Piper ended her Kindergarten year with a bang. Two field trips (one to the zoo), pizza parties, swim parties, and a sweet luau-themed Kindergarten promotion ceremony. We had two great Kinder teachers. Both Joe and I were able to volunteer in Piper's classroom and on field trips quite a bit and that made our experience such a great one. She started first grade on August 15 and it took her about two weeks to decide that she likes it! She is learning a lot about story structure and writing and we are having fun watching her grow. She still loves gymnastics and as she moves up in her classes the requirements are more challenging. I think at first Piper was intimidated by it but now she finds such satisfaction in conquering a skill she couldn't do previously. It is great to see.
Finley was in pre-school a few days a week but we took her out for the summer. She loves school and is a sponge when it comes to learning. She is turning out to be quite the little athlete. She does well most anything she attempts. She is in gymnastics and also dance (ballet/tap) and loves both. Fin had her very first dance recital in August and it was so adorable. Her class danced a ballet routine to "Broadway Baby."
Both girls are currently in a two week swim class to end the summer. Piper is learning freestyle and backstroke. Her backstroke is quite impressive and as a former backstroker on my high school swim team, I'm so proud! :) Fin is in a tiny tots class where parents do not participate. She was successful swimming on her back on her first try without the instructor holding her. Both he and we were pretty impressed. Finley has never wanted assistance while swimming (even as a one-year-old), and trying to help her only makes her try to swim on her own even harder! Our pool pump went down, the new one arrived damaged, and a series of hoops to be jumped through to get a new one sent has prevented us from swimming the past two weeks. Can't wait for the pool to be up and running. We use it A LOT!
Our summer was fantastic. Piper was out of school roughly two weeks when we drove to Arizona to stay with my parents for a week. From Phoenix we flew to Florida to visit all the family there. Marc and Shelbe gave up their beds at various points through our two week trip so that I would have a cat-free place to sleep. Joe and the girls bunked at Gran and Papa's house. We were at the beach almost every day, multiple times a day unless there was a thunderstorm and we were swimming in one of many pools daily. It was lovely! We ate great food, were surrounded by great company, and had a great time. Aunt Shel and Gran put together a fun shared birthday party for the girls and there was even a pinata. Luckily we let the two girls swing first because when Gran got ahold of the bat, that was DONE!! It was so funny! The Women's World Cup was on while we were visiting so we made sure to be at a location capable of broadcasting ESPN for every game. It was such and exciting tournament and we were shocked and heartbroken to see the US girls lose to Japan.
I am working on my jewelry and other designs more since we are back from our trip. Now that school is back in for Piper I am able to find a little bit of time to tackle that. My photography season is ramping up so I will be working on that and my Wendi Solari Designs Etsy shop until the holidays. Being busy sure does make the months fly so I try to enjoy the Fall while it is here. Check out the blog if you get a chance. Lots of photos. http://www.wendisolariblog.com.
As I am typing this Joe is on an airplane en route to the Maldives where he will work for two weeks filming a women's surfing contest in 3D. The Maldives are a chain of islands between Africa and Australia. His travel time to and from is unreal but I am hoping he has a fantastic time. Joe took most of the summer off of work as we had many things planned with the girls. Since our return from our Arizona/Florida he has been working quite a bit. Some fun things have been a music video for the new Muppet Movie (by the band "OK Go") and on the tv series Bones. I'm excited for him that he has the chance to work on such a variety of projects. I think it keeps the job fun.
We hope you all had a great summer and we look forward to reading of everyone's adventures.
With love,
Wendi, Joe, Piper, and Finley {The So Cal Solaris}
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