The Saturday 7

1. We spent Memorial Day at Niki's enjoying the 90 degree weather in the pool (which was also around 90 degrees. Perfect swimming temperature!)

2. I'm going to be watching Nova on Wednesdays this summer. Since preschool gets done before regular school, I had her this Wednesday even though my kids were still in school. I was worried that she'd be bored out of her mind with only me to entertain her, but she did such a great job of entertaining herself. I don't know what it's like to have a kid like that. Lol. After lunch we met up with Elsie at the park. Try as I might I couldn't get them both to look at the camera, but they're still cute, even when they're being goofy!

When Lena got home from school, she immediately did Nova's hair to match her own. This is her new favorite style.

Outtakes. Lol.

3. On Thursday, my sisters and I took advantage of the last week before school gets out by taking our littles to the zoo. Of course, there were about 4 school field trips there, so it totally defeated the purpose of going to the zoo during the off season. Lol. But it was a gorgeous day, and we had a blast. (Although Lena was super angry when she found out that we went without her.) It was the last day ever of just Levi and me at home. This year he only went to school three days a week, so we always had Tuesdays and Thursdays together. Next year, he'll be all day every day just like the girls. End of an era. Trying not to dwell on it.

We have these kids trained well. Before we even made it through the gates into the actual zoo they spotted this rock, climbed on, and said, "Take our picture!"

Beautiful Thea!

This zoo is the best because the giraffes get so up close and personal!

BFFs

So close, Thea!

Saylor girl

The Prairie Dogs were so friendly, too!

4. Friday was the last day of school, and I actually remembered to take last day pics before we left the house. As I noted on facebook, however, you can see how low my standards fell by the end of the year. On the first day, they're all looking so put together (and tan!) By the last day, they're a bunch of ragamuffins. Lol.

I think Lena changed the most. She lost her baby face! 😭

I spent their last day packing up the library. 😥

At the end of the day I went down to Levi's classroom to watch his little "graduation."

All 3 of my kids had Mrs. Ellsworth, but Levi's the only one who got her for two years (Lucy didn't do preschool, and I homeschooled Lena during Kindergarten). She's an absolutely amazing teacher and I'm so sad our time with her is done! Although I am relieved Levi passed Kindergarten. Lol. As much as I consider myself a bibliophile, have pursued a career in librarianship, and have filled this house to the brim with books, Levi is not a very strong reader. How can it be??? Apparently he reads well enough to go to first grade though. Whew!

5. The last day was just a half day, so we grabbed lunch after school and went straight to Niki's to kick off summer break in the pool!

Fun with Tater and the leaf blower. Lol

I'm not on summer break quite yet, but I couldn't ask for a better view while reading about childhood development.

6. I have big goals for this summer - including spending more time with my kids, allowing them less screen time, but also encouraging more unstructured play. And vegetables. I really want to try again with the vegetables. They were begging to go to Tasty Treat Friday night, so I said we could go if they all ate one baby carrot. Lena ate hers no problem, but Levi and Lucy both gagged so much on theirs that they each ended up throwing up. 🤦🤦🤦 This cannot be normal. How am I supposed to work with this? We got ice cream anyway because they made a valiant effort . . . and I wanted my Snickers shake.