June has been a lot of fun over here in Santa Cruz. As you can see, Vita continues to help dad with his many projects. We've been having lots of summertime fun in the backyard. And Vita is enjoying making castles and "dragon houses" out of boxes and couch cushions and blankets and other available resources. Sometimes the castles have secret doors and windows for sneaking up on people. In sad news, Vita's beloved preschool has closed down effective June 30th. (The property owner evicted the school so they could tear down the building and build an auto parts store there instead.) Vita has made so many wonderful friends and loves the school and the teachers, so we have been dreading the closure of the school ever since we heard the news last month. To celebrate on the last day of the preschool, all the teachers and kids got together at a local park and had a goodbye party. Here's Vita with her favorite teacher. And here is Vita with her very best friend from the old preschool. They had been in the school program together since Vita was 6 months old and her friend was 3 months old. At the party, Vita went down the biggest slides she has ever seen. This park has really amazing slides, and Vita charged down these slides without the slightest hesitation. She was having SO much fun! We'll have to come back here. This shot of Vita climbing up the stairs is intended to give you a general sense of just how big the slides are. Despite the sad news of the school closure, we're really excited about Vita's new preschool, which she started today. The new school is bigger and has better facilities, provides more activities, has a wonderful group of teachers and kids, and after just one day, Vita already loves it! When I picked her up from school after her first day today, she didn't want to come home, she wanted to stay and play with her new friends! The teachers all indicated that her first day went really smoothly, and that she was socializing and playing, and drawing, and ate her lunch, and had a good nap, and was happy as a clam the whole time. I'm thrilled, and so relieved! The new school is only able to take Vita on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for now, but she will be able to attend full time (5 days a week) beginning on September 1. In the mean time, Vita is fortunate that her Grandma Victoria had recently moved up to Santa Cruz, and Vita will be spending the day with Grandma Victoria every Tuesday and Thursday in July and August. Vita is having a blast with Grandma, and we are so very thankful that she's available (and willing) to help out until the new preschool can take Vita full time. Here are some pictures of the fun Vita is having at Grandma Victoria's house. Here's Vita getting ready to water some plants in the garden. And here's Vita enjoying the shade of an umbrella.