Arianna’s birthday festivities continued into this week. She awoke on the 19th ready to tackle the many gifts from family members (thank you, everyone!).
Then her class spent the day on a fun science field trip with other LILA campuses. They returned just before school ended, and I brought chocolate cupcakes for yet another sugary celebration. That evening, we dined at El Torito.
Wednesday found me with even more cupcakes—this time for an early celebration of Carlos’s birthday.
Arianna and I reported to her allergist on Thursday: the yeast- and dairy-free diet made no difference in Arianna’s health but did leave us all feeling hungry and grumpy. 
The allergist decided that there is no point in continuing our torture and affirmed that Arianna will not experience any negative side effects from eating those substances, despite being allergic to them. Oh blessed day!
Thursday evening was a big sleepover event. Arianna’s friend Marotea stayed with us because his mom was in labor with his baby sister, and my parents arrived for a weekend of fun.
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| strawberry lemonade slushees |
The following morning, we met with other LILA families at Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s Hall of Liberty for kindergarten graduation. Carlos looked simply smashing in his cap and gown and was perfectly behaved throughout the hour-long ceremony.
It was hilarious to have so much “Pomp and Circumstance” for such little beasties!
We spent the rest of Friday celebrating the end of the school year at a LILA family’s home, where the kids bounced and played while the parents enjoyed yummy eats.
On Friday evening, Kirk and I took Marotea to the hospital to meet his newborn sister, who is adorably pink and tiny. Life is such an amazing process!
We enjoyed a serendipitous Saturday at Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa. After many tedious years of construction, California Adventureland welcomed visitors into its updated spaces and just-completed Cars Land. People waited in lines for more than 100 minutes per ride in Cars Land!
Happily for us, this left Disneyland unusually empty for a summer vacation Saturday: in about 8 hours, we managed to ride nearly everything in the Happiest Place on Earth. It was so much fun to share three generations of Disney love!
We spent Sunday recuperating and napping, but poor Kirk, exhausted from a crazy work week and Disneyland, had to fly to Texas for yet more work. Hopefully his workload will lighten as he gets more footing in his new role.
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| no longer virtual! real-life angry birds game! |
Well, summer vacation has officially begun for the Monson family, and we are looking forward to lots of visits and downtime. Yay for summer fun!
Congrats to Carlos for graduating!!!! And to the family for not having to be on the restrictive diet anymore!! :-)
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