May Update

 Atticus made me a birdhouse for Mothers' Day. We hung it up in the back yard. He's pretty proud of it.

 He insisted on helping James replace the parking stops. James appreciated the help, I'm sure.

 Preschool "graduation." He gets shy in front of crowds. Each child was invited to say something nice to his or her parents. Atticus said he liked it when I co-opped. His best buddy, Austin (with glasses), had both sets of grandparents and an older sister there, and he chose to say something nice to Atticus instead. He said that Atticus was his best friend, and he liked how Atticus made a book about him. Atticus and Austin are always the heroes in Atticus's books, and they're always playing Super Hero Squad.

 We have LOVED his teacher, Miss Stephanie, and are very sad to lose her. She is the rare combination of being excellent with the kids and with the parents. 

 Atticus finished his first round of swimming lessons today. He's come a long way in just a few weeks, from refusing to put his face in the water to floating/kicking on his stomach under water by himself. The goggles made a huge difference. Once he could open his eyes under water, he was unstoppable.

I love this kid.

In other news, James has finished his serious teaching for this school year. Next week he's showing a movie, and the week after that it's just cleaning out lockers and signing yearbooks, so even though he has to be there, he doesn't have to coerce students into caring about anything. Then he's FREE for two months. Yea!

Our only big plan for the summer is our family reunion in July. We're really looking forward to that, especially since all the out-of-towners will be here. James's mom will be in town for a few days in June, and it will be nice to see her and Grandpa Clarence. Other than that, we plan to visit lots of local parks and pools and spend time with friends. Maybe James will finally make it to the zoo. We do plan to hike, but we probably won't spend as much time in the big canyons. We're still a little freaked out by canyon driving. I also plan to pick up more hours at work if I can. We're planning to buy a house within the next year, and every little bit counts.

Here's to summer. :)