June 2015...Smitten with Kittens and Other Summer Fun!

Here are some highlights of the beginning of summer this year: As soon as my classroom was packed up and moved to a new room, we went to Kings Island for two days, followed by a trip to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. On Father's Day, we met Mom, Dad, Jason, and Kristen at Ye Olde Mill in Utica for ice cream. The weather was finally dry and sunny enough for us to put up the backyard pool, with Emma inviting friends over to enjoy it and other backyard fun 4 days in a row! Together with her church friends, Emma attended a week of VBS. With busy days of 9-3 every day, it was more of a day camp, and she enjoyed every minute of it, especially pie-ing her counselor in the face on carnival night! To celebrate Aunt Linda and Mom's b-day, we took a trip to Circleville. We also attended a yearly favorite, Energy Co-op Kids' Day, where Emma enjoyed the assorted free activities with her friend Maci. The most surprising event last month was, by far, the arrival of four precious kittens, born in our tool shed! A stray cat we'd been feeding since November had been looking a little round lately, but when she thinned out again and we didn't find anything (anyone?!), we figured it was just a fluke. But then...I discovered an impossibly tiny adorable black and white kitten wandering outside the shed when Emma was at day camp one day. After some investigating, we discovered three more in the rafters of the shed! As I write this a few weeks later, all four are doing well, as is little Mama (who looks like she isn't full-grown herself). Needless to say, Emma is smitten (and so are her friends)!

Spring 2015!

In spite of a busy end to the school year, we managed to have some fun with new activities and return to favorites, as well as visits with family. In March, we went Grandma and Papa Isch's house, visiting the Y with the indoor water slides and going to the Maple Syrup festival at Malabar Farm. Emma also joined her friend Jessica in the Easter bonnet parade/contest at Wilson's Garden Center. Over spring break, we went to Pittsburgh and visited old favorites like the Carnegie Science Center, Incline (trolley), and Children's Museum. On Easter, Emma received her first communion along with her other first grade friends. Several days of unseasonably warm weather in April gave Emma a chance to take friends Madelynn and Maci to favorite playgrounds in the area. On our first trip to Kings Island of the season, Emma tried two rides new to Planet Snoopy this year, "Woodstock's Gliders" and "Snoopy's Space Buggies" and explored the new petting zoo. She also met the height requirement for "big" rides like "Windseeker," "Delirium," and even the new roller coaster, "Banshee," which opened last season as the longest inverted coaster in the world! With her Brownie troop, Emma took a cake decorating class and, together with her friend Jessica, made buttercream icing from scratch! Aunt Linda's Relay for Life was a month earlier this year, and Emma once again was the youngest contestant in the hula hoop contest. She rediscovered bike riding and finally agreed to ride for good without training wheels (she'd had them off before but talked me into putting them back on so she could handle our hilly neighborhood), so we added a doll seat to the back as her reward. Emma's Brownie troop co-leader hosted a mother-daughter tea and the girls decorated tote bags for us moms. We celebrated Papa Isch's 70th birthday with a surprise party at a Mansfield restaurant. Emma's first grade class took a field trip to the Columbus Zoo, where she spent the day with her friend Allie. Her friend Jessica and cousin Lily celebrated their birthdays. Emma's school held its annual field day, complete with bouncy houses, tug-of-war, and a water balloon catapult. Finally, Grandma Karen, Grandma and Papa Isch, Aunt Kristen, Uncle Jason, and of course Mommy and Daddy enjoyed Emma's dance recital at the end of May, just days before school let out!