Definitely Bittersweet

After Ava's graduation we headed home. Samuel had fetched Ava's scooter, and as they reached the bike trail we separated.

Ava and her Dad had one final thing to do.

You see, throughout much of the year, Samuel would do his best to make time in his day to pick up Ava from school and bring her home for lunch. Most of the time, I would hear his car pull up, and then hear his retreating footsteps as he took to the bike trail to fetch her.

Then together, they would ride like the wind on her scooter home. I would hear them both coming up the drive, a little out of breath, and usually laughing.

Next year, she'll be getting out with the big kids.

No more early out.

No more lunch time pick-up and scooter ride home.

See?

Bittersweet.

A Rite of Passage: The Kindergarten Graduation

Last Thursday we attended Ava's Kindergarten graduation.

Talk about an opportunity to cry!

It was a beautiful day, and the air buzzed with excitement.

Finally our "little" ones made their entrance...

I love that smile!

Signing "What a Wonderful World".

Accepting her "diploma".

Waiting patiently for everyone's name to be called. I thought this was excellent practice for the super-long high school and college graduations to come.

Returning to the classroom for a...

PARTY!!!

Ava's classroom was jumping and everyone piled in for cake and lemonade!

Samuel, Owen, & Iris...temporarily trapped on the other side of the room.

Yum!

Ava and her wonderful teacher Mrs. Vincent!
We couldn't have asked for a better person to guide our daughter through her first year school!

Thank you Mrs. Vincent and...

WELL DONE AVA!

Nothing Better!

During the last week of school my sister-in-law Rachel called and invited us for an impromptu Pizza & Swimming Party at Grandma's house.

How could we refuse?

Though it was a little breezy, the kids popped right into the water!

After a few hours the tummies started to rumble and delicious pizza smells wafted from the kitchen. In addition, Aunt Rachel brought dessert: Homemade Chocolate Almond Ice Cream and Strawberry Whipped Sensation!

Yummy!

Isabella and her cousin, Abby.

Iris and Owen with their cousin, Meghan.

Thank you for a wonderful afternoon!
We had the best time!

The Kiss of Death: The Salon

Early yesterday morning I decided to snip at my hair a bit. Sounds harmless, right? And then I step back and get a good look at it and I realize one whole side was now an inch shorter. Not good considering my hair is short to begin with. Of course I should have stopped there but of course you have to try to fix it, right?

No. That was wrong. Very wrong.

When Sam came home for lunch I begged HIM to fix it. He has cut my hair for the last 7-years and always does a great job. This time though, he took one look at it and flat-out refused.
"You are going to the salon."

Those words were the kiss of death.

For those that don't know I'm terrified of getting my hair done, and when I realized he wouldn't help me, what he was going to make me do, I started to cry.

He wouldn't back down, made the appointment for that night, and before you know it I was sitting in "the chair".

As you can tell, I lived to tell the tale. I now know that:

1) I am a big, big baby (okay, I already knew that), and

2) Those wonderful salon people know what their doing.

I love my new haircut! And I'm pretty sure I'll even go back! Sorry Sam! It looks like you lost your only long-time customer!

Something tells me he's not too disappointed!

Floating...literally!

Early Monday morning, at about 3 a.m., I woke up experiencing a lot of pain and pressure. As I walked the house and began counting contractions, I realized the time had come to wake up Samuel and get ready for our trip to the hospital. By 6 a.m., after settling the kids with their aunt and uncle, we arrived.

Everything was looking great, my contractions were steady, close together, and fairly strong, and then came the news:

Our son had decided to float!

Which means there was no longer any pressure helping things along!

We've since been released and lo' and behold the contractions are far and few between!
Talk about a false alarm and some serious disappointment!

I think Ava took it the hardest though. When the kids came home from their much anticipated 2-day sleepover with their cousins, she howled and howled.

I'm happy to say my reaction wasn't quite so dramatic.

The Year of Six

Taylor and Ava, cousins.

Growing up.

The same afternoon that we celebrated Julia's birthday, I also took some shots of Ava and her cousin Taylor. These two couldn't be more different: Taylor the perpetual princess; Ava the rowdy tomboy. But on this casual afternoon, after years of avoiding each other, they came together and developed imaginary games that suited both their tastes.

Happy 12th Birthday Sis!

Julia & Isabella

My mom and Julia serving up the yummy chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles.

Julia, officially a pre-teen.
Augghh!!!

Guess Where?

It feels like we're walking all over Northern California trying to, as the kids say, "Walk that baby out!". On Saturday, we decided to take the kids to IKEA to do some laps there.

Did it do the trick?
No.

But we sure had fun!

A Tasty New Blog

My sister-in-law Jessica started a group cooking blog for the Elmer women! It has been so much fun submitting recipes each of our families love best. My favorite part? The recipes for all those must-have dishes that appear at every family gathering are now at our fingertips!

I hope you take the time to check it out!

In the Kitchen with the Elmer Girls

End-of-the-Year Luau

All week the girls have been anxiously awaiting their schools End-of-the-Year Luau! I can't tell you how many times Isabella asked me if she thought the baby would come then. Of course I couldn't give her a firm answer, but luckily her new brother behaved well and dutifully stayed snug in my tummy so we could attend the event as planned!

Everyone was be-decked in their island best!

We enjoyed a picnic of delicious chicken teriyaki!

When they called for volunteers to participate in the Hoola hoop contest, Isabella jumped up! Then they announced that every child must hoola with a parent, and she looked at me with desperate eyes! I said "no way", but luckily she has the best dad in the world and he hopped up to take her hand.

In addition, we also enjoyed some great performances from the lower grades. Ava and the rest of the kindergartners performed the "Huki Lau".

And later, when Isabella and the 2nd graders performed to the Beach Boys "Surfin' USA", even Iris got into it!

Later, the whole school got into the action by climbing on-stage to sing, "Bazooka Bubble Gum"! It was hilarious!

A special treat came later when a member of the 5th grade class, a professional Hawaiian dancer, performed. You should have heard the support he received from his fellow students-they went crazy with applause!

Owen loved all the music...

...and Iris couldn't get enough of her sno-cone!

The finale was a beautiful performance by two professional Hawaiian dancers who danced to the theme song of "Lilo & Stitch". Later, they taught the crowd some simple hula moves!

We had a wonderful time, and we are so grateful for the events our school hosts for the students and their families. It has been an opportunity to make memories, establish friendships, and draw closer together as a community.