This year Madeleine celebrated her birthday with dinner out with friends. We hosted a few of her closest friends at a restaurant in Kingston on the evening of her actual birthday. It was a really lovely evening for her, and a nice time to gather with her friends before she moves schools. We love our girl!
Trevon has taken quite an interest in drama the last few years. Having participated in the lower school plays for two years, and after last year's success as Captain Hook in Peter Pan, he was determined to give the middle school play a go. As a fifth grader he wasn't sure what to expect, but he was pleased to be offered a role as a badger child in Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was a long season of endless rehearsals, but what fun the end result was! The kids did a great job, and Trevon was, well, fantastic!
Exactly four years ago I chaperoned Madeleine and her girl scout troop on a hiking trip to Switzerland when she was in 5th grade. The trip was planned again for her 9th grade year and we both went again. It was fun repeating the same experience with her a bit older. The weather was definitely better this time than it was four years ago. We never saw the mountains at all then, but we had a lot of beautiful clear days this time. It was a wonderful weekend of hiking and enjoyable bonding with the girls and also with the other moms. It was also a really nice thing to do as we close the ACS chapter. I didn't bring my camera on this trip, and it was really nice to be less burdened by the gear hiking the mountains!
I went home to California to visit family and friends. I'm so grateful I can go as often as I do to see the people that I love so much in the place of my roots. I had a great time playing with friends for a couple of days in southern California, and then a really good visit with my mom and dad and other family up north. No matter how long I live in the UK, I'll always be a California girl first!
