Summer Kickoff!

Last week was cool (highs of 60F) and rainy. Okay, it was actually beyond "rainy" into "tornado-y". Much time spent in the basement, then back up the stairs, then back down.

The kids not only had their vocol recital, they also had a piano recital. A takeaway from the experience: if you have more than one recital in a week you sort of lose the performance adrenaline. Or maybe they've just been in so many productions this spring that they've become jaded. Anyway, in addition to the usual Clementi and Mozart, Annabeth played the theme from Star Wars, and Thalia closed the evening with Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy. Which gave them, overall, the the Music Most People Wanted to Dance Around To spots for the recital.

Also, Annabeth spent part of the week doing the Iowa Test of Basic Skills here at home. In the meantime Thalia did Stanford Achievement Testing. We've never used the Stanford test before, but it was offered in a group setting so we signed up. And it seems clever to have her do some testing in a group setting to see what it's like before she starts taking the ACT, etc. Missouri doesn't require that we do any sort of testing of this sort -- we do it mostly so the kids learn how to take bubble tests.

The holiday weekend, then, was a change of pace. Much of it was spent outdoors (yardwork!). Much of it was HOT (90F!). The cicadas were going nuts. The kids went to a high school graduation party on Saturday, we all went to a huge birthday party at a county park on Monday. Thalia had a friend spend the night. We went to the local pool. We ate watermelon and strawberries. Also watched tons of movies -- Penelope, The Kings Speech, Wall Street 2, I Am Number Four, The Iron Giant (rather a mixed bag there).

And now the forecast is for more HOT days. We have watermelon left in the refrigerator. We have school work planned for the days ahead, but really, it feels like we've turned a corner here and are headed in a new direction.