Little Buckaroo

Here's Anya on a pony.

Her preschool had ponies come a few weeks before school ended. Of course, the pony people dressed the kids up and took pictures. And, of course, I am a sucker for pictures of my kid and purchased one.

She had fun though. I'm not so sure about the pony.

A Scientific Day Lived in Anya's Life

As my old friend Chad pointed out last night, we are very consciously raising a kid to be interested in science.  Whether it will stick is anyone's guess, but so far so good. 

 

 

Cassini

Here we are waving at the Cassini space probe when it turned around and snapped a shot of Earth from around Saturn.  We waved for 1 minute just to make sure it got us :-)  It took our photons ~80 minutes to get to Cassini's camera.

 

Chad's family's house
Judy McEvoy was a pre-school teacher until recently, and she adores Anya and loves to share all her sciencey stuff with her. In addition to playing with the bones, Anya also managed to coax 3 large rock samples from Judy's collection.

 Anya trying on a deer jaw for size

Anya with a cobra skin

Deer skull?  Not sure. It's an Anya hat

Anya measuring her six year molars against an elk jaw

vertebrae face mask 

Gymnastics

Yes, even at gymnastics she finds some way to play with creepy crawlies.  Here she is with a "Rubber Python"  the Reptile Guy brought to the gym's adjacent pre-school. She also played with Turtles and was kissed by a Boa Constrictor.

new cousins

On Wednesday, June 26, we were thrilled to welcome Anya's two new cousins to the world: Bennett and Oliver Schmidt.

 Bennett

Oliver

Welcome to the family, boys! We can't wait to meet you.

Preschool Graduation

On Thursday, our baby graduated from preschool. I very clearly recall her first day of preschool in 2010, when she was still 2 (almost 3). Three years later, here we are. Sweet Pea Cottage has been a great fit for Anya. She made several close friendships, and they allowed her so much room for creativity and exploration of ideas. She adored her teachers, and they really seemed to "get" her. Plus the weekly field trips were pretty awesome.

We will miss this place and always remember it fondly.

Here we are at the graduation ceremony. The dark haired woman is Miss Cammie (the founder). Next to her is Miss Tisha, the school director (who also teaches Sweet Pea College - kindergarten prep). And on the left of her is Miss Emily (Anya's teacher) and Mr. Ricky (assistant teacher). 

Anya's "All About Me" poster. She did it all by herself, although I helped her spell "blueberry muffins" and "family". Bottom left is meant to be "tidal pool". 

two of her good friends

blowing bubbles after graduation.

Graduation day itself was fun. Grandma and Grandpa Lodwig came to watch. Afterward, the school had carnival games and treats for the kids (some of us grownups took off and came back a bit later). Then we took Anya out for frozen yogurt afterwards. Anya wore her (way too big) mortar board whenever in public for the rest of the day. She was very proud and wanted everyone to know that she graduated. We are proud too.

Next up is a summer full of various fun activities until Kindergarten(!) starts in early September.