Yeah, so we ended up attending the Ulster County Fair last month with my sister-in-law’s family and somehow my children ended up in a pseudo-western vintage photo holding empty bottles of gin and, in Ana’s case, a hand gun. The cost of the full-sized picture (other relatives are cut out to spare their dignity) was like $35 and if we wanted our own copy, it was $10.00 extra, so I opted not to get a copy, but my sister-in-law graciously printed a copy for us yesterday.

Ana looks particularly mournful, don’t you think? Emily loved getting dressed up…and that’s all i have to say about the whole experience.

It’s a magical day.

Emily and Ana went back to school. Oh JOY! The silence in the house is glorious, although I have to admit that they’ve only been gone an hour and I already miss them.

Emily started a new Pre-K program at Ana’s school. It’s an artsy fartsy private school which we switched Ana to last January based on a horrible public school experience. Naturally Emily was a bit anxious, but we really talked about the “new school” a lot. This morning she woke up and told me she had a silly dream where she wasn’t shy and was dancing a silly dance with new friends. She also didn’t cry at all when we left her at the school. Ana actually had a harder time with her first moment in second grade. She was very shy and didn’t want to let go of me. I can’t wait until they get home so I can grill them both. For now, I’ll leave you with a shot of their new backpacks (Emily’s is a hand-me down from Ana).

We have a smaller backpack on order for Emily (thank goodness).

You may have noticed that I’m randomly posting pictures of Emily. Please bear with me, as I’m sure it’s just a phase. I have nothing to say, really, except – isn’t she so cute???

Emily’s artwork has entered a new phase. I’m calling it the mermaid phase. with boobs.

Now the world can enjoy it as we do.