Friendly Week

 We've had a nice week, with several play dates with good friends, Open House, and fabulous weather (which we appreciated, after intense heat the week before).

On Tuesday, Melanie, Heather and Sienna came out to play. All went well, and we enjoyed catching up while Heather and Violet played.

 Norah came over on Wednesday to play, while Morgan had a special lunch at the Tea Gardens. Violet and Norah got along great, making up all sorts of imaginative games.

At one point, they were playing with the Frozen figurines, and I could hear Norah singing "Let it Go." Violet interrupted, "No! They don't sing it in the game (we're playing)!"

The signs on the wall are from Cora's preschool game she played with Violet for several days. It started as a Minecraft school, with Cora teaching Violet all about the video game that has taken over the lives of many kids we know. "Cora's my teacher," Violet had told me then. "She learns me about Minecraft."

Cora then expanded the curriculum to include letters and writing, thankfully.

 On Thursday, Cora's school had a minimum day before the evening's Open House. We packed a lunch and picnicked at the park, with several of Cora's friends and their parents.

Violet enjoyed riding around on Cora's scooter, and did very well.

 Here's Cora and "the other Violet," after they spent a while playing basketball. I always love hearing from Cora about what she does at recess and lunch: handball, basketball, and some game with a ball and net called "prisoner" are her favorites.

Cora definitely enjoys being a first-grader. Recently, we were walking to school and she spotted some kindergarteners, also on their way to school.

"Awww, look at the kindergartners!" she cooed. "They're so cute!"
And while relaying a school story to us at the dinner table, she described another boy as "much, much younger than me. He was probably only six."

The last first grade assembly of the year took place Friday. Cora was among the children to receive a special award for teamwork.

And on Friday evening, we went to Juliana and Daryl's for a family dinner date.

Another family came as well, with a daughter Violet's age and toddler son. The big girls spent part of their time in a secret hideout under Maya's bed, planning ways to spy on the younger children. Eventually they let Violet in to the game as a guard.

Later, Violet practiced and then put on a show, singing "Let it Go" for all of us.