Life: Idiotropic

On Friday morning we picked up Arianna from her sleepover. She's had a great time and had jumped out of bed that morning smiling and excited. They didn't get to sleep until after 11, but had a good night. "We watched a movie. And we took pictures. We went to sleep and we talked a lot. We had chocolate. We had tons of fun. We hunted for candy in the woods and we found tons of it. We ate all the candy and we had really really tons of fun."

We gathered up her things and joined her class and their families for a final breakfast at the International Dining Hall on base. "The breakfast was yummy. It was so yummy that I could hardly believe my eyes and I even got a soccer ball."

Saturday was the final soccer game and party, so I baked the soccer ball cake and made chicken enchiladas. We were all excited and ready - as was Arianna - until we actually got there, and then, for whatever reason, Arianna decided not to play. So, it was a bit disappointing for Kirk and I. She moped and sat in the car most of the game. I watched and cheered the other players on and it turned out to be a great game. We'd planned a big party at a park nearby, but only four families could stay, so we joined a few other teams there on the field and had the party there. Arianna and Luci got their trophies - ugly silver alien trophies. Very ugly. But... the girls love them and cuddle them like babies.

That afternoon we went to a BBQ and stayed out until after 10. It gets light at 0430 here and stays dark until after 10 at night. It's really confusing when you're outside in the evening because the time goes so quickly and it stays so amazingly bright out that at 9:30 it still seems like 6. We looked up the sunrise online and it said over 18 hours of visible light here. Tomorrow our day will be 15 seconds shorter. I like the long days here. It feels great to see the sun and it's making up for the winter when it was getting dark at 4pm.

Today was a swim party for Tiara's friend, but we all went. Kirk spent his time juggling little girls in the big pool because they all wanted their turn there, but the pool is indoors and they have a nice shallow pool with a gate, so the young ones can be happy and safe over there. Still, Elise has an obsession with the deep water. They all need swim lessons.

The grass is as short as it could get and the cows are resorting to nibbling on the hedge on the far side of the pasture, so I think their days in this field are numbered. I'm sure they'll be moved in the next day or two. It will be sad. They are so sweet. If you go to the fence, they lick your hand. When we watch them from the windows, they look up at us. Today they were playing - running around the pasture like baby lambs kicking up their legs and butting their heads. They are adorable.