A Scrap of Life

Carissa was part of the Sunsations softball farm league team this year. She had Coach Randy and Coach Mike again, her 3rd year in a row with them. It was a great year! We had a wonderful team with a lot of fun and talented girls. Carissa could, of course, be counted on to do her own thing at times. When she was bored she would play in the dirt with her toes or just crouch down and relax. Once, when she was in the outfield, she decorated her entire mitt with things she found in the field. When she wasn't bored she did very well. She showed a lot of progress this year, throwing harder, hitting better. She even got the chance to pitch one game and did well when she calmed down. All in all another great year of softball with her awesome group of coaches.

Finally! It seemed like such a long school year, mainly because we added on so many days because of the snow days we took this winter. But today was the last day and the kids are officially done with school! I was able to attend the awards ceremony and field day at Tristan and Carissa's school. The kids both got awards from their teachers. Tristan got the "Truly talented artist and 'creative juicy word stories that come alive' writing award" from Mrs. Fisher. Carissa got a writing award and her word this year was "gentle", very close to "kind", which is what Ms. Carolyn gave her last year. After the awards it was field day. The kids had a great time going to all the stations, playing and chatting with their friends. It was just a fun day. Here's a few of my fave shots from the day. Just hanging around... How hard can you stomp the stomp rocket??? Carissa on the obstacle course Tristan running for the finish line And now school is over for t...

So in my mind I had my summer reading planned out. I would start the Twilight series again, the series that I became obsessed with last summer. But this time I would slow down, savor every word. I envisioned evenings outside on the porch swing, book in my lap, watching the kids ride their bikes and play with their friends. So it was with this anticipation that I started reading Twilight last week. And then it hit. The obsession of it all. The feeling that you just have to keep reading, have to keep turning the pages. The need to know what happens next, even though I already know. And so my summer full of Twilight turned into a week of obsession. And 2,444 pages later I'm sitting here wondering what the heck I'm going to read this summer!

Today is a day of many welcomes. First and foremost, I welcome SUMMER! Today was my last day of teaching for this school year. I bid goodbye to my classroom and my preschoolers and look forward to the fun and freedom of summer. Tomorrow night is graduation, so I still have that to get through. But the teaching part is done for now. Of course, I do still have plenty of summer camps I'm teaching this summer (my first is Fairy Camp, which I'm SOOOOO excited about!), a few trips to the beach, theater camp and Boy Scout camp on my agenda. Oh, and how could I forget the most exciting - the Nickelback concert we're going to see to celebrate our 15th Anniversary!!! So a great big YAHOO! to summer!!! My other welcome is to the new members of our household. After having Peach put to sleep last week, Chase took some time to get over it. A few days ago he came to me and told me that he was ready to start looking for a new pet rat. One trip to the pet store and he found it. Of course, ...

The reality of life and death can be pretty harsh, especially for kids. And that's very apparent in our household this week, as it's become evident that Chase's dearest friend, Peach, needs to be put to sleep. She's a little over 3 years old and blind in one eye. But we can deal with all that. What we can't deal with is the huge tumor that is growing on her side and has now gotten so large that she can't move well any more. Tumors are very common in female rats, especially when they reach this advanced age. But her quality of life is starting to suffer and this is where we feel the need to have her humanely put to sleep. Yet, this is a sad decision to make. To have to sit down with your 12 year old and discuss the reasons why he should or shouldn't make the decision to end her life is very hard. And Chase is, obviously, distressed by it all. Yet in the end we had to admit that it was time. So we're taking our last few days to say goodbye to a wonder...

The movies are nowhere near as good as the books, but I am REALLY looking forward to New Moon nonetheless. The first trailer just came out and it look awesome!!! For those who don't know, this it the 2nd movie in the Twilight series. And now that the first was a big hit they're pretty much throwing money at them so this movie will be bigger and better. I can't wait!!! Check it out here: http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/395235/trailer-premiere-new-moon.jhtml