Lasts and Firsts!

Today was the last official day of preschool. So sad! Maya will be returning in September, but this chapter in Niko's life has drawn to a close. He has a little graduation ceremony tomorrow. I am honestly not sure if I will be able to hold it together, considering I got misty-eyed this morning (much to my own surprise!). Ugh!! At any rate, I took the obligatory last-day-of-school picture before we left this morning (compare it to the first day, back in September!): Anyway... I got Maya settled at school, and then Niko and I were off on his first-ever field trip! And I got to be a parent chaperone! :) The preschool basically chartered a school bus, so the driver came inside and told the incoming kindergarteners about the rules of riding on the bus. Because, unlike in California, everyone here still rides the bus to school! Then we drove around town for a while, and even drove by the elementary school (there's only one!). A lot of kids, Niko included, were so excited to point out their houses as we drove by. How's that for a small town? haha!

After we had driven around for a while, we drove to a local marketplace with an ice cream shop inside, and all the kids got scoops. The shop is actually named after the owner's son, who has serious food allergies, and so it's pretty much the only ice cream place in town where there is no cross contamination with the toppings and flavors and whatnot. AND-- his son is in Niko's class, which I never realized. Despite the rainy weather, it was still warm ("swampy," according to one local friend). Great ice cream weather! So the kiddos all sat outside the store and ate, and just generally had a good time. I had three little kids I was responsible for (one of whom was Niko), and they were hilarious. Really, I got a very good-natured, silly little group. It was a blast! Back at the preschool, the younger kids decorated a banner for the big kids, which greeted us upon our return. It was so sweet! Cue the tears. I kept it in check today, but am not sure how well I will do tomorrow. Don't worry-- I'll be videotaping most, if not all, of the short ceremony!

We got home, and the construction crew was hard at work! They had actually left for a while, because of a sudden downpour, but they got back just before we did. And while I said I would wait to share all the photos once the deck is done, this one just excites me. For the first time, it is looking like a deck! I can't wait to sit out there and read while the kids play! And it could quite possibly be done sometime next week. I can't wait!! Speaking of the downpour... the weather has been so weird this week! Very warm, humid, and thunderstorm-y. Two nights ago, we had a severe storm that sat on top of us for hours, keeping me from sleeping very well. Last night, we had an honest-to-God TORNADO warning here! They cancelled it after only a few minutes, thank goodness, but it was scary. And today, at around 4pm, the sky opened up and dumped torrential amounts of water for an hour straight. It was deafening, even from inside the house! Now, the forecast is saying the temps are going to plunge back down over the weekend, with high temps in the low fifties. What gives, Mother Nature? This is crazy!