Rubester's First Day.

Ruby had her first day of preschool today, and it apparently went great. I was in meetings all afternoon, and when I got back to my desk Ruby had left me a voicemail message that ran as follows:

Hi, Daddy . . . I'm done with school . . . I love you, Daddy . . . I'm done with school, and I love you . . . I'm done with school . . . Bye, Daddy, I love you . . .

I also had an email waiting for me from our receptionist, who said Ruby was "very professional" when she called and asked for me (although Ruby apparently also said "love you" to the receptionist before hanging up, which does not actually strike me as all that professional).

Back to School

Just a few pictures to show off our big girl on her first day back at school. Hard to believe she's already a second-grader... (This pose was entirely her idea, by the way.)

And with the other little monster on the way back from the bus stop (her first day is tomorrow, so more pictures will follow):

Odds & Ends

Our summer is rapidly coming to an end as the three girls all head back to school (and for one of us it's been a long, long time). We have Cecilia's open house tonight, two days of grad school orientation already complete, and Ruby is so excited to go to big-girl school that she could burst. I think we're all ready.

At the beginning of summer I remember feeling a little nervous about how this was all going to go, and I'm happy to report that it was a success. I can also report that it might very well be the busiest summer of my adult life. There were trips out-of-town and trips to the park and appointments and lessons and swimming and play dates and birthday parties and weekend visits from loved ones and triathlons and bike rides and slip'n'slides and gardening and Valleyfair and a proper vacation to the Black Hills. This summer was FULL (and my list didn't include the cleaning and organizing that got shoved in here and there, too).

I'm ready for school to start, but I'm also going to be sad next week when we walk Cecilia to the bus on her first day. Because, as busy and hectic as our summer has been, I ended almost each and every day by telling Dadam how great the girls are, or how much I love them, or what special kids I think they are (he had a hunch anyway :) ).

I'm glad we were able to make this little adventure work, and I'm grateful to my husband for letting his three girls live a life of leisure for the summer. It was a magical summer for me. I might even try and do it again next year...

Cici Quote.

Cici: Dad, do you know what my favorite time of day is?

Dadam: What, honey?

Cici: It's when the sun has just gone down, but there's still light in the sky and none of the stars have come out yet. I like it because the sky is dark, but still blue, and that dark blue is my favorite color.

Vacation 2009

This year we took our first "official" vacation as a family -- just the four of us, fending for ourselves in the beautiful Black Hills. We managed to see and do A LOT of things in just six short days, and we were all pretty pooped when we got back. The list includes: Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country USA, the 1880 train to Keystone, Rushmore Cave, the Badlands, and sadly, Mitchell, SD and the Corn Palace. Our camera died about halfway through the trip, but we did manage to take a number of pictures before that happened.

I think we can safely call this vacation a success. We had lots of fun, the bickering was minimal (both for the girls and for the grown-ups), our cabin was terrific, and we got to spend some quality time together as a family. I know it won't be long before the girls are teenagers who roll their eyes at us and make trips like this a lot less fun, but for now it still feels pretty darn magical.

An Alarming Conversation, Part 3.

[The next day.]

Dadam [coming in the door after work]: What are you watching, Cici?

Cici: Becker.

Dadam: Why do you like this show? Do you even know who any of the characters are?

Cici: I know who Becker is. That's all that matters.

An Alarming Conversation, Part 2.

Cici: Oh, Becker is over. But look, "Coming up next, more Becker!"

Dadam: Why do you like this show? Do you even understand it?

Cici [still not looking up]: I dunno. I'm into it.