Bye, bye bells!

As of July 1st, the Carnegie Scots will no longer call Kent principal. After months of the ups and downs of applying for a new position, it's finally official--Kent will be the new Director of Schools and Programs for the district. His focus will be directing the middle schools as well as the K-8 schools. We are thrilled for him!

While Kent enjoyed life as a principal and will miss it greatly, he is excited about the new challenges and experiences that lie ahead of him. The next week will be full of packing boxes, changing his blackberry to reflect the district calendar rather than a school site calendar, and figuring out how to function without the bell schedule he's programed to. (For the past decade and a half, his world has been run by school bells!)

Karly and Kyle have been pressing me all week about when Daddy will find out about his job. It was too cute to see their proud smiles when I told them Daddy's news!

Congratulations Kent! We are all so proud of you!

Kicking It Up!

We kicked it up for Kyle's 7th birthday at the local indoor arena. Kyle wanted a kickball party and his friends and family were happy to join him! The kids had a blast trying to see who could kick the farthest, throw each other out, and make a run.

Party fun included cake and ice cream and lots of fun gifts. Kyle's gifts included Star Wars legos, two basketballs, Nintendo DS items and more! He was full of thanks and hopes to do another kickball party someday!

Sunshine in Mendocino

Memorial Day weekend took the Kern family to Mendocino's coast. We stayed at a lovely home with Kent's parents and his sister's family and enjoyed a nice view of the ocean--we could actually see it there was little to no fog. The kids played tag around the house for hours. Cousins just enjoying each other. They also turned a seasoned tree into a clubhouse where they created rooms and had plans for each branch section.

As for the weather, it was BEAUTIFUL! I have never seen so much sunshine on the north-west coast! Just fabulous! We weren't too cold and didn't have to bundle too much. We spent a great deal of time combing the tide pools. Kyle especially picked up quickly on the art of coaxing a crab out of hiding. And Karly was a fan of the hermit crabs (we saw hundreds) yet most especially the shells.

We experience two types of beaches. A dark sand beach as well as a light sand beach. At both beaches Kyle played football with Kent and his cousins, while Karly rolled in the sand in her own world of imagination. Her legs were red from playing in the cool water. On our way home she wanted to know when the ocean will warm up. We told her that our ocean is not going to get warm--she'll have to wait for our cruise in July for the warm ocean waters.

A great little escape before our last few weeks of school!

E--Entertainment

This week has been quite the entertainment week. Karly took center stage first with her Variety Show performance singing "Part of Your World"--Little Mermaid. Karly always has such a sense of presence. She also informed us over the weekend that she'd rather sing in front of 100 than 10-- "it's less embarrassing".



The very next night Kyle and his fellow first graders presented a play "How Does Your Garden Grow". Kyle had the priveledge of the role of a rapping weed. The weeds sang about "ruling" the garden, and Kyle used his "groovy moves" (his words). He was actually quite the dancer! We laughed and cheered along.

Our Catcher!

Just had to load a few pictures of our star catcher! Following in Dad's footsteps, Kyle has learned great catcher's technique. He's quick with returning the ball, and knows where the next play will be. Not a complaint about the heavy uniform, this boy just wants to "play ball"!

One Great Oriole!

Take a great Dad who is also Team Manager, cheering in the stands by mom and grandparents, and add a kid with a dose of athletic talents and you've got all the components for a great baseball season. It's been a very positive year for Kyle and his Orioles team! While Kyle enjoys all components of the game, he'd tell you that playing defense is his favorite part. You can just see it in his eyes that he's thinking ahead, he wants the ball and he wants to make the play. He just "gets" this game--the mental pieces--just like his Dad! His specialties are playing First Base, Third Base, Pitcher, or Catcher. Of course we're proud of his great attitude as well. Always gives his best, doesn't complain, and he takes the good with the bad. Kyle has also had the opportunity to make a new friend who is also a sports nut! These two boys are already talking about sports for the fall and whether it should be winter ball or flag-football next! Hats off to a successful season and....one great Oriole!

Full of Character

Today is "dress like a storybook character day" at school. Karly new right from the start she wanted to dress as her favorite American Girl --Kit. She planned it all down to the red headband that looked like Kit's red ribbon and even researched this morning the meaning of the color tags on the front of her top. For Kyle, this was a bit more difficult. He had a whole list of athletes that he'd rather dress as! Nonetheless, the Kern kids teamed up and figured out that Kyle would make a great Geronamo Stilton (he's actually a mystery solving mouse). Karly made him a business card with his name, and Kyle got to work finding the outfit that would most represent Geronamo's style. A sportcoat, shirt and tie--completed by whiskers that Mommy drew on his face and Karly's dress up glasses. These two characters couldn't wait to jump out of the car at school today! Mommy looks forward to hearing the full report.