Summertime!

 This catch up is much overdue! The kids finished out the 2020-2021 school year, and what a year it was. After countless zooms, a million outdoor PE walks, and three different "first days," they completed second and fourth grade. Good grades, good remarks from their teachers, and it feels like we can only go onwards and upwards. They both said they were going to miss school, so I feel like I must have done something right as Mean Teacher Mommy. 

We've had two weeks between the end of school and our trip to Door County, which is the quietest time we've got going all summer - it's so nice to have camps and trips to look forward to this summer! Mostly, they're fending for themselves these days, but I'm trying to make sure we all get some sunshine and some time away from screens, and we had a nice adventure up to LA to see college friends. 

Plus there's always chores to be done around the house. 

They each got a shopping and lunch date with Mimi, and the Resort and Spa has reopened for the year, so we've done some good floating and splashing with Gigi and Sara.

The biggest change of the summer is Ellie, who was continually telling me she wanted to cut her hair short. So, yesterday I called the kids salon and they told me they could fit her in right away, and so before she had a chance to change her mind, we went in and changed her whole lewk.

Before

After!

I think she looks absolutely adorable, though I'm surprised she was ready to do something so drastic. Even a month ago, I asked if I could trim the raggedy ends off her hair and she told me absolutely not. I was sort of dreading what she was going to look like after two weeks of sleep away camp - would she come home with one enormous, swampy dreadlock in the back, like when a sheep escapes the flock and is found a year later with 80 extra pounds of wool? Now she'll be easy breezy for summer - will only have to worry about making sure her neck gets suncreened. I think she looks absolutely darling.