being honest here all of the children in the world). I wouldn't even consider a house with a pool if there was any continuity at all between the house and the pool. Door from the house to the pool area? VETO! Regular old non-child-proofed gate to the pool area? VETO! Only available yard playing area also inside pool area? VETO! Basically, I would only accept a house with a pool if the pool in question was separate from he house entirely, locked up like Fort Knox, and separated from the rest of a nice, usable yard.

Guess what? SOB managed to find a house that was pretty darn perfect for our family, plus it had a pool that met all of my requirements for safety, therefore making me the proud owner a pool. I haven't had too many issues with it so far. Since we moved into the house back in the fall, the pool was only opened for a few weeks and we only went it in once. Sam went in twice. Then we had the cover put on and I haven't thought about it much since then.

Until last week, when we made the appointment to have it opened up. In the next few days, the cover is going to come off and the backyard will be converted into a super fun family death trap! I know that my anxiety is a bit out of hand, however it's not completely unfounded. We recently added extra combination locks to the child safety locks on the fence, but I'm still being scared awake by nightmares of kids/people drowning in our pool. Plus I've already witnessed my oldest and another kid his age almost successfully scale the fence to retrieve a ball, so I now I have that on my brain.

Even just writing this is making me feel a little bit nauseous.

So any pool owners out there care to share some coping mechanisms with me? If not, I might just be tempted fill it in and make a basketball court.

Some Perks of (Sub)Urban Living

Sometimes an excellent local learning establishment puts a big outdoor art installation right across the street from your house!