wordless wednesday

minnesot-ahh!

Aaannd we're back! We jammed as much as we could into our annual pilgrimage to the northland.

A Pinterest-worthy class reunion courtesy of Rachael.

Catching up with some of my BFFs. These girls are my forever friends

Cotton candy the size of your head

Twinning with Little Miss J

A tower of cousins

Swimming, swimming and more swimming

Fishing and kayaking

And of course, lots of time with Grandma Amy and Papa Roger.

And we topped it all off with a quick trip to the MOA where there were rides, celebrity sightings, and American Girls.

Wonder Pets!

Ecto-1

 

I'm still suffering a bit from a vacation hangover, but trying to get back into the swing of regular life. We've got another first day of kindergarten, a first day of preschool, and birthdays on the horizon ...

the BFFs

This is Little Miss J's honest to goodness best friend. Not a friend that I imposed on her by virtue of the fact that I am friends with their parents. Those kinds of friends are good too. But in spite of having those kinds of friends in her kindergarten class this year, Little Miss J found A and cultivated a special little friendship all on her own without any input from mom or dad. Another testament to personal growth - both hers and mine. She's Cristina to her Meredith. Their each other's people.

photo credit: Wendy Dear

These two genuinely love and care about, and are so good to each other. I know we are making the right choice moving Little Miss J to a different school this coming year and I know she will make new friends and be happy because that's the kind of kid she is, but it still makes me a bit emotional to know that these two won't be together next year.

Thus, we are doing our best to keep J+A in touch over the summer. We had A over for a play date on a Sunday morning.

A wrote to J while we were on vacation asking to be her pen pal. Little Miss J was so excited when she read the letter--"I have to write back right away and say YES! and thank you." In fact, I've got the letter on my desk right now and just need to walk it down to the mailbox.

Today A's mom is picking Little Miss J up and they are going to a nearby indoor playground for a play date. Little Miss J is so excited to tell her friend about her trip to Minnesota and what the tooth fairy brought her.

Maybe they won't really be best friends forever ... or maybe they will be. I've got a friend that I've known since before kindergarten that continues to be one of my closest friends even after all these years and across so many miles. Whatever happens, I'm just glad they have each other now. Someone to tell things to, someone to not have to impress, someone who loves you for you--because I know what it is like to feel isolated even when surrounded by people. Just having "your person" there is enough. There is plenty of time in this life to experience isolation, heartbreak, and anxiety. I'm happy to shelter her for as long as possible and am glad that kindergarten hasn't been that time for my little girl.

father's day!

So many wonderful men in my life to celebrate!

from my dad

to Ralph

to my husband and my father-in-law

Hoping all the dads/grandpas in our lives both near and far felt properly feted this Father's Day!

peace out kindergarten (round 1)

We couldn't think of a reason for Little Miss J to do another year of preschool, so we enrolled her in the only school we found that would let her start kindergarten despite her mid-October birthday. She (and we) learned a lot this past year and just yesterday, my little girl graduated from kindergarten!

She learned how to read this year, and next year she says she wants to learn how to study. How's that for daughter of Asian overachievers? It's in our blood. Last night I had her doing a little project and instead of asking me how to spell each word she didn't know, she just sounded them out on her own. She didn't come even close to spelling anything correctly, but we have been working on the "giving it the old college try rather than striving for perfection" concept all year. She seems to be a little too much like her mom in her quest for perfection and terror of failure. So this was a small victory. 

Last night there was a small ceremony and celebration for the kindergarten graduates at the neighborhood park. The kids sang a song and did a little performance. They walked across the grassy knoll, shook some hands, and received a piece of paper, which immediately got a little wrinkled while she waited not so patiently for all the other children to walk across said grassy knoll.

And that's kindergarten round 1! Given her birthday, she wouldn't have been allowed to start kindergarten until this fall at public and most private schools in the area. So she's all registered for round 2 of kindergarten at a nearby Catholic school in the fall. She's excited to wear a uniform, and I'm excited for her because I fell in love with the place as soon as I visited it. It feels like the perfect fit for my Little Miss J.

But before we worry about next school year, she's ready to have some fun this summer. Swim and tennis lessons, a trip to Minnesota, Girl Scout camp, soccer camp, lots of pool time, and a glamping trip pretty much sums up her next two months. We'll see what else we can squeeze in there.

Congratulations on a successful year, Little Miss J! We're so proud of you!

silly family selfies!

one foot in front of the other

Being not so outdoorsy, the Chunglunds opt for the day hike over backpacking or tenting it. Based on a recommendation from my friend, Wendy, we packed up the waterpack (because after working for five years at a large company, you earn the opportunity to choose from one of approximately 15 mediocre gifts priced at roughly $35-$40) and the kidpack and headed to Lake Clementine in Auburn.

Our goal was a little over 4 miles round trip to see the waterfall at the lake. Approximately 3/4 of a mile in there was a swimming hole where we let the kids splash around. This was the highlight. 

In response to the repeated sentence, "I want to walk around," Gus obliged and let J2 out of the backpack. This lasted maybe 8 minutes at the most until we all realized that we were never going to get to the waterfall at the rate of two year old legs with shiny ball syndrome.

The last half mile to the waterfall is all downhill. About halfway down, Gus makes some grumblings to the effect that we should turn back because he was thinking of the walk back up with a 35 lb nugget on his back. We, however, persevered, and were rewarded with this! 

Although, Little Miss J was pretty horrified that (and very vocal about said horror) we had walked all that way to look at the waterfall for less than five minutes. To be honest, this is total payback, and I have empathy. I recall trips to Canada where I was unimpressed with the journey and even less impressed by the destination. I was more interested in where the next waterslide or mini golf course was. My poor parents. 

On the way back to the car, there was some of this ...

And a lot of this ...

And "this" was only resolved by an oral storytelling by Gus of every single Star Wars movie made as we made our way back to the car. 

Despite all of "this" we made it by putting one foot after the other. We just kept going. I'd definitely do it again. Probably not in Tevas though because I got blisters. We may have a harder time convincing Little Miss J. If questioned, she will disclose that her only highlights were the swimming and seeing the deer on the path - both of which perked her up tremendously so we got some decent mileage out of her with minimal complaining. 

gonna fly now

Cue Rocky theme song. Little Miss J and I participated in the Women's Fitness Festival last Sunday. Started with a 5K for me, where my goal was under 9 minute miles.

NAILED IT.

Then we roamed around a bit. Had our body composition tested. Ate some granola. Squeezed some oranges all over us (that was just J2). Got our blood pressure taken. Tried to quell the impatience that is a five year old waiting for something. 

It was finally Little Miss J's turn for the 1/2 mile Princess Run. She was excited and a little nervous when I left her at the starting line. She made me promise to run with her, but when they started she took off so fast I nearly had to sprint to keep up with her! 

About half way through she slowed down a bit and was looking tired, but perked up when she saw the turnaround point and then when we saw the finish line I urged her to run hard to the finish. It was her first race and I think she was pretty proud of herself. Each little girl got a tiara at the end. 

It was fun to be able to share the day with my little girl. 

I don't particularly love running. I do it because it's easy. I can just throw my shoes on and head out the door. Plus I can take Carl, who loves the exercise. Even though swimming is my first love, running is much less effort than getting in my car, putting my swimsuit on, and dealing with goggle marks and smelling like chlorine. Whether it's swimming or running, I am trying to teach my kids the importance of being active. We get plenty of screen time. Trust me. After her race, Little Miss J asked if she could go for a run with me sometime. And that is FOR THE WIN!