(Rising) 2nd Grader

Another year at Johnson's come and gone, and her stands Zara, ready to conquer all of the challenges 2nd grade has to offer.... after summer vacation.

Unusually Large Diploma, Framed

Unusually large diplomas require unusually larger frames. Thanks to M and P for this graduation gift. It is the only one I have framed so far, and in fact both of my previous Michigan diplomas could fit, together, in this one frame.

Sandbox

We've had this play structure set up in the backyard for awhile now. However, we left the sandbox portion sand-free as the youngest member of the family has been in a sand-eating phase. Now that she's pushing 2 and a half, we figured we'd give it a go. So far, so good, though we need to get a bit more sand. The first round was 9 bags (50lbs each) and the suspension in the Prius was NOT loving the added weight.... we've got two more bags to add in now. We'll likely also need some sand toys/containers/play things, though the girls seem amused enough, for now, with just experiencing the sand. Score!

Hodge Girls

This is the day Marmee left to go back to Australia. We always have lots of fun when she comes to visit. Next time around our gang is planning to go see her (and Buelo Phil, and perhaps Uncle Brian) in Brisbane. But for now, here's the four of us girls. Anyone see a family resemblance?

Homemade Dresses

Amity's dress used to be Zara's. It was crocheted by their great aunt, Mary (who is also an aunt who's great). Zara wore it a bunch when she was 3. Zara's dress was more of a group effort. Marmee bought the fabric (Liberty of London), Grandma (Bonnie, sister of great aunt Mary) provided the pattern, and Wes (nephew, son-in-law and son of the previously mentioned people, respectively) sewed the dress. I just took the pictures.

Dada's (other) Hat

There's just something about hats.... Zara posed with Wes' previous hat when she was four, and here two year old Amity is modeling his current fetching chapeau... purchased at Sam's in Ann Arbor if I'm not mistaken.

South River Falls

This is our 3rd hike on this trail - we went on New Year's Day and also on Wes' birthday observed. This time we took Marmee along for the walk, too. Zara walked the whole way (over 4 miles and 1,000ft of elevation change during the hike), while Amity walked some, rode some, and slept some. This first is at the Appalachian Trail marker about 1/10th of a mile into the hike. The next pic comes from the first third of the hike, with the kiddos happily splashing in the water that runs alongside the trail.

Dr. Jojo

I really could go on and on and on (I'm an academic, after all) about the long journey to doctorate completion, how awesome my friends and family have been supporting me through this process, the fantastic mentors and colleagues who have inspired and challenged me, the perils, pitfalls, proud and productive moments of scholarly research... but I won't. In place of further harming you with another extremely long run-on sentence, dear reader, here's a picture of me after I'd participated in all 3 graduation ceremonies. I've got my doctoral hood, I've had my degree conferred by President Sullivan, and I've just received the actual unusually large diploma. Dr. Johanna Margot Bromberg Craig indeed.

Dark Hollow Falls

Since we went ahead and bought the Shenandoah National Park pass this year, we figured we'd better get out on the trails and hike. Kinda like a gym membership. Only way cheaper, and with rangers! Who are very friendly. But I digress. This is an extremely popular, fairly steep but very short, cool hike. We even saw a deer on the way back up (which may be the genesis of Amity running around the house exclaiming, "there's a deer in my room!" or it may not be, hard to say). Good times. Here are 3 of us taking a little rest while they 4th documents the occasion.

Freckles

Zara's been taking horseback riding lessons every other Friday since February. If I were to choose extracurricular pursuits for her, horseback riding would not be one of them. But she's pretty smitten, and having an excellent Aunt Debbi who owns several horses and loves to ride may have rubbed off on her a bit. Here she is with Freckles, the pony she's ridden for most of these lessons. This was one of her last times on Freckles, as she is ready to learn to canter, and Freckles (sleepy guy that he is) is not so much for the cantering. So she's learning to canter on Honey, and will be spending 2 whole weeks at camp at Ellie's in July. Stay tuned for an update!