Yikes! Catching Up

I didn't realize it has been since last July that I last made a post here. Needless to say, there has been a lot going on! My main excuse for not posting is simply not enough time, but I am doing my best to correct that.

Phoebe has been rocking 6th grade, which is to be expected, of course. After much deliberation, we have decided to send her to Doane Stuart for 7th and, hopefully, 8th grade. They are really excited to have Phoebe attend, and she will benefit from a bigger school and new challenges.

Continuing our tradition of Harry Potter-themed Halloween costumes, Phoebe was Fawkes the phoenix last year--here she is with her friend Eesha.

We surprised Phoebe on the Solstice with news that we were going to Universal Studios in Florida, primarily to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in May. She is super-excited, and we started reading the final book in the series this month, so she has read all the books before we go.

Last weekend we went down to New York City to tour the Intrepid, which was really cool. Phoebe and I toured the Growler, a Cold War-era submarine, and we also saw a Concorde, an SR-71 Blackbird--my personal favorite plane--and the space shuttle Enterprise.

Phoebe (in the snowbank) under the nose of the Concorde

Walking through the Growler

The Blackbird

Space Shuttle Enterprise

Afterwards we had a great vegan lunch at Blossom du Jour, though, sadly, they were out of the ingredients for Butterfinger milkshakes.

In addition to our upcoming trip to Florida, Phoebe is gearing up for her final Taylor School Moving Up Day. She will miss her friends Mercedes (going to another school) and Eesha (moving out of state) next year, but hopefully they will be able to stay in touch. Like last year, the 5/6 class will be going to Camp Chingachook after Memorial Day for an overnight.

Phoebe is still in ballet class, and they are dancing to "Harry's Wondrous World," from the first Harry Potter movie, for this year's recital. There is a definite theme to this year! She got to try on her costume last week, and David snapped a pic. Roar, Gryffindor!

Camps are all lined up for the summer as well. Phoebe is going to try Rosie's Girls at Emma Willard this year, which is named after Rosie the Riveter and, among other things, they "learn to change a tire and the oil in a car, develop an understanding of automotive technology, and learn how to build things using power tools." She's also doing some new Art Center camps like film making, comics, and photography. Plus, summer would not be complete without a couple of weeks of Harry Potter camp!

This year will have a lot of firsts, like Phoebe's first plane ride, and a lot of lasts as she leaves Taylor School after being there since she was three! And I will be sure to be much better about chronicling them all in a much more timely manner!