Strawberry Picking with Ana

Willow, Michael and I went for strawberry picking with Ana today!

It was pretty hot out there, and Michael ended up just pacing a lot...but he did pick a few strawberries...
I think everyone preferred eating them rather than picking them!

Willow had fun with Ana, at one point trying to steal berries from her box!  It was a fun (if too short) time with Ana...and both kids loved the bunches and bunches of strawberries!

(I am looking forward to some strawberry shortcake very soon!!)

Starting out!

Really getting into it!

We ate a LOT of strawberries!

Michael did a walk around the acreage.

Who's got the biggest, most deformed strawberry?

These are strawberries?

I mean, look at them!

He picked a few!

And more strawberries were eaten!  (I don't know why I just have pictures of Ana eating them!  We all did!)

Hay butt!

Yummy!

1/2

Half way through the year already.  It is so hard to believe that it is June.  That it is Flag Day, that tomorrow is Father's Day.

So far we have had a good half year.  No deaths, no lay offs, no real big issues at school (hey, I have to count my blessings where I see 'em!)  We have had snow storms, sickness and fun at Total Con.  We have had birthday parties and had a wonderful vacation in Washington, D.C.

Soon, summer begins for the kids.

And no more Kindergartner.  A First Grader! Willow's first year of school was pretty exciting for her and mundane for us.  She seems to have issues with learning rote things (like counting by 5's and 10's seemed to stump her a bit).  She is left handed (who knew?).  She is ending the year sounding out signs along the road and reading simple books.  She is ready for the next steps...and I can see another reader in our midst.

Freshman year.  Oh, how we will be happy to see you go.  Such a tough transition for Michael this year. Ending on more a high note, with all "A's" (as long as he passes his finals).  After being tested for the special education accommodations for aspergers, he received an IEP and some help, which, after the incident in October lead to a "shadow" paraprofessional.  Which we thought would only be for a few weeks...which still follows him now and is causing him annoyance.  He started the year with friends, now gone.  Its been a tough year.  The only bright spot has been finding him a therapist who has been actually helpful to him.  And the Special Ed team has been receptive and we are going to work through what next year will bring, especially sans shadow.   I hope his summer can help him relieve the tensions of the school year and find some social interactions...and we can have a fresh start for Sophmore year!

How fast time goes.  Glad to have my family and hope that the rest of the year is good to us all.

Camp, Camp, Camp, Camp, Camp-it-y, Camp, Camp-it-y, Camp!

Ahhh...June...spring is FINALLY here and thoughts of the end of school.  (So weird, because in Michigan where I grew up, I was out of school by the end of May...)

Another thing that is different, of course, from my childhood....the fact that summer camps are often not OPTIONS but necessities because both parents work.

Because camps are at a premium, because my son is 15 years old, because Willow is now going to be a first time summer camper---I have most of that stuff ready and a-okay....until I realized today that school ends on June 24th.  Which means I had a 3 day gap for Willow....so now, I will be filling out one.more.camp.application.form (luckily, it will just be her afterschool option so its not a lot of stuff).

SO...the summer looks kinda something like this:

June 24th School (finally) Ends

July 25 - 27 - Willow stays at the afterschool place for Camp (which will be held at her school--confusion sets in about NOW)

Meanwhile...Michael hangs out at home and veggies, eats us out of house and home, plays video games and watches t.v. until his eyes bug out.  (hey, good summer-as-a-teen fun)

Willow will go to her summer camp after that; Michael will go to his LARP camp after that -- for about four weeks---one of which Willow will be going just to get a taste of LARP outdoors (!)

Then Willow goes back and stays at her summer camp.  Then Michael hangs out at home again.  Then we go for a long weekend to Cape Cod (hi, we betrayed you by going somewhere else in April!)

Then Michael goes to a video game creation summer camp for a week.  (yeah, video games seems to be a theme)

At some point Tom comes to visit.

Summer ends.  [whew!]

No wonder summer goes so fast.  [sigh]