Pine Lodge 2011

Still catching up on photos from this summer. We had a wonderful vacation at Pine Lodge with Grandad in July. The highlight was a whale watch excursion on a little boat which even had a naturalist on board to tell us all about the whales (and even the names of some of them!). What amazing weather for a whale watch - it was so hot (in the 90s) that being on a boat was the best way to spend the day. We never felt cold, the breeze was wonderful. Maybe the whales felt the same way because we saw TONS of whales. One group of whales came right up to the boat and then swam right under us. Almost made me wonder if maybe they enjoy putting on a little show. At least they have learned not to fear the whale watch boats.

The first part of our vacation was one 'scorcher' after another so we spent almost every day in Slough Pond. The kids are getting better at swimming. Rachel learned to put her face in the water and Carson had lots of fun playing with our new squirt guns in the water.

One day we ventured over to the Audubon Center and hiked their trails all the way down to the bay. We saw lots of fiddler crabs, snails, and even a horseshoe crab shell. The kids were a little worried about walking in the water with all the snails on the bottom, but Grandad showed Rachel that there was nothing to be afraid of.

What vacation would be complete without a visit to Arnold's? The kids enjoyed posing behind the car in the parking lot at Arnold's.

Deb and Jonathan joined us for the last few days at Pine Lodge, along with Shivani. Here is Shivani's first encounter with the ocean!

Another favorite pasttime for the kids is swinging in the hammock. Rachel enjoyed swinging with her little cousin.

Uncle Jonathan showed the kids how to build rock castles at the ocean. Grandad couldn't resist the urge to stretch out in the sun and was soon fast asleep.

Preschool Graduation

We had such a busy summer that I'm just now catching up on the family blog! We had a big month back in June when Rachel graduated from her preschool. It was a wonderful ceremony and she looked so cute in her cap and gown. Grammy came down for a visit to join the festivities. 

Rachel also had her first dance production in June after taking a year of ballet and tap dancing. The show was at a local high school on a big stage and each dance class was in the show. Her class did two dances, one ballet and one tap. The girls did great, I was so proud of her I was in tears by the end of the show.

The tee ball season wrapped up in June and the team showed much improvement after playing about eight games during their short season. What a great experience for the kids to be part of a team. And there was a pool party at the end of the season where each child received a trophy! A first for Rachel and Carson, this was very exciting.

Some other highlights from June - here is Grammy at the 'salon' with Rachel and Carson. She is a good sport! Below that picture is a shot of the kids at a local festival on a motorcycle ride.

 

We also had time for one last visit to the Buttonwood zoo, one of our favorites. It has everything you've ever wanted in a zoo - a train, pony rides, and a carousel!

May 2011

May was a busy month despite the cold, rainy weather. Rachel's preschool class had a Mom's Day tea party which was just wonderful. The kids sang some songs, we ate yummy treats, and each Mom received a personalized cookbook (see picture below). It was a very special day.

For Memorial Day weekend we made the trek to Cape Cod to join the annual gathering of the Yale Crew. During the slide show we figured that this group has been gathering at Pine Lodge for almost 30 years now!! We were blessed with warm, sunny weather - the first of its kind this year. We even got into Slough Pond a few times and the kids had lots of fun splashing around in a large tide pool at the Backshore. Highlights of the weekend were the home-made ice cream, the 12 pounds of lobster, swinging in the hammock, seeing a deer in the back yard, basking in the fresh air and enjoying good company.

Back at home, the great weather continued for a few days so a picnic was in order. One of our favorite picnic spots we have dubbed 'the rock place' - a rocky beach at a nearby nature preserve where the kids love to climb on and play with rocks.

The kids are both playing tee ball this year on the same team, sponsored by their preschool (thank you Shining Star!). The games are once a week and it has been lots of fun. Its been an interesting experience as an adult trying to motivate the kids to keep their heads in the game instead of running over to the park nearby and playing on the swings. How do you explain responsibility to your team to 4 and 5 year-olds? They prefer to play in the sand in the outfield instead of watching the ball, and they are just mastering the running order of the bases. A good learning experience for parents and children :)

March and April 2011

We celebrated Carson's fourth birthday last month! Grandad joined us for the birthday party which was a treat for Carson (the more men the better). The party featured Batman on the birthday cake and Star Wars on the table setup, does it get any better for a 4-year old? Carson's gifts were mainly Legos, specifically the new Ninja Legos. Carson has been asking for Ninja Legos for several months and was thrilled to see them in person (instead of in the Lego catalog). I don't know what it is about Ninja's that attracts little boys, but Carson is hooked. He even got a Ninja costume and his very own Ninja sword (on his back in picture below).

Grandad realizes how complicated Legos have become since his children played with them. This instruction manual looks more like Raytheon's technical documentation!

Carson in his Ninja costume and Rachel in a princess dress and blanket (her shawl).

Rachel was very happy to receive a gift of Polly Pocket dolls at Carson's birthday party - here she is showing them off.

The Batman cake did not last long once it was in front of Carson. He hardly finished blowing out the candles before picking up each piece on the cake and licking the frosting off of it. First the Batman motorcycle, then the Batcave, then the candles.

Other happenings in April - the kids are both playing tee ball this spring! Here they are on opening day with Daddy.

Shining Star Preschool hosted their annual art show last weekend where we got to see some great artwork done by the kids. Below is Rachel next to her self-portrait! And Carson is standing below one of his paintings.

We started our garden last weekend since we finally had a reprieve from the rain. Rachel and Carson were a big help clearing out old weeds and planting the lettuce.

And finally, had to share this adorable mask that Carson made at preschool.