So Joe rescued this kitten at his school that was teeny, tiny. He fell in love and I went into a panic. He came home on a Friday and “ta-da” the kids fell in love. I refused to let myself get attached.They named her Rosebud…Rosie for short. I took Paul to baseball practice and insisted the kitty have a new home before I came back. It needed to be bottle fed every couple hours like a newborn. Yikes!I hated to see the kids love the kitty, and then have to be the one to insist on no pets. But we aren’t ready. I am not saying “never” because I think a pet can teach responsibility and nurturing. I am just saying “not yet.” And hopefully my kids won’t hold this against me.

We usually go camping and because a heat wave hit, I am so relieved we didn’t (We will Joe- I promise). With only one night to spare, we stayed over at the Queen Mary. Sort of surprising that we have never gone. It’s in our own backyard.

After opening presents and reading through cards, we packed up early and headed over.We wandered the decks, going higher and higher. The kids loved the slanting floor and the idea that this ship is docked. They really wanted it to set sail.We had two adjoining rooms and packed plenty of snacks. I assumed food on board wouldn’t be too bad, but really there wasn’t much for vegetarians. So we walked over to Hotel Maya.We enjoyed pineapple sangria and enchiladas and the open air. This was our expression when the waiter brought over extra drinks from a mistake at the bar. Free drinks!By the time the sunset, we popped open the tiny windows and peeked out for the view. We had the chance to watch the colors change and wave to folks on boats going by. A mini getaway to celebrate Joe… the papa, husband, best friend, and teacher who I love.

The time has flown by and before the calendar changes to July, it feels like we were busy all month and we hardly snapped photos.

The boys went to their first game of the season.They had field passes and so went early to watch practice.Paul has become increasingly serious as he watches or listens to a game. He is keeping track of plays and names and all sorts of details that I still don’t understand.The Dodgers won and so these smiles are genuine.With a last minute haircut and new pants, this guy finished kindergarten. In honor of their last day, they both wore suits.Joe has one more week off before summer school begins. He moved all his stuff into storage for the new site he will be at in the fall.

Meanwhile, Henry is looking forward to school all day like Paul. He had practiced so hard for his final show, but then became super shy during the performance.This shot is from his favorite song about “growing in life’s garden” and being a flower that blooms. Grammy took him out to lunch after the show and yes, I cried. His teacher is the same one Paul had. I feel like time slipped away again and even though it makes me sad, I am also so happy for his experience with this past  year.And when he looks so grown up and I realize how much he has learned, yeah the tears are hard to stop.A new season is upon us in a big way. Summer. We have been waiting long enough!

Summer will soon be here. Before that happens baseball will wrap up (one more game this Saturday), I will give finals at LBCC, Joe will pack up and move his classroom to a new school (got his first choice!), and Olivine will start swim lessons while her brothers are still in school. Whew..that is only part of what we are looking forward to this month.Strangely enough these shots of Los Angeles remind me I am a city girl in my heart. Joe and I both. I am practicing every day to be grateful for where I am. This can be hard when I cried with a student last night about the need to step away from community college while her mother is sick and her kids need attention. One week before finals. She has come so far. Yet, I completely understand. This is in stark contrast to the student I saw on Friday. She took my class three years ago and she dropped by to let me know she is graduating from city college next week. Those were different tears.This sprawling set of freeways and constant cement contributes to our need to hike to a waterfall this past Sunday. We are not naive to the toll it takes. I know our family will need to go camping, lay in a hammock, and play with sticks. We also want to spend afternoons at the beach and evenings eating outdoors. Before then, we have a little more work and focus to crank out. Wish us luck, we are almost done with the school year.