It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a blue moon, Tom and I scoot away. Out of town, just the two of us.
We were off to my alma mater, to take advantage of alumni tickets for the first time in over a decade. We had seats with Anne and John, and met up with Beth and Reese (my new best friend) for dinner.
I love those children of mine, but a grown-up getaway? Always good.
Neko has some severe stage fright. Despite the fact that our house is a non-stop production of theatrics and singing, every time school has a performance, she never wants to go.
When I heard about a week-long theater camp happening this summer, I ignored it. No way she would want to go. But then I found out all her friends would be attending, I felt the pressure to sign her up.
So she went. And loved every minute of it. The whole week was filled with workshops and projects and loads of anticipation for the big night. She was downright giddy, a way I’ve rarely seen her with organized activities.
The big night was fantastic. The kids all did great, and were thrilled to get their flowers (thank you Nancy), accolades, and after-party snacks. All the grandparents were in attendance—and a special bonus visit from her former teacher, Erin.
Neko is already asking when the next play is. So, um, maybe Nature Girls have a Nature Theater where they put on plays as well?
When I saw the big Bobcat sitting in the yard, I knew we were committed. The high tunnel is going up.
Okay, really we were committed when all the pieces got delivered and started hogging every square inch of the garage, making the kids’ attempts to retrieve a bicycle turn into some sort of high wire act. I so want the garage back.
Originally, Tom was going to build this big, beautiful garden with a fence and seating area and, oh, it was going to be lovely. But then we attended a gardening workshop, where we learned about high tunnels, and how you can garden year round. This whole concept was really exciting, as I once added up our grocery bills for the entire year and almost had a heart attack. Feeding five people a primarily organic, fruit and vegetable filled diet is crazy expensive. (Thus, the obesity epidemic.) After we visited another family who had their own high tunnel, the decision was made, and practicality won out over aesthetics.
Anyway, Tom’s brother John came into town and helped dig enormous holes in our rock-filled ground (hooray for perseverance and patience) which would hold the supports in several feet of concrete. Big thanks to John for helping out, and to Alicia for letting us borrow him.
Needless to say, by dusk we had ton of great big holes in our yard. And, omigoodness, the kids thought they were the most fun things ever. I’m going to add this to the list for my future toy store—big holes and dirt piles.
Addendum: My friend Libby, who has been in construction for ages, said these deep holes are actually quite unsafe for children to play in because they could collapse unless you have those cardboard tube thingies. Which we had, but not actually in the holes at that time. So when I sell holes at my toy store, they’ll come with those cardboard liners or, like, super-safe titanium liners. With lasers.
99% of our vacation we spent hunkered down at the house. We never once went out to eat (although the grown-ups ordered in a few times). We left the house to bike, go to the grocery store, or hit the beach, but left for very little else.
We did, however, decide our one tourist venture would be to seek out some dolphins. They head into the lagoon in search of dinner, which makes for a great viewing opportunity. Unfortunately, the dolphins were way more interested in looking for food than entertaining us, but we did get to see them slip in and out of the water here and there.
Scott, our faithful captain, kept us entertained with showing us the zillions of oysters, viewable when the tide comes in (the first photo). He even pulled a crab on board for inspection. But mostly the kids loved the speedboat, zooming through the water. Ellery did almost fall asleep at one point, which is a hazard of scheduling our tour during nap time.
Undoubtedly, the tour was well worth leaving the house. But then we went home, put our bathing suits back on, and got back to business as usual.
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.
This wasn’t exactly what I imagined marriage would be, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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!
It took us into the wee hours, but Tom and I finally got our posters onto the press.
Thanks to some serious scheduling gymnastics, one amazing babysitter, and some family members kicking in some time, Tom and I are both attending a week-long letterpress workshop in town. From 9am–5pm, we will learn the ins and outs of this amazing Vandercook.
