Tragedy

Zara and two friends had a fun experiment with scissors at school today. Eric said, "I looked away for just a second!" Apparently, the other two girls weren't as enthusiastic as Zara when it came to the actual cutting. Luckily, summer has more or less arrived, so a shorter "do" is just the thing. We had a long talk about scissors specifically and how good friends tell each other when they hear a bad plan.

Well Bear Clinic

CBI took a whole-school trip to UVA's pediatric "well-bear" clinic. Trudy the Duck weighed in at 4 oz, she brushes her teeth very well, and is growing nicely. Pictured is Zara preparing to examine a possible case of Ursine Flu. She'll be flying the samples personally via helicopter to the CBC (Centers for Bear Control, natch).

San Diego Fun

We all got to visit the SD Maritime Museum, where we saw Official Russian Sub, the star of Master & Commander, and the Star of India. Zara's favorite part was watching big kids on a field trip learn what sea shanties are for. While Jo was conferring, we made it to the zoo. The highlight of the visit (not pictured) was the double decker bus with no roof! We also got to visit the wacky covered park near the New Children's Museum a few more times.

New Children's Museum

While Jo slaved away at AERA, Zara and I visited the New Children's (Art) Museum in San Diego. I guess it gives kids the opportunity to ponder "what is art" even earlier?

Martin's Branch at Ivy Creek

Kiera, Claire, and Zara cool off from our hike.

Kitties in the Park

Sorry for the extended radio silence. Exciting things that have happened unrelated to this picture - Zara's started to read. She read her first book all by herself, Up Went the Goat, on March 27th. This was also her 3 and 3/4 birthday. Meanwhile Wes has been rockin' the garden and I won a scholarship to a conference I was already going to be presenting at in St. Louis in July. And I passed my 2nd comprehensive exam. 1 to go!

Over a week later, we went to Greenleaf Park to enjoy the wonderful weather. While Luke, Wes and I chatted about lots of important grown up things, the kiddies played kitties. Here's Z and C doing something feline. Or something.