First Days of Summer

Wow- it's summer already. It really feels like it was just Christmas and the dead of winter. Although it didn't seem like that horrible of a winter, I'm still so happy to have summer and the warmer temperatures upon us. Because of a couple of snow days, Zach's school didn't get out until Monday, June 6. It's so crazy to think that he is done with kindergarten! He had a great year and loved school. We went with the half-day kindergarten program in a neighboring district because we weren't sure if we wanted Zach starting school and being the youngest in his class, or if we wanted to wait a year and have him be a little older. The idea with half-day was that if we felt like he wasn't ready yet, we could move him to our home district next year and do full-day kindergarten. The half-day program he was in had the same curriculum as the full-day program, minus the extra recesses, rest time, lunch, and some of the specials. So we felt like it was the best of both worlds- Zach would get the full curriculum and everything he needed to be ready for first grade, or he would have a great primer for full-day kindergarten next year. But, given Zach's teacher's recommendation and seeing how much he has learned this year, we have decided first grade is the right fit for Zach for next year. I am excited about it, but I think it will be a harder transition for me than this year was, because he will be gone all day long. He's ready, though, so I'm excited for him.

Here is Zach with his teachers after his last day. The teacher in the black shirt was his main teacher, Mrs. Hallman; the other two were associates in his classroom.

So Tuesday was Zach's first official day of summer vacation. We celebrated by having our friends Susan, Anna, and Lucy over. Susan's husband was of out town, so I know she was having some long days. Mike was also out of town, and my mom was here helping me out, so we thought it'd be fun for all of us to get together.

Once Zach got home from golf, the kids hit the pool and the sprinkler. Then we had dinner, and they were back in the water. It was very hot out, so it was the perfect night for it. They had so much fun, and these pictures are great proof of that.

Here are Zach, Lucy, and Drew trying to run away from the sprinkler.

Anna and Lucy have the same swing set at home, but they've never put a pool at the bottom of the slide. The girls loved the water slide idea, though, so I have a feeling BJ and Susan will be following our example soon.

Jake played with Grandma while I took pictures of the big kids.

I love this picture of Zach, Anna, and Drew. They all look so happy.

We couldn't quite get Lucy to stand still long enough for a picture, so this was the best I got of the four of them.

Anna and Drew- not sure where Zach disappeared to.

Anna and Zach pretty much light up at the mention of each other, which is good since they're already betrothed to one another. After I took the pictures above, Anna started saying she wanted a kiss from (or maybe to) Zach. Zach wasn't so sure at first- I think he's hitting that girls-have-cooties stage. I said, "Oh, come on, Zach- just let her kiss you on the cheek." Anna said, "No! On the lips!" And I said it was up to Zach to decide what he was comfortable with. So then they both had this funny, awkward moment, during which I snapped this picture. This will be great at their wedding in 20-25 years.

Then they decided a hug would be best. Good choice, kids. And like a true little brother, Drew was squirting them with a hose during their moment.

After a couple more runs down the slide and some dessert, we decided it was time to end the party. Susan and the girls biked back home and I got the boys showered and in bed. Everybody was exhausted after all the fun.