Literate

12.

literate: adj. able to read and write

We spent the day at Cocoa Castle playground in Hershey today with Mom, Darese, Logan and Ben. Took a picnic lunch and watched the boys play. It was a wonderful day.

Since all the boys are literate, they were able to find their name on the fence.

Can you tell it was a very sunny day? But we kept hydrated and had a fun time. Can't wait to go back again.

Kindred

11.

kindred: adj. similar in kind; related

The Little Prince and his dad, in honor of Father's Day.

Joyous

10.

joyous: adj. full of happiness and joy

Today was indeed a joyous day. The Little Prince turned 9 today! We started out with breakfast at Dunkin Donuts.

Then baseball practice. Doesn't he look joyous waiting for the ball to come his way?

But presents and cake and ice cream always make it better.

Happy 9th Birthday, Little Prince!

Instructive

9.

instructive: adj. conveying knowledge or information; enlightening

While walking down to All Star practice, the Little Prince talks to his dad, telling him of the events at the last day of basketball camp.

Harmonious

8.

harmonious: adj. not discordant; tuneful

Right from basketball camp to practice the piano at the church then to piano lesson. Still working on getting a piano for the house. Would love that! He is playing "O Worship the King". Hopefully he will get comfortable enough with it to play during the offering some Sunday in July. How cool would that be?

Goofy

7.

goofy: adj. ridiculous; silly; wacky; nutty

Today we stopped for blizzards at DQ after basketball camp. Though the Little Prince and his friend Aiden love to act goofy most of the time, I managed to catch an only semi-goofy shot of them.

Fuzzy

6.

fuzzy: adj. indistinct or hazy in outline

All my photos today of the Little Prince at basketball camp were fuzzy. Guess I have to read up on my not-so-fancy camera and see what settings I can change. He loves camp this year.

Empty

5.
empty: adj. containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents

Yesterday was a busy day, leaving me with an empty camera. Tomorrow should be better.

Domestic

4.

domestic: adj. of or pertaining to the home, the household, household affairs, or the family

And it doesn't happen often enough.

Cute

3.

We ate a late lunch at the Wooden Keg to celebrate the end of the Minor League regular season. They won 12-2 and the Little Prince had another inside-the-parker, his 3rd in 2 games.

During lunch, I asked the Little Prince, "What adjective, beginning with the letter 'c', would you choose to describe a picture of you and your peanut butter cup dessert?" He immediately responded, "Cute!" So there you have it. I must say I agree with him.

Blue/Blurry

2.

The blue GoodYear blimp was spotted flying in the blue sky.

A blurry Little Prince slides into home for his second homerun of the game.

Aquatic

1.

My little sister came up with this awesome idea. Pick an adjective for every photo. Think that's what I'll do for this photo-a-day summer vacation.

So, I give you "aquatic". I had lunch with my sweetie today while the Little Prince was at baseball camp. We enjoyed watching the geese on Deer Lake.

More of the same

Wondering why it's called a "warm up" when it's already 78 degrees at 9am in the morning. I love how the Little Prince seems to be suspended in mid air during sprints.

Baseball in the morning, baseball in the evening. Only this evening, not enough players showed up so we just had a scrimage for an hour then the Little Prince was invited to go swimming. Wonderful way to cool down.

Catcher

The Little Prince doesn't get to play this position often; maybe once or twice a season. We were playing a less experienced team, so others got to pitch while the Little Prince caught.

All baseball, all the time

Baseball camp in the morning.

Baseball game at night.

I feel bad. We signed the Little Prince up for baseball camp Monday-Friday of this week, not knowing that he would be asked to join the Little League team for the last two weeks of the season. So now he has baseball camp from 9-2:30 and a game every night, between Minor League and Little League. But only for one week. He seems to be enjoying it.

Weekend fun

After church, lunch and hitting some balls at the field, the Little Prince was invited over to a friend's house to swim. They spent about 1/2 hour in the pool then got out to play baseball with a tennis ball in the yard. Somehow, they always end up back playing baseball.

It's a baby

A baby robin on our back deck. He just sat there looking at us, waiting for us to grab a camera.

When we walked out onto the deck, he flew over to the grapevine and posed again for more shots.

The Little Prince joined in the photo shoot with his 3DS (click photo to enlarge).

The adventure begins

School was dismissed early today, so the Little Prince played outside while we were waiting to go to lunch with his Mom-Mom and Pappy. Suddenly, from inside the house, I heard a loud snap. I thought he was playing with a stick and was preparing myself to yell at him for hitting things with a stick. Until he came in crying that he was wounded. I really hope this is not an indication of how things are going to go this summer.

Turns out it was the ladder rung that snapped as the Little Prince was standing on it. He was trying to gain high ground so he could see into the neighbor's yard. He was looking for the baby robin hopping around in their grass.

I am so very thankful that he was not hurt any more than this small scratch. It could have been so much worse, like a broken leg, back or neck. Or his pitching arm.

But as you can see, he is fine. We dined at Ruby Tuesday to celebrate the start of Summer Vacation and an excellent report card. The Little Prince will be entering 4th grade in August. Congratulations!!

Last day of school

Today was the last day of school for the year as well as for the school itself. There was one final mass and awards were distributed. We gave Mrs R her gift from the class: a photo album of the school year. Thanks Mrs B, our homeroom mom, for the awesome idea. There were great memories on every page: first day of school, Halloween pumpkins and parade, Christmas party and the class trip to the zoo. Remember these guys?

We gave the Principal, Mrs S, her gift just before the final bell: a framed class photo from the trip. Then it was time to put away the games one last time, collect report cards and say our final goodbyes. There were hugs and handshakes, waves and "have a great summer" wishes. And some tears.

It was a sad day, but rather than dwell on the sadness of losing our school and friends, we are going to focus on keeping in touch and making new friends and memories.

And then, of course, there is always Summer Vacation.........

Another School Picnic

Remember last year? On Friday, we headed up to Knoebel's again.

The Little Prince braced himself for a new ride. He's not one for fast rides, but he gave in to the peer pressure (for once it was OK to do that!) and tried it out. He liked it.

After riding the Ferris Wheel, we managed to stop the kids long enough for a group picture. Ah, friends.

Like last year, the Little Prince got separated from the rest of the group. He tired of waiting for them to ride the rides they wanted, so we wondered off by ourselves. I think this is the last year he will be able to ride this ride. He's getting too big!

He had a great time soaring up, up and away! Once the ride starts, I can only get the back of his head since he is fascinated by the center gears/pistons that cause the ride to go up and down.

While waiting for this ride to start, he spied Kierstyn.

And talked her into joining him the next time around. (The lady in the background leaning on the fence was the Little Prince's pre-K teacher.)

Then they took a turn on the carousel before she headed in a different direction with her family.

Around 2, we headed back to the pavilion for one last snack and met Aiden and Michael again.

On our way out of the park, the Little Prince won a stuffed dog at the Dog Pounder. Then the three of us rode the Sky Ride. I loved every minute of it: the cool breeze, the amazing view and the chattering of the Little Prince reviewing his day.

We all had a wonderful time. However, a bit of sadness was mixed into our School Day at Knoebel's: this would be the last one. The Little Prince's school is closing at the end of the school year and merging with another Catholic school. The Little Prince will be going to public school next year. He will miss his friends, but will have the pictures and memories to last a lifetime.

3rd Grade Class Trip

Today was the 3rd Grade Class Trip to Trexler Park. It rained again, as it has been since last Saturday. But that did not stop us. We broke out the rain coats and umbrellas and made the best of it. How adorable are these African Penguins? They are the first thing you see when you enter the zoo. The kids loved them! We arrived at feeding time. They really chowed down on those fish!

These peacocks roam all over the zoo. For the first time, I saw one with its tail spread. We have been here several times and I have never seen this until today. It was beautiful.

We saw lots of cool animals like this zebra, and camels, ostrich, emu, a bald eagle, lynx and bob cat. But these guys were the hightlight of my day. Every time we go to this zoo, (we have been there several times in the past 8 years) I look and look for the wolves. I have NEVER seen one until today. These Mexican Grey Wolves were amazing. Loved them!

Then came the silly otters. The Little Prince had a great time and will greatly miss these classmates next year.

Opening Day - Take 2

Just how long ago was Opening Day? Many weeks. April 17th, to be exact. I know!! It seems like once we finally had Opening Day, time has flown by like a 98mph fast ball. Well, it was not raining on that day, but it was cold and windy.  Look at all those colors in right field. Lots of little kiddos (and their coaches) braving the cold and wind to celebrate Opening Day.

The sun did appear for a tiny bit to spotlight the Little Prince's first pitch. Then it was gone.

But he pitched on. One after another. Some strikes and some balls. But each one his best. It was a great day.

Confirmation Sunday

It seems like just yesterday that he was being baptized in this same Church, at this very spot. On Palm Sunday, our Little Prince became a confirmed member of our Church. He professed his faith and promised, according to the grace given him, to keep God's holy will and commandments and walk in the same all the days of his life as a faithful member of Christ's holy church.

As members of the Church, we in turn welcomed him and renewed our vows to, with God's help, so order our lives after the example of Christ that, surrounded by steadfast love, he may be established in the faith, and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal. It's a great responsibility for all of us. What a special day!