Lasts

After Jesse's Master's graduation, we took off to Toledo to use our Zoo pass once more before it expired (and got stuck awful pointless traffic on the way there, not that I'm still traumatized...)

It was great to go one last time. It's been such a lovely place to take the kids, and we resolved to make sure to do things like this in the future. 

Nikolai was ridiculously cute with those animal masks on!

Also, any secrets to getting a four year old to look at the camera? It's like he thinks it's going to steal his soul or something...

This next last is really sad :( Our neighbors moved back to Korea! I'm happy for them--Gunho has a great teaching job lined up, and they'll be back near family again, but I was so sad for us! Nikolai and Juwon have been best friends this past year, and I am at a loss as to how to survive this summer without him as a playmate. 

Nikolai made him a going away card (and I made some cookies):

Nikolai drew pictures of them riding bikes and making magic mud.

On the back, Jesse wrote down Niko's dictation (more or less) which said: 

"I'll write letters to you cause you're my best best best friend. And you're my brother. -Niko

(he has started calling Juwon his brother on his own)"

We got one last picture of the best friends before they left:

We gathered some email information from them and we hope to help the boys keep in touch. I think it would be fun for them to be pen pals! Nikolai is already talking about wanting to go visit them in Korea sometime (I guess that's what happens when your parents are already planning on dragging you all around the world--you get used to the idea of traveling abroad being possible). 

He does keep talking about "When Juwon comes back, we'll do X" and it's always sad to have to say, "But buddy, he's not coming back...." Perhaps we should tentatively plan a trip after all....