Catching up..
I think I will start with the most recent events and work my way backwards, so I don’t fall even further behind! 
The most important of the news is shameless pride in MM.
Here in The Sunshine State, children in grades 3-8 usually have to read some, or all, of the Sunshine State Young Readers list. Some schools use the list and participate in Battle of the Books while other schools hold their own, internal, competitions to help encourage reading all of the books on the list.
This year, at MM’s school, kids were awarded prizes after reading books and successfully passing tests about the content. The “grand prize” for having read all 15 books and passed all 15 tests, is a sleepover at Busch Gardens. I’m guessing, dear readers, that you have all figured it by now, but I still have to say it - MM was one of the winners! In the midst of the God awful FCATs (I can go on forever about the evils of them, but I’ll spare you!), she managed to finish her final book (she’d read it once before and failed the test, so she decided to reread it after she finished the other books and take the test again) and take and pass the test! I’m so proud of her…and jealous that I don’t get to go with her! LOL
I don’t want to overwhelm you boys and girls, so I’ll come back later with a little more…
