Home Stretch

We are in the home stretch of the school year. Although most of the schools around here got out for summer last Thursday, with Ree in year-round school, we have one more week of getting her out the door bright and early. But the end is very much in sight!

We've certainly been celebrating the end of the year for awhile with all kinds of events. It started with the boys' preschool graduation on the Friday before Memorial Day. (Leon and Mike have a year to go, but all the kids graduate every year. I like that. Maybe we should do that at work too. Instead of getting an annual evaluation we could all celebrate having made it another year. And maybe there would even be cake involved...)

The weather for their graduation was absolutely perfect - mid-70s with clear skies and a breeze. The park where it was held was nice and shady. It was really nice. The kids got to play at the park for awhile then we gathered to hear them sing. Leon not only kept his clothes on this time (and his hands mostly out of his pants), he sang. Loudly. And danced. Lots. He was quite entertaining. Michael did a great job with all of the songs too and even remembered the choreography to the song in sign language.

(It turns out I don't have any graduation photos without the faces of other kiddos in 'em, but here's a recent pic of the boys making themselves comfortable on the floor at Barnes and Noble during a Mommy-Boys date. Some day they will find out you can actually PURCHASE the toys there, and I will be in serious trouble.)

Then it was on to Ree's dance recital last weekend. She performed a tap routine to the song "Popular" from Wicked and for ballet, they did the bluebird dance from Sleeping Beauty. Her class is teensy and has just four girls. They did great job with the tap number and even managed to stay with the music fairly well. (It was funny, though. For the little ones, you could hear the teachers calling out the steps from where they stood off stage.) Ree ran into a slight wardrobe malfunction during ballet - she got tangled in her bluebird wings. Thankfully, after a brief, failed attempt to untangle herself, she finished the dance. For kindergarten, I'd say that was pretty good. And overall, she said she had fun and she's spent her spare time this week teaching me her tap dance. She is very excited to get the DVD of the recital so we can practice it to the music. She clearly doesn't want me to get bored.

Waiting to go on stage for tap dressed as "Glenda" from Wicked. Ree is the little one on the right.