Missing: One month. Reward for safe return, no questions asked.

What the heck happened to June?!

There's always a mad rush of things to do at the end of the school year.  End-of-year concerts, recitals, plays.  Summer activities to be registered for and scheduled.  Teacher gifts and birthday presents to be bought or contributed to.

It does seem to be birthday season.  Two of the Bean's friends had slumber parties.  The first was smallish, just four girls invited.  They started around 4:00, had games, dinner, cake, presents, a movie, and went to bed around 10:00 - late for the Bean, but pretty good by slumber party standards.  Next day, they had breakfast and a late morning pick-up, at which the Bean was happy and tired.  It was a great first sleepover experience.  The second one, this past weekend, was for a classmate who invited all the girls in their class and a few more besides.  This was a pool party *and* sleepover, starting at noon, going till 8:30 the next day.  The Bean had a piano recital that afternoon, so had to join the festivities after the pool part was done (she was disappointed, but I was frankly relieved.  She can't swim yet - gah!! - and I don't feel I can leave her at a pool.).  Then it was arts and crafts time, then presents, dinner and cake, a movie that started around 9:30 PM, and who knows what else, but nobody was asleep until "between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning," the Bean reports.  At pick up the next day, her eyes were open but her demeanor trancelike.  Good times.  It's taking a couple days for her to get her sleeping groove back, but she definitely had fun.  I'm proud of her.  She's a bit younger than her classmates, and a classic introvert as well - despite loving her friends, I think sometimes she has to psych herself up for these things.

Ah, slumber parties.  A staple of girlhood I guess, though I don't remember any, myself.  I do remember having a friend sleep over in third or fourth grade, and that she freaked out and went home in the middle of the night. Sigh. 

The Peanut's social calendar has been densely filled as well.  There have been Disney character-themed parties, pinatas, face painting, bouncy houses, minor accidents, and birthday girl meltdowns galore (honestly, I think it's just too much for them sometimes).  Her favorite?  Being the only girl at a backyard Star Wars birthday party.  She's not seen the movies yet, but you'd never know it.  When I arrived to pick her up, she was executing some mad Jedi moves with an inflatable light saber.  Two little boys were "fighting" her, and she was whirling around between, keeping them both at bay.  The force is strong with that one.

And now here we are, already... tomorrow's the last day of school!  The Bean wants to go immediately from school to our awesome public library to sign up for their "go green"-themed Summer Reading program.  You know, to beat the rush.  Hee!  The force is strong with that one, too.