Happy Fourth of July!

What a fun-filled day!

Cutting the strings one thread at a time...

What's this?

Cabin rosters? Who's staying in a cabin?

Kennedy! She has gone to her very first sleepaway camp. I use the term "away" loosely, as she is practically in our backyard with the dog...she is just a few miles away in Hollywood.

She went with Emilee. Here is Emilee, her mom, and her little brother trying to close her suitcase. These girls do not travel light.


This week's camp theme... (she had to pack a Halloween costume)

Emilee does not look especially thrilled...

So I cut her out of the next picture... (don't mess with a scrapbooker taking pictures)

I walked away...backwards....leaving my first baby for the first time all alone at sleepaway camp.

She comes home Thursday...I can't wait to hear all about her experience!

Hello Summer, Goodbye School!

First of all, people, I got a new camera and I am thrilled.



The end of a school year is bittersweet. Brooke is all-around sad. School is so fun for her and she will miss her friends.

Kennedy will not miss her homework, and she will see most of these girls this summer.


Kennedy's teacher is having a baby. I coordinated a group gift which included a little tiny t-shirt with our school's name on it!

Brooke's teacher is enjoying the scrapbook that very nearly killed me. :) No, in reality, these scrapbooks turn into a labor of love. This one is especially special because Ms. Diehl, unfortunately, is one of the teachers who is losing her position at our school due to the stupid "budget cuts". Don't get me started on that...the fact that this teacher, who is fabulous but has only been teaching two years, gets bumped by a more seasoned teacher who will make more money and cost us resources in interviewing and hiring. The position is not gone, they are just putting someone else in it. Someone who makes more money. So, tell me, how is this a budget cut?

Anyway, Brooke has enjoyed her first grade year and her teacher is very special to her.

I made a Shutterfly book for Emily and Hera, the after-school program teachers. They cried, I cried. There was a lot of crying this week.

Kennedy's grade cried a lot, too. Several children are switching schools next year. This grade is a tight grade. The girls leaving will be missed.

After school, it was off to Subway and Yogurtland. Then to Safia's for a swim! The girls had fun in the sun, spending time with each other, laughing, and playing.

Brooke liked Safia's new puppy.

Then they made a girl pyramid. Then everyone went home.

And now, OFF to our first little vacation of the summer! Hearst Castle and Sequoia National Forest, here we come!

Ketchup

Ohmygosh, where to begin? So many events have happened in the last few weeks...it's been a constant whirlwind of activity!

I begin two Mondays ago when August brought his electric guitar and amp to school for Monday Morning Assembly.

Max, from Kennedy's grade, likes to talk to August...August is cool...



Brooke was happy when Gemma got to school!



"All you need is love"...love is all you need...

Indeed it is...

Then our after school program had a bowling party (which occurred right after a Brownie event, thus the snazzy outfit...)

Oh how we love Miss Emily.

One week ago yesterday was the first grade's Multicultural Day. I took the day off to watch the parade and assist with crafts. It was way more fun than work.

"My name is Brooke Zadra and my ancestors come from Italy."

This is the tip of the iceburg, but I think there are only so many pictures one post can handle, so I will close this one and let the last week of school have its very own post! It deserves its own post, since it very nearly killed me! :)

Where the??

Where the heck have I been? I haven't posted in, like, forEVER!

I have come to the realization that the month of June is just like the month of December for me. Full of things to do, looming deadlines, busy-busy-busy.

The girls have one more week of school. There are end-of-year gifts to figure out and buy. There are cards to make and a teacher's scrapbook to finish. There are events to prepare for and attend.

We've been in a whirlwind of activity that's not about to stop until...well, I don't really know the answer to that, but I'll keep you posted!

And speaking of posting...I will soon be posting pictures of Brooke's event at school last Friday, and August's gig last Saturday night.

So, stayed tuned!

If you will it, it is not a dream

What I learned last week:

1. Leaf mold is not toxic, therefore the $3400 remediation/repair that was originally quoted to us was a scam. Some people are not 100% honest.

2. Buy a new mattress, end morning back ache. Turns out that was a better use of our hard-earned money.

and

3. If you will it, it is not a dream.

Guess who is so cool even when he's not slicking his hair back and wearing leather jackets and riding motorcycles?

Seriously, people, that's me WITH THE FONZ.

He came to the girls' school and read an excerpt from one of his books, but most importantly he TALKED to the kids. He walked among them, took their hands, and told each one of them that they were SPECIAL. He said "if you will it, it is not a dream".

He co-writes books about a boy with dyslexia, because he grew up with it himself. He had such a special message, and he was funny and engaging. Our school enjoyed his presentation.

And, I TOTALLY MET THE FONZ!!!!!

Reading, Dancing and Sit-Upons

Well, well, well. It's Monday. And it sure feels like I could use a day off. Even though I just had three days off in a row!

I took Friday off for school-related fun. First thing was the Young Author's Fair. Children in every grade from Kindergarten to 8th write a story or a poem and then groups are formed. I facilitated a group, and was lucky enough to have both girls in the same group!

Here Brooke is reading as Kennedy looks on (with great excitement, might I add).



Here Kennedy is reading as Brooke looks on.

She read a poem that she wrote about friendship.


Proud authors...

After this, I had a few hours. I just couldn't decide what to do with myself on my Friday off, so I went to the grocery store. Then I packed a bag for Brooke. In fact, I packed two bags!

One bag for our weekend trip to Big Bear with her Brownie troop, and another bag for that evening. You see, our Brookie was in the school's talent show.

Brooke and these incredibly cute kids rocked the house...

They were the 3rd act. The boys sang "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson and the girls danced behind. You should have heard the audience's reaction. When the curtain opened, there was a collective "Awwwwww", because - look at the picture again - that's a whole lot of cute going on. Then the boys sang (AWESOMELY!) and the girls danced (ADORABLY!). They got loud, loud, loud applause and when they came from back stage to take their seats, that whole side of the auditorium cheered for them again! They felt a little bit like rock stars!

Miss Emily came and sat with our family. Brooke loves her so much...

Here she is in true rock star fashion slapping hands from stage after the show when all the kids from the performance came up to take a bow...

Ummm, really? REALLY?????? This might be too much cute for this early in the a.m.

Then we went to dinner. Then we got home late. Then we slept (not enough of that). Then we woke up and drove to Big Bear to meet the Brownie troop who had left the night before.

She swam in a cold lake...

She was one of the few that swam to a floating dock and climbed up.

Strike a pose! The girl in the orange ended up stranded. She could not bring herself to jump back in the water. Her mom stood at the edge of the water encouraging her to come. Probably the child would still be there because none of us moms had any intention of getting in that cold water to swim over and help her. Lucky for her there was a life guard on duty.

They made sit-upons that afternoon...a girl scout classic craft!

That night after dinner, they gathered 'round and waited for s'mores. What an awesome experience!! It was great to spend time with all the moms (moms I don't know that well because the kids all go to different schools).

Yesterday we drove home. August and I bought a much-needed mattress (delivery today, hurray!! No more back ache!) and I went to pilates (ow) and we had dinner and the girls took bathes/showers. Story time, lights out...and today it's back to work.

Looking forward to Friday already...