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.

Aunt Jü-dee and Kay-non

Aunt Julie and Kalyn's annual spring visit was especially fun this year because Ryan cracked us up with his nonstop commentary. Our favorite was when he gave them their new names: Jü-dee and Kay-non. Mom thinks we'll use these names forever, even when they are 100 years old. Exactly the same way Aunt Joy and Uncle Mike will always affectionately be known as Joy Joy and Booty Monster.    

One of the best parts of the week was when they taught us more of Nana's funny sayings. We've always thought our Boston family is "the best thing since Post Toasties". But we didn't know potatoes could be cooking in the oven "since Hector was a pup". Or that something could have "more itches and pips than Carter has liver pills" (don't pronounce any of the Rs). 

We spent one day at the zoo. The baby elephants were the most adorable things. Nana would say they were "built like a brick sh*thouse". We think that is a compliment. Right?

They seemed to really like each other, and spent a long time rolling in the mud together.

Mom probably would have stayed there all day to watch them.

We convinced Kalyn to try the tiger roller coaster.

It was so scary.

Scary awesome!

The nasty girl running the coaster wouldn't let Ryan ride because he isn't 3 years old yet. He rode it a million times last month when we came to the zoo and LOVED it.  She didn't care. He turns 3 in 2 short months. She didn't care. He handled the disappointment with poise and grace, screaming and crying all the way past the other people in line. The orangutans seemed to share his sense of despair. 

We were able to console him with a blue snow cone and alternate tiger ride. Rawr!

Dad was glad he took the day off work for this. He likes hanging out with Jü-dee and Kay-non too.