KidStock

We took the kids to KidStock at the local park this afternoon. KidStock is a festival to promote art and music. There was a pretty good turnout despite overcast skies and occasional sprinkles of rain.

The kids got to color and listen to live music.

There were street performers ( a man on stilts and a cowboy clown) working the crowd.

And, of course, ice cream.

Bittersweet

The past week was bittersweet as the kids said goodbye to their pre-school teachers and classmates. For five years, they have been lovingly cared for and educated in a safe environment. Not once did we worry about the kids when they were in pre-school. We've seen tremendous growth in Robert and Samantha as a result of their schooling and, as such, we are eternally grateful to their teachers.

Some of the teachers read this blog. You know who you are. Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We invite you to use the blog as a way of following Robert and Samantha into kindergarten and beyond.

For their part, Robert and Samantha know that their time at pre-school is coming to an end. They finished their formal classes two days ago. They have two more weeks of daycare and then they will move onto a new school, with new teachers and new friends to make.

Despite growing up in so many ways this past year, they are still childish. In a charming way. Here they are crammed into wicker baskets watching television.

Samantha enjoying some face time with mom

They came home from school Friday asking to be taken to the "instrument store." It seems they saw someone with a harmonica, either on t.v. or at school. A quick survey of their stuff showed them that mom threw out the old harmonicas months ago, so we had to go to the store for replacements. Here's Robert playing a tune at the beach.

and with his sister, making one of the faces she makes when the camera comes out.

The end of summer is always bittersweet, even from an adult's perspective. But we are looking forward to September, with all the hopes and challenges that a new school presents. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

A Welcome Break

It has been a hellacious nine days at the homestead. Mr. Coxsackie virus paid a visit early last week, taking down Samantha initially and then Robert. As Robert was recovering over the weekend, Sam came down with a stomach bug that laid waste to a lot of bed linen, resulting in a trip to the clinic to get an anti-emetic. Everyone was starting to get back to normal yesterday.

This afternoon, however, Robert started exhibiting symptoms of GI upset and it appears he is following in his sister's footsteps. Hopefully we won't go through as much linen and maybe we can skip the visit to the doctor.

On a lighter note, Sam came home from school with a Groucho Marx rig, so we went outside in the nice evening air to make a portrait.