Max and Esme

We spent a few hours of our gorgeous Saturday exploring the local resevoir.Peter and Esme started out in the row boat while Max and I hiked the lakeside trail. Esme was very proud of catching her first fish - a lovely sunfish caught on her pink fishing rod! The kids had fun being put ashore on a very small island while Peter and I rowed around them. The island was christened Maxania, of course. Max's highlight of the day was spotting this copperhead snake sunning itself on a log. We were careful not to disturb it as we took some photos from the boat. Esme napped on my lap in the sun while the boys picked up some small-mouth and large-mouth bass. All in all a relaxing and wonderful family day.

Thursday was Max's last day of 1st grade. They had a noon dismissal following a pizza party. We celebrated with a family outing to the zoo in the afternoon. It was a lovely warm day and there were no lines for the monorail. Other highlights included the snow leapords and the bird exhibit which we hadn't seen before. We followed the zoo trip with dinner out and Max and Esme cleared their plates in order to have ice cream for dessert. I know it was a successful and appreciated day because Max wrote me a Thank You postcard when he got home. What a great kid!

The kids are becoming *slightly* more cosmopolitan eaters these days, expanding their usual repertoire of pasta and more pasta to at least try new things. Peter has them hooked on risotto (yes, I know it's rice...but has a much fancier name!). Max is now a fan of fried calamari. And Esme has decided that she likes steak-on-a-stick -- marinated beef grilled on skewers. A couple of weekends ago Peter and I cooked mussels for lunch. While neither child would actually try one, both were very interested in opening the shells and playing with their food.

Class 1T had an author celebration this morning, with the students as the featured authors. Each kid read aloud a book that they had written and illustrated during the year. The stories were typed up and laminated and the students read into a microphone. The stories all followed a setting-character-problem-solution format. Most kids choose their insect story (it being the most recent) and Max regaled us with his story about an earwig. I can't share the watercolors with you, but here is the copy. The Earwig Original Paintings and Text by Max Girard One sunny day in the forest a gentle breeze was cooling everything down. There was a variety of very colorful leaves covering the forest ground. Then from under an orange leaf an earwig came out. He had a long thin body that ended with some curved pinchers. He found a dead ladybug. Then as quick as an eagle a praying mantis came out and snuck up on the earwig! The earwig opened its hidden wings and few away. When it came back the praying ...

After canceling for rain last Friday, Max's first grade class finally went on their field trip to the zoo today. Peter chaperoned and sent this picture of his group from his new blackberry. Max has promised to tell me all about the animals he saw later this evening. He was hoping to spot a Madagascar cockroach. Huh.

Friday was Esme's last day of pre-school this term. She's now done with the 3's program and wants to know when she'll be turning 4. Saturday was the last day of ballet class (finally!). I suspect she's not going to miss it, but we'll see if she's interested again next year. On Thursday last week Max's class placed 1st in the school field days. He was very proud of his blue ribbon and paraded it around for a couple of days. Sunday morning Max caught his first striped bass - a beautiful 35 inch fish that we decided was too pretty to eat. Back it went to live another day.