Off to the editor

The first three chapters of The Frontier Team and a one-page summary are off to the editor who requested them.

Yes!

Yesterday, David took the girls on a long Father's Day Erie Canal bike ride to give me the afternoon to edit those three chapters and polish the summary. Afterward, Madison, who has had a camping bee in her bonnet for a couple of weeks, set up our new-ish tent with David's help and got all set to camp out overnight. She's a really independent kid. Ella had pretentions of joining her, but then chickened out and went to sleep in my room. Madison read for a few hours in the twilight, but couldn't go to sleep so she came in. Good thing she did, too, because we had a fierce thunder-and-lightning storm about 15 minutes after she came in.

On Saturday evening, the girls went to a Parents' Night Out from 6pm-10pm sponsored by their karate dojo. (David and I saw the new Indiana Jones movie. I had the unusual experience of rating the movie a B, but thoroughly enjoying myself nonetheless.) Ella has been skittish of being left alone at a place ever since she adopted this odd anxiety-clinginess in January, but I think she may be coming out of it. After some hesitation last week, she agreed to go to the Parents' Night Out, looked forward to it eagerly, and had a great time. So, fingers crossed, maybe she's emerging from this uncharacteristically long phase of discomfort with the world.

It is a lovely June morning here in Rochester. I've copied John Enright's latest poem, June Morning, into a special document I created to use for the girls' handwriting practice.

We're definitely in low tide. Madison will read "How to Build a Robot" for school. Ella will read some Nancy Drew Notebooks. We'll participate in this cool contest from the web site 10,000 birds, which starts today and runs for 10 days. And then off to Gym-and-Swim and then, for Ella, dance class.