Anouk's Christening

Sean and Collette had a beautiful day for Anouk's christening. The kids played, the adult's talked, and Anouk was, of course, the star of the show.

Eli Whitney Summer Camp

Sue had a great time at the Eli Whitney Museum's summer camp sessions. We signed her up for three one-week sessions; each session was a different project. The first was water and boats -- they made a different model boat each day. Then it was a week all about the legend of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. They made a diarama with the forest and the castle and figures from the story. The last week was all about bugs. They made a bug-research tool chest in the shape of a bug and went on field trips looking for new bugs every day. Way cool!

Sue was also signed up for some after-hours care, when the kids played in the water "laboratory" outside.

There was an elephant fountain:






A sand and water exploration table:



A giant chair that was one of Sue's favorite places to play:


The museum is next to a reservoir and waterfall, so it's always a little cooler than in the city:



Overall, she was a very happy camper.

End of Soccer Season

Sue ended another season of soccer. She really started to "get it" this time around. I wish that we hadn't lost 3 sessions due to weather though.

And much to my surprise, when I asked Sue if she wanted to sign up for next Fall, she said "Yes!".

Here are the kids waiting to go up and get their trophies.




Sue with her trophy:



I'm not sure why the frown, but it didn't last long, especially when the ice cream truck arrived :-)

Long Time No Post

Wow, I can't believe it's been since the end of March without a post! What have we been doing? Seems like nothing special -- work is busy, Kipper's training continues, Sue is doing well in school. Spring is here, sort of. I've bought flowers for the garden, which are sitting in a box on the front stoop, waiting for me to find the time to plant them.

Brendan and I have both been too tired in the evenings to do much, but I have been spinning and knitting while we vegetate in front of the TV. I finished a hat recently, that had been intended for me but fits Sue, so it's hers now. She's such a big girl now -- I only see flashes of the very little girl when she's sick or really tired.

Sue's Spring Concert

Sue's kindergarten class gave their first (and only?) concert. Brendan, my mother and I all went. I must confess, I had tears in my eyes, they were so sweet!

Unfortunately we remembered that video camera after it was too late to charge it, but Brendan did get some pictures.

Sue's Big Weekend

Last weekend was a big one for Sue. On Friday we took her to Zane's spring sale and got her a new two-wheeler (with training wheels). It's pink with streamers at the ends of the handle bars and flowers everywhere. What does Sue love the most about it? The little white basket in front. Go figure.



Then on Saturday she went to her classmate Rachel's "princess" birthday party. It was a "girls only" party (except for one boy). They got their hair done up, with tiaras all around, eye-shadow, and finger nail polish. They all came home with purses filled with dress-up jewelry and candy. Sue said it was the best birthday party she'd ever been to. I'm trying not to gag.

Pics are here for those with a high tolerance for pink.

After the party, Sue's friend Maia came back with us for a sleepover. The girls were (predictably) up until 10:00 talking and giggling.

Sunday, we took Sue and Maia to the Bridgeport Discovery Science museum, where we met up with Maia's mother. When we suggested on the way home that Sue might nap in the car, we didn't even get any resistance.

Easter 2008

This year's Easter Egg Hunt in our little burg of Branford was held on a chilly but sunny morning at Foote Park. The town laid out four gridded areas for various age groups, scattered $1,000.00 worth of candy all over the ground, and precisely at 11:00 AM, blew the whistle for the gathered hoards of kids to snag the sweets. About 15 seconds later (it seemed), it was all over.

Here's the field before the whistle:


After about 5 seconds, you can see that the first part of the grass is completely bare of candy already:


Here's an action shot (Sue is in a light pink jacket in the center-back of the picture):


The Easter bunny was there too:


We had met up with Sue's friend Natalie and her folks. Sue and Natalie:


After the egg hunt we all came back to our house for a play date, kids and adults. The girls played dressup, while the adults celebrated the season with some bubbly and coq au vin.


On Easter Sunday we went over to my mother's for brunch. Sue got to spend some quality time with her Grandma Sue: