Scientist Of The Week

I love my school, especially my friends and my best teacher ever. One of my favorite parts of Kindergarten has been being Scientist of The Week. My experiment was about Oobleck, inspired by the Dr. Seuss book "Bartholomew and The Oobleck".  Actually, my Aunt Julie mentioned it at Nana's birthday party, then Dad wouldn't stop saying "non-Newtonian substance". It has the properties of a solid and a liquid at the same time and is really freaky. My teacher and fellow scientists said I did a great job: Scientist of The Week. 

Saying Grace

Ryan loves his school. He loves his friends, especially his two best friends who love to tackle, shove, and punch as much as he does. Mom loves his teachers, especially the two no-nonsense women who seem to like Ryan as much as we do. They are teaching him good manners, like giving our friends wide personal space, using our words instead of our angry hands, and saying a thank-you prayer to God before meals.

Happy Mothers Day!

Mom said all she wanted for Mothers Day was brunch and a nap. But we gave her so much more! My Kindergarten class put together a Mothers Day performance. 

It was perfect- we sang about how much we love our Moms, and gave them our handmade books:

 Mom says any day is Mothers Day when she catches us being nice to each other. Like when I showed Ryan how to listen to music on the iphone. He wasn't even punching me, and I didn't even kick him in the stomach!

 

 There is a sibling study that says brothers and sisters fight with each other an average of 3.5 times per hour, meaning an average of 10 minutes out of every hour is spent in battle. I mean, we love each other, it's just that there is more freedom to drive each other crazy because that love is unconditional. 

 

Experts say you can't stop all the fighting, but the trick is to generate enough positive experiences between siblings to make the good memories out number the bad. That way, we'll grow up to like each other and be good friends. Bottom line is that we should never be taken to Publix together any day after 4:00.

Mom says she feels hopeful when she sees Ryan run into my room in the mornings to give me a hug and kiss first thing, and when she finds little notes likes this under a pile of papers in the office:

She loves being our Mom. And she still loves her "first child", Maggie. This sweet, nervous, paradoxically aggressive, nocturnal-bowel-control-challenged, 12 year old golden retriever was the first one to teach mom the reality of parenthood: you can simultaneously love your children while also wanting to lock yourself in the bathroom with ear plugs and a glass of wine.

 Mom says it's all worth it when I give her a spontaneous hug or ask her to cuddle with me in bed at night while I fall asleep. Or when Ryan crawls in bed in the morning, holds her face with both of his little hands, and says "You're my best Mommy, ever".

Symphony Under The Stars

The Buccaneers opened up Raymond James Stadium for the most fun summer night of the year again. Yes, it is officially summer here. How it works is that we usually have one random last 50 degree night/75 degree day in mid-March, and the next day it's instantly 90 degrees with suffocating humidity. Poof. Just like that.

This year we got to the stadium early to pick out our favorite spot on the west side that is first to catch shade from the setting sun. The best part is running around the field before it fills up with families.

Ryan was a bit subdued after his day with the dinosaurs.

But he rallied when our friends showed up. My best friend from Kindergarten lives one block away from us, so we get to see her and her big sister on the weekends.

 Ryan loves hanging out with these girls. He's not afraid to jump right in when we're singing the songs from Frozen.

Turns out, Ryan loves all pretty girls...

Especially pretty cheerleaders!

Dinosaurs

Ryan took Dad to Dinosaur World for a Boys Day while Mom and I enjoyed the spa and ballet. Mom and Dad exchanged pictures like these through the day as we each had very different experiences.

 

While we girls sat quietly chatting in air-conditioned rooms all day, the boys sprinted enthusiastically from dinosaur to dinosaur in the open park with 90 degree heat. Ryan peppered Dad with a manic series of questions on each dinosaur model. Each time he responded to Dad's answers with shrieks of joy and amazement, then ran to the next one.  

Then he went on a fossil hunt and scored a shark tooth.

It was a good day, and  the perfect amount of exertion to help Ryan crash into naptime on the drive home. He's too young at this point for my parents to try to instill life lessons and wisdom. Mainly they are just trying to keep up and survive.

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

Mom says 6 is now her favorite age. This black and white picture of me at 6 years is from the PTA fundraiser- just a candid quick shot taken on the playground one day. Mom says it's her all time favorite- it captures my laughing smile, happy eyes, and adorable freckles. My birthday fell on a school day this year, so we celebrated at the crack of dawn with cupcakes for breakfast.   

The most funnest thing about having a birthday during the week is that you can be queen for a day in your classroom. The not most funnest thing is that you still have to brush the tangles out of your hair, even though it's your special day. But then you get to have a second special day on the weekend!

 

This year in lieu of a party, I chose a girl spa day with my old pre-K friends. Sophia couldn't make it this time, but Reagan and I picked right up where we left off 6 months ago. This is the third year in a row that we've celebrated our May birthdays together, getting our nails, makeup, and hair primped,

then dressing up to go see a kids ballet performance. This year it was Sleeping Beauty, and it was amazing for the first 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes was some girl and boy running around the stage in circles doing twirls over and over. I was ready to GO.

Mom said something about exposing me to culture, and how she hopes I develop an appreciation for dance, without the negative-body-image dark side that can sometimes accompany the practice of dance. I think she just wanted an excuse to hang out with me all day. She is constantly trying to brainwash me with secret lessons for positive self image and confidence.

My parents love the little girl that I have become. They love to see me take pride in my strengths, like reading chapter books, practicing math flash cards, and creating art projects.

I love being 6, because it means I will lose my first tooth soon, I can sing every word of One Direction songs, and I will get more freckles. Did you know that freckles come from angel kisses?

I will also likely continue to get attention from cute boys. What is it about boys that makes them say and do the weirdest things when they have a crush on you? I'm still figuring out the code- they run away and refuse to talk to you because they like you? They call you bad names and laugh because they like you. And they draw evil monster art for you because they like you. 

Mom said that's the nature of things. She gave the example of a boy in seventh grade who nicknamed her "Watermelon Head" and basically made her cry every day. Then he gave her a gold necklace with a charm that said "Someone Special" at Christmas. She said I need to focus on my brain and sports right now,then worry about boys in, like, 20 years. And I am not allowed to read any books written by the Princeton Mom. 

Rays Spirit Night

Dad and I went to my school's spirit night baseball game to cheer on the Rays. He said we have to stay loyal to our dual fanship and wear the Red Sox hats.

I love hanging out with my Dad.

 Plus, the nachos at the Trop are amazing.

Bedtime

It's so hard to say goodbye to our favorite spring breakers. We are counting down the weeks until we see them again at Anna Maria Island!

Beach Day

 

This week Kalyn taught me that being a teenager is the best job in the world. I will get to stay up all night reading vampire fiction, sleep until noon, and eat ice cream every single day. 

 Mom says being 14 is actually very stressful, but Kalyn is handling the pressure with grace. I heard them talking about one of her frenemies that is a Mean Girl. Nana calls those kinds of girls worms.

 My goal as a teenager is to be just like Kalyn: smart, patient, kind, great at basketball, and passionately opposed to mayonnaise.