Summer

It seems that Spring didn't last long because it already seems like Summer, which involves tree climbing and swimming. Emily has her favorite trees to explore, such as this one in our yard.

"C'mon, mom, take the photo already!"

She also seems to be excited for pool weather. Poor little thing was in the pool for about five hours yesterday and ended up with raw pads on her toes and fingers. Apparently she needs to toughen up her skin a bit. Despite the wounds, she was back in the pool today and loving every minute of it.

Emily and her bestie, Ansel

Although it feels like summer, there are still a few more weeks of school. There are lots of fun events coming up though, including Field Day, which has a ninja warrior theme this year, and a field trip to celebrate everyone's hard work during the year. Emily's new school has been so incredibly wonderful this year and she is already looking forward to next year. She knows who her teacher will be and it is someone that she really likes, so she is really excited about that.

Also, Emily has really come into her own with reading this year. She declared to her teacher that it just took the right book to make her love reading. It turns out that the Upside Down Magic series was just the ticket. It is a series of (so far) five books that chronicle the lives of kids in an upside down magic class. In the books, all kids get a certain type of magic when they turn ten, but for a subset of kids, their magic is a little unusual. For example, some kids are Flares. They get the power to light things on fire, but an Upside Down Flare might have the power to freeze things instead. It is an incredibly cute and compelling set of stories with a female protagonist who is a Upside Down Fluxer. Instead of shape-shifting into normal things like kittens, or birds, she shifts into unusual animals like a Dritten - half kitten, half dragon, or a Squippy - half squid, half puppy. Emily just thinks it is all hysterical and so do I. Unfortunately, we have read all five and the sixth is not due out until the Fall. Who knows when the seventh will arrive, if ever.

Other than that, life continues to roll along for Emily. She is progressing with violin and continues to love Legos, building all sorts of structures, playing with her stuffed animals (there is always a wedding in progress), chasing geckos around the patio, and baking/eating all things sweet. :)