5/22 "I'm a SERIOUS girl." Serenity likes to say this in her silliest voice to get a laugh =) It is pretty funny!
Serenity has had an incredibly busy month! So much to talk about! But probably the most exciting has been that Ann and John came for all the fun! They scheduled their visit so they could attend her dance show and end of school events. She just loves getting to share all these special moments with them! She is still my cuddly girl and she loves to snuggle with her family. We watched several movies this visit, which was so exciting! We watched the Princess Bride, and hearing Serenity yell "INCONCEIVABLE!" is just awesome. She cried a bit but mostly just laughed and enjoyed. We also watched Shrek 3, 1, and 2, which made us all giggle. And we watched Secondhand Lions. I'm so glad Ann thought of doing this! I had nearly given up on movies but now I'm looking forward to movie nights this summer!!!
This last weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival in Muskogee. Serenity LOVED it, which is not surprising at all. She especially loved visiting the mermaids, getting a shell necklace, becoming an honorary gnome by working in Turf's garden (and getting a sparkly gem as a reward) and she got a little bell to cheer up Tinkerbell. She loved talking to the fairies, and they decided she is a Lily fairy with Earth power. She told me next year she wants to work at the Fair! =)
Ann and John took the kids shopping for birthday presents. Serenity got a "Ruby" ring, her birthstone, which she has lost three times but found again. She also got a few books that she loves! Ann also ordered the kids OUTDOOR scooters! She saw how much they love the scooter DZ got for Christmas, but we never take that outside because the wheels would get scuffed and then it would have to stay outside. Well, she got two more of the same scooter and the kids have zoomed all over the neighborhood. They are in heaven. And it will be very good exercise for me to try and keep up with them! =)
They went hiking twice on Turkey Mountain. It was absolutely beautiful weather, cool and a little misty. I only went on the second hike. Serenity took us deep into the jungle, and we had to climb up a little goat trail to get back up to the Vista point that looks out over the river. It was beautiful. The kids (and Eric of course) especially loved climbing rocks. There were tons of huge rocks to climb up. Serenity also loved when there were archways of fallen trees. She said they were the entrance to her fairy kingdom. =) I love her imagination! And her dexterity, since she never fell off the rocks.
Serenity's ballet this year was a Butterfly dance. They pretended to catch a butterfly and then release it. She loves the lyrical music and graceful movements of ballet. It really seems to suit her, and she enjoys it, but just as a hobby. She did a beautiful job, but my favorite part was watching her face. She is just so expressive! Ann said she hopes she does more theater!
Serenity had a Girl Scout end of year party too. It was a tie-dye party! I made tents for each of the girls and they tie-dyed them. It was a blast! They used every color in the petals of the girl scout law. It was a perfect ending to daisies, especially with the rainbow colored daisy donuts as a treat. Several of the girls also dyed adorable little smocked dresses, and some of the parents brought their own stuff to dye. It was a blast!!! And now I am addicted to tie dye.
Oh, and I nearly forgot Creative Producers! Oh my. Serenity had her Country in a Can project to present! She chose Ireland, and now she loves all things Ireland. I can't wait to take her to Ireland! She painted a little house to look like an ivy and flower covered cottage. We wandered around Michael's getting ideas. So much fun getting to spend time chatting and crafting with my girl! She made a flag all by herself, sewing together pieces of felt she cut out. She also used Ireland stickers to decorate a little card, and she collected a cow figurine since farming is important in Ireland, and an otter since she told me they called them river dogs. I ordered some Irish candy and an Irish dancer paper doll from Amazon. She cut out the paper doll and her favorite of the dresses. She presented her findings to the class, and lots of the kids told us about their countries that night. It was wonderful! We briefly went through and saw Casey, Barrett, Raegan and Carson's projects, but with all of the fun booths, and the preschool concert, the evening was just packed!
Oh, and she had a field trip to the zoo! Ann and John were here to keep Maia so I got to go as a chaperone! It was really fun to go and just have to watch out for first graders, it's very different than keeping track of babies and toddlers. We went all around the zoo! Serenity especially wanted to see the giraffes, and they have a brand new one! We also went by Snowy and Serenity told her group how she named him after her stuffed animal we bought one day when the snow leopards were playing like crazy. We went in a small group with her best friend Elizabeth and with Lucas. They were all great together! And we often saw other groups. Our passes included unlimited train rides, so we rode it twice and went all the way around. AND we rode the carousel 6 time! Serenity rode the seahorse five of those times, and she named it Stardust. Elizabeth was so funny, she said, "I never knew carousels were so safe!" At first she just rode the benches, but then she tried the giraffe since it never went up and down, and finally she rode next to Serenity. =)
