A quick dip

Sneaking in some more beach time

Friday morning Alex had a birthday party to go to out on Old Mission Peninsula. Maya and I ran some errands and played at Bryant Park for a while. We decided it was a beach kind of day so we ran home for lunch and let Charlie out to play and packed up our beach things. When we picked Alex up we figured we might at well take advantage of being that far and go out to Haserot Beach.

There are only so many beach days left.......

Perfect weather

Too perfect really since we've hardly had any rain. But otherwise fantastic. The kids have been going outside almost immediately after getting up and eating breakfast in the morning. The seasons are starting to shift and you can really feel it in those morning and evening transition times. They have been pulling on sweatshirts for that first hour or so of the morning, sometimes pants too. By mid morning we have a litter of cast off clothes across the yard and driveway.

Everyone on our street has been home this week, no more vacations and less plans as we get ready for school to start next week. That has meant wonderful herds of kids on bikes and scooters zooming back and forth and kids and dogs spending the days running back and forth between yards. And also quiet moments like eating outside or like Alex's new favorite reading spot you can see above.

Visitors

Last Thursday my mom, grandma and aunt came to visit! We packed a lot into a few days.

Thursday evening we met some long time friends of the family who just happened to be staying at Mac's Landing Resort which is only about a mile from our house! The kids got to swim, we had a good cook out and visit.

Friday morning we ran errands, ate lunch and packed up for the afternoon to go to the beach near Empire. It was a perfect beach day, hot but a nice breeze off the water. On the way home we stopped at Grocer's Daughter Chocolate because really, when you are right there how can you just drive by?

Mom and Teri and I went back into town that evening for Friday Night live and some window shopping.

Ben got stuck heading down state for work that night and was gone until Saturday evening.

Saturday morning we went to the farm market fairly early. They had to head back to WI from there but the kids and I took a walk down Cass St. through the art fair. Alex really liked the variety of pottery and had a nice talk with one of the pottery artists about his work and how he makes the colors in his glaze.

We came home from a quick lunch and played with Charlie before going to Peshwabestown for the Pow Wow. We saw the grand entrance and watched for a little longer then things started to fall apart a bit with the kids so we had to make an earlier exit than planned. Next year I think either we all have to go so there is one grown up for each kid (when they both need/want to do different things) or one of us should just take Alex and wait a few more years for Maya (she lost interest more easily).

Wigwam City

Last week we had been talking about going to a local Pow Wow so Alex must have been thinking back to when they studies Native American history in school last year. The kids got Charlie to help them dig a giant hole in the middle of the sandbox to be a valley with the mounds of sand around the edges mountains. Then they collected sticks and made what they described as wigwam frames (they tried making coverings with leaves but couldn't figure out a good way to attach them) and decorated the tops with yarn scraps we put out for the birds to use in their nests.

It was quite a construction project! Unfortunately Charlie likes to chew on sticks and at some point couldn't take it anymore and started stealing the wigwams, eventually bringing an end to wigwam city.

I've read this to Maya twice this morning already

We picked up this book last spring at a school book fair. We read it once and then it went on a shelf and came out every now and then. It has all of a sudden gained popularity with Alex and Maya and both of them have been taking it out more often. I've read it to Maya twice so far today and it's 8am.

I love the point of the story, it's goofy and quirky (it is Weird Al after all) and he managed to include the phrase "master debater" just to keep all of us parents reading out loud on our toes.

I just finished

This is the same author as "Devil in the White City". This is his newest book. It follows the US Ambassador to Germany and his family from when they moved to Berlin in 1933 until he leaves his post in 1937. Ambassador Dodd and his daughter both kept detailed diaries and wrote a lot of letters to friends/colleagues back in the states which makes for a lot of direct quotes and personal, detailed impressions of places and people. It's a fascinating point of view especially in regards to some of the high ranking Nazi officials.

"Goin to a beach party..."