K2 is coming!

Frances is returning to the Trotter this year.  The school invited the kids in before school started to see their classrooms and meet their teachers.

Frances was just a wee bit pleased with her teacher, i.e. she didn't stop talking about her the rest of the afternoon.

And so, another adventure begins.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Food Truck Time!

Have I said this all before?  During the "warm" months in Jamaica Plain, every Thursday night, two or three food trucks set up shop at a historic house and garden.  It's wonderful.  I don't have to make dinner.  I get to have adult conversation with lots of friends.  And the kids have playmates. A real sanity saver.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

The gardens are really not so bad.  Chandler is the orange bit in the back.

And here's Chandler being "loved on" by Frances and Darby.

Darby's family usually comes even when they have to take the bus to get there.  Thank God.

And, now, perhaps my favorite pictures of the girls ever:

An ice cream truck was added to the mix this year - artisanal, small-batch, organic ice cream, of course.  Not the cheapest, but who cares when it gives me the opportunity for these pictures?

And, yes, I've bought stock in sunscreen.

Oh, food trucks!  Someday, when I'm a poet, I will compose an ode to you!

She Sewed It Herself!

 I had this great idea:  all the child-aged cousins and friends in Maine were going to go off into the woods and build a playhouse.  This would take hours.  Meanwhile, the adults would read on the porch.

This playhouse would clearly need decorations.  And so Frances completed her almost-first sewing project, some bunting:

I think she really was proud of herself.  And there were no tears shed or accusations made during the completion of the project, which tells me it was the perfect level of difficulty.  Frances wants to sew with Mimi during her upcoming visit.  I think some Christmas bunting will be the perfect thing.

The Spring Recital

Frances had a ballet recital back in the Spring.  Here's Miss Long Legs getting ready for the show.

One of the things I love about Frances's ballet teacher is that the recitals are not a big production.  The kids just wear their regular ballet outfits and then Miss Gina adds a little something to complement the music.  In this case, Frances got a big yellow bow because the music was Build Me Up, Buttercup.

That's Frances in the middle and Chandler to her left.

I wasn't able to get any good pictures of Frances during the dance.  She is one of the tallest girls in the class so she was in the back of the dancing group.  I could hardly see her, much less get a good picture of her.  This is a new problem I'm discovering as a short mom to a tall girl.  But, here's the beautiful Darby, post-performance:

Cindy, Darby's mom, brought flowers for both the girls.  What would we do without her?

Aren't they beautiful?  

And here's Miss Gina, the fearless leader.

She was many months pregnant during the performance, but was still full of energy and smiles.  Very impressive.  Frances and Darby are holding hands!

And one last dramatic Frances pose:

Oh, my aching heart!