Oh, how these children love the pool. If they had their way, they’d never go to the beach. None of them can really get past the salty part, and they’re too small to really grasp the awesomeness of boogie boarding. Only Ellery loves it, as she is content to hang out in the world’s largest sandbox, mixing and stirring and building.
So we’re spending a lot of time in the pool.
Clearly, the best investment we’ve made so far is the killer whale pool toy, which has Neko beside herself with excitement. She’s been dreaming of a killer whale she can really ride, and before our eyes she has transformed the pool into our own private Shamu show.
Shep? He’s hiding from the camera this trip. But I swear he was here.
We made it. The house is stocked. The beach is beautiful. The pool is great, although the shallow end could be about a foot shorter (Shep is barely able to keep his mouth above water).
But documentation? Not so good. Between the humidity, the air conditioned house where I keep my camera, and the record-setting high temperatures outside, a recipe for photo disaster was created.
Every time I took my camera outside, the lens fogged up. For hours. Then I would take it inside, and I’d have the same problem in reverse. It took me until mid-week to learn to set my camera out on the porch first thing in the morning to let it heat up before the activities began.
So in the days in between we’ve been enjoying vacation. The kids are swimming nearly every spare moment. There are bike paths everywhere, of which Neko and I have been making good use. R&D have joined us for the first portion of the trip, which has been great, since we don’t see anywhere near enough of them. That four adults to three kids ratio is pretty spectacular, too.
So just imagine that there are nice photos here. And a phone call to my brother-in-law Doug to wish him a happy birthday, which was Monday, because somehow that did not get scheduled as a recurring event on my calendar. Happy birthday, Doug!
The lesson here? Technology is nice to have, but is just as finicky as anything else.
With a massive drive to make to get to the beach, we decided it might be wise to break it into two chunks. So we stopped to see an old friend along the way. She has two kids, so it was perfect for us all to hook up.
One of the features of the place Julie took us to was a working farm. Where, out of all there was to do, Neko found a huge pen of chickens, and reached nirvana. I love that we travel so far to see new things, and she seeks out the comforts of home.
It was fantastic to see Julie and the kids, and we were overwhelmed by her hospitality. Exhausted, everyone climbed into bed far too late, trying to catch a few hours of sleep before we continued our journey.
I had seen Peter and his drum group perform around town. They always had these great drums made out of gourds and other fantastic things. I noticed they always invited kids to come try out their instruments, and it occurred to me that he might be a great field trip in the making.
He happily obliged, and invited the kids to a small class at his drum barn. The kids were kept busy for an hour, drumming and tapping and banging out beats. Peter was fantastic with the kids, and they all got a chance to play nearly every instrument, learning the differences between wood, metal, and hide.
One of the things that happens when you live in a small town is that the phone could ring on Tuesday and be someone trying to sell you something or it could be your friend who works at the library and would like your kids to dress up as book characters and march in the Independence Day Parade.
Of course, I said “yes” and then promptly pushed it out of my head until Friday, at which time Neko decided to be the girl from The Red Book and Shep decided to be Harry Potter, neither of which we had any of the costume pieces for as of Friday night. I had this really great idea for someone to be the pigeon from the Mo Willems books, holding a big sign that said, “LET ME DRIVE THE FLOAT!” But none of the kids seemed to think my idea was as funny as I did, which I sense is a recurring theme in parenthood.
So Tom sewed a cloak and then he and Shep went shopping for glasses and a scarf. Then I furiously knitted my first hat, crossing my fingers that I would finish in time for the parade. (I did!) Kudos to Neko for wearing a hat and scarf in 90° weather.
Then off we went. Ellery graciously understood that she was too little to participate, bless her, and became more concerned about finding the nearest bathroom.
Despite apprehension, the kids had a great time, and delighted in the goodie bags they received for participating. And people, if you do not smile at Shep dressed as Harry Potter, your heart is made of stone. He was making folks smile up and down the block.
Then it was back home to watch fireworks with friends and family from our very own yard. Nothing like fireworks in your pajamas, folks…nothing quite like it.
Ever since Neko got her new trundle bed, it’s been quite popular. Tonight Shep and Neko convinced me a sleepover was in order. Even Daisy joined in on the fun.
At the weekly preschool program I help run, Alex and Neko found these tiny toads in the sandbox. Of course, they immediately came home with us for a day or two.
You can see how truly tiny they are by the whorls of Neko’s fingerprints and the grains of sand stuck to their little bodies.
After a week of crazy, we ended up taking a spontaneous trip to the Big City to hang out with a nice guy we met at the Letterpress workshop and his family and friends. Super-nice folks all around.
Good food, good folks, popsicles and water fun. Really, how can you go wrong?
In that last photo, Shep is sharing his new tooth, which is coming in quickly!
This girl and nature? There’s some visceral connection.
She found this toad a few days ago. She loves this toad. His name is Leaper. She held him, hugged him, and swatted flies to feed to him.
The thing about these nature friends is that they inevitably have to go back home. No, not our home, which is where Neko thinks they should be—the great outdoors.
This is always such a struggle. I think she knows they need to go home, but with all her heart, she really wants to build some sort of nature conservancy in her bedroom.
Tonight we walked the toad to the pond and turned him loose. And then Neko cried the whole way home.
When I think about her 20 years from now, I’m having a hard time picturing her at a desk job.
Okay, really it’s a jump rope wrapped around car seats, but Tom and I couldn’t stop laughing when we walked out to discover Neko had rigged up some “laser vision” for Shep.
