We didn't have a very warm spring but suddenly the summer weather is here. Today I chaperoned the field trip with K's class to the Lloyd Center. Before we got there I wondered if it would be a little over their heads but the staff did an awesome job and the kids really learned so much. Even the children who normally have trouble learning in the typical classroom environment were focusing all their attention on the instructors. For me it really emphasized that many children need an alternate setting to learn in.

K lost her first tooth yesterday. It had been very wiggly for over a month and the new tooth was already through the gum and coming in behind the baby tooth. She looks so cute.

Yesterday we went letterboxing in Fort Bartonin Tiverton, Rhode Island. It was 2.5 miles and during some of the hilly parts I was breathing heavy but we had so much fun. We saw beautiful birds, frogs, deer tracks, a fox, chipmunks and lots of insects. L was in the backpack on Chad's back and fell asleep for the last half hour and Kaelyn was a trooper. She did start complaining during the last half mile but I think that she did great. She's almost 7 but she has tiny little legs and it was a hot day. When we got back to the van the temp was 87 degrees.

Last night we went to a 30th birthday party for a friend. The theme was "flower power" and everyone was encouraged to come in costume. Chad tie-dyed t-shirts and I decorated K's jeans with patches. We had yummy Portuguese food and even yummier desserts. It was nice to see alot of friends that we grew up with that I hadn't seen for a long time.

There was a horrible murder in town this weekend though. A high school senior was stabbed and killed by another high school senior. We live right near the high school and wondered what all the news stations were doing there. Then we found out. This is suppossed to be the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and now one boy is dead and another will probably be going to prison for a long time. My heart goes out to all of the families involved. They should be celebrating next weekend with graduation ceremonies but instead they'll be attending funeral services and arraignments.

I've lost 10lbs so far. I already feel the difference in my clothes.

I was going to write a long entry today but I'm feeling very depressed for various reasons. I'm hoping that everything works out and I won't have to bore you with any details.

Since the nice weather has arrived I've been making a point to take a long walk everyday. Some days I walk in the cemetery where my in-laws are buried. It's actually more like a park than a cemetery. There are many beautiful trees and the roads are windy and hilly. When I approached my in-laws gravesite I was pleasantly surprised to see that a bronze military marker that we had requested 10 years ago when he died had been placed in front of the stone. Upon further review I realized that it said US Air Force instead of US Army. I called Chad at work to be sure before I approached the caretaker and he said that I was correct his father had served in the Army Corps of Engineers. I found the caretaker on the other side of the cemetery mowing the lawn. I explained the situation and he told me that the American Legion handles any problems with the military markers. When I called the Legion the gentlemen won't be there until Friday after 7pm. Since it took 10 yrs to have it placed there in the first place I wonder if it will take that long to get a new one. We had honestly forgot that we ever requested it in the first place.

I love spring and summer but life does get very busy. K has started softball and says that she likes it better than gymnastics. She's going to finish out the session for gymnastics and then she can decide if she wants to attend in the fall. I think that it has alot to do with the girls on her team. Gymnastics isn't a team sport and she never really got to mingle with the other girls in her class. At softball, they played games to learn each others names and it's a small group of six girls plus K. They all get along wonderfully and hopefully that continues. Chad is doing great at his position of assistant coach. He's quite competitive and I worried that he would forget that he's dealing with little kids in an instuctional league but I was wrong.

I've rejoined Weight Watchers. It was time. I've lost 6.6 lbs this week and I'm finding it fairly easy using their online e-tools.

When we voted for town officials in April I knew that there were some seats open in my precinct to become a town meeting member. I asked a few people that I know write my name in and I got one of the seats. I'm glad that I did because we have some important issues that need to be voted on at tomorrow's town meeting. One of them being the rezoning of a parcel of land from RA (Rural agricultural) to RR (rural residential) so that houses can be developed on 15,000 square foot lots instead of 30,000 square foot lots. It isn't profitable for the developer to build on 30,000 sf lots because of the layout of the land and the wetlands involved. The developer is going to back out of the deal if the rezoning is not approved. I'm not voting in favor of the rezoning so that we can continue to keep this fragile area undeveloped. Our town which was once mostly farmland has been so overdeveloped that the schools have had trouble keeping up.

My nephew is so cute and I wish I had more pictures but all my time is spent of redirecting Lindsey so she doesn't poke his eyes out. I sure do hope that she gets used to him and he becomes old news. She loves him and kisses him at least 50 times in a 30 minute timeframe but she loves his eyeballs too. That girl sure does keep me busy.