SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

I'm really considering today my first official day of summer vacation. I realize that my students finished last Tuesday and I finished last Wednesday, but we left on Wednesday to head to Hudson for my sister's graduation and didn't get home until late Saturday night. Now that we're back at our house with a big pitcher of sweet tea, a stack of library books, fresh strawberries (grown locally), and Cate is settling back into her routine, summer vacation can finally begin. Our trip to Hudson served as sort of a mini-vacation for us. We decided to forgo the trip to Hilton Head this summer since Cate is so little and we didn't really think we'd get our money's worth. Plus, my parents are in the process of selling their house and moving to Atlanta- so if they get moved before school starts again, we'll be heading that way for another mini-vacation later on.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights from our trip:
My sister, Catherine (Cate is named after her), graduated from Hudson High School Wednesday night. It's weird to think that all 3 White children are now HHS graduates. She'll be heading to Akron University in the fall to study athletic training and is thinking about walking on to their track team, which would be really cool...we'd love to cheer her on at the collegiate level!
On Thursday we got together with my friend, Jenn (who was in town because her younger brother was also graduating). Cate met Jenn before (at Easter), but we forgot to take pictures. Jenn has been my best friend since middle school and was maid of honor in our wedding. We both share a love of books (I check her iRead on Facebook frequently looking for possibilities since she reads way more than I do right now) and have been through a lot since we first met in middle school. It was great to see her and catch up.

Cate also got to meet another friend of mine, Melisa, and her adorable son, Logan, who is only a couple of weeks older than Cate. We walked around Hudson Springs Park, but forgot to take a picture...next time.

Cate turned 4 months old while we were in Hudson, so above is her 4 month picture. She's in her little pop-up tent here (which is our new favorite thing so that we can get her outside, but out of the sun! And in honor of her 4 moth birthday, we gave her her first taste of cereal.
She's actually gotten the hang of it more since being in Hudson. We're only giving it to her once a day for now as Cate (and I) both still prefer to primarily nurse. But the cereal helps her feel full in the evenings and sleep a little sounder at night (she's always slept through the night just fine, but usually wakes up wanting her pacifier at about 3 in the morning....she hasn't been waking up for the pacifier the last couple of nights though).

My mom held my sister's graduation party on Saturday, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to take some new pics of our little family. Daddy was playing around with the camera on the first one.

So now we're home and hiding in the AC since it's a typical Cincinnati summer- hot, hazy, and humid. I'm starting to work towards my +15 at school (15 graduate credits beyond my Master's to get the next bump on the payscale) and found a great distance program that's actually affordable. My materials for my first class should come in this week and I'm hoping to wrap up all 15 hours by January (in time to get the bump midway through the year). Once the weather cools down a little later this week, Cate and I are hoping to head to the zoo. Eric was super-excited to bike to work this morning since he doesn't have to worry about dropping Cate off at a sitter for the next 10 weeks. And since Cate is taking a great nap right now, I think some sweet tea and a book are in order. :-)

~Melody :-)