Summer's End

I can't believe it's August 31st. This summer has gone by all too quickly. Here are some updates from the last few weeks.

- Hannah and Max finished up the last few weeks of camp, and both of them had a great time this summer. Hannah portrayed a royal window washer in "The Queen Who Always Wanted to Dance" for her Arts Nite. She got to dramatically scream and fall down on stage, which I think she really enjoyed. Her group also danced to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and both kids had their own dance party to the same song at home the following night. Thankfully, Max was very well behaved for Arts Nite too. I was very worried about the summer for him, as last summer at school didn't go very well. Despite being away from many of his friends in a new class, he seemed to really fall right into the new group and enjoyed all of the special activities at camp, such as a magician and petting zoos.
- Swimming has also been a big deal for the kids this summer. Hannah passed both the 4' and 9' swim tests, and proudly wore her bracelets all summer, even when she was nowhere near the pool. Max can now do "pizza arms" ("cut it, spread it, eat it!") and has complete confidence in the pool, even though he still doesn't really know how to keep himself afloat. I had a great time taking them to the outdoor pool last week, and Hannah had a fun play date there with her camp friend Olivia.
- We also had a fun play date with Hannah's oldest friend, Anais, and her little brother Max and mom Rana. Every time we get together it's like a triple play date, since we all get to enjoy being with someone. The girls have been friends since they were two and started at Gan Yeladim, and while we don't see them often enough, it's always great when we do get together.
- Somehow, I've had the opportunity to take care of myself more than usual in these last few weeks. First I got a much needed haircut, and it's a lot shorter than I usually go. I've been getting lots of compliments on it, but I'm pretty anxious for it to grow out a bit. I used a LivingSocial coupon for a mani/pedi, and tried out a Jelly Pedi. I'm not sure if it made a big difference on my feet, but it was definitely interesting. I also went for a massage, but while I was there I canceled my membership. I have been finding less and less time to go there, and I'm not sure it's worth the money right now.
- We were incredibly fortunate to be spared any major damage during Hurricane Irene, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it got to us. We never lost power, and only suffered from being stir crazy. I, for one, am perfectly fine with the level of hype the media allowed before the storm, and when I see the devastation it wrought on others (like the mama bird diaries, who I've been reading for years), it shows just what a difference it can make to have taken those precautions.
- Despite a hurricane-delayed start, the kids have been at "Camp Grandma" in Connecticut since Monday, and are coming home tonight. Marc and I have gone out to dinner twice (the Met Bar and Grill and Fiorella's) and saw a movie, and even accompanied each other on walks to the village. The break has been good for all of us, but I am very ready to hug and kiss the kids tonight.

There's just a few days left until school starts up again on Tuesday. Max will be in the same classroom, so hopefully there won't be much change for him, though he'll miss having Hannah at the JCC with him. Hannah starts second grade in a new co-taught classroom, with many of her good friends in the class with her. She's also particularly excited because this classroom is the only one in the building with air conditioning! We will go visit the class tomorrow. We have plans to go to a couple museums this weekend, and Marc is taking me to a Matisyahu concert on Saturday night. I think I'll also be seeing two other movies out with friends, so three movies in one week will probably fill my quota for the year!

I hope you've all been enjoying these final not-so-lazy days of summer!