How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 9

Week of August 15, 2009

Theme of the Week: Some like it hot, but I do NOT! I guess summer finally kicked in this week, because the entire week was hot, humid and practically unbearable most of the time. We definitely avoided staying home in our hot house, and were crazy busy most days with regular plans and additional activities to help us cool off. After avoiding putting the window air conditioner in the bedroom for two months, the Eagle put it in on Sunday - at least at night we are comfortable! I can safely say, I am ready for fall.

Saturday: A laid back day, with mini-outings & chores. During the Eagle's morning ride, the kids & I did a little shopping and spent a few minutes at Michael's doing their back-to-school pencil box craft. The kids also got to spend some time with Daddy playing in the bouncy house before we headed to a (semi) local wading pool to cool off. Afterward, we went to Friendly's for dinner & ice cream.


Sunday: I spent the day getting things done around the house (cleaning out the car (again), laundry, blogging, and other household chores), while the Eagle took the kids out on some errands. We had grilled pizza for dinner, to avoid turning on the oven.

Monday: The Tumbleweed had her first day "Flippers Camp" at her gymnastics center. Lucky kid gets to swim everyday of this hot week. In the afternoon, we went to a new glow-in-the-dark indoor mini-golf place with friends. Both kids enjoyed it and I think the Dandelion is still trying to find his ball (it went in the last hole and disappeared). Later, we headed over to the Y where the Dandelion and I hung out in the air-conditioned NAZ, while the Tumbleweed tried a cheerleading workshop.


Tuesday: After a quick drop off at camp, the Dandelion and I hosted his little friends for a splash playgroup. All the kids had a lot of fun playing at the water table & in the spray pad in our backyard. In the afternoon, we headed to the farm to weed the children's garden before CSA pick-up.


Wednesday: We got an early start, picking our first raspberries of the season right after the farm opened at 8am - since we had to drop the Tumbleweed off at camp at 9. The Dandelion and I went to sign him up for a toddler program at a local center and played in their A/C until camp pick-up. Then it was my final "afternoon from hell" as the Tumbleweed had her last summer dance class, followed by the dash to karate. I had planned to finally have a karate picture of the Dandelion, but can you believe that there was a kid in class afraid of cameras? I had to put it away before taking even one shot :( After class we went to family swim to cool off before bed.


Thursday: Another day of camp, followed by a trip to the splash pad with our MOMS Club friends. The Dandelion wasn't too keen on the water spraying him, and only wanted to play on the playground. After HOOTs & HOWLs dinner with our MOMS Club friends, the Tumbleweed and I had "girls night" (shopping, smoothies and nail polish) while the Eagle took the Dandelion to the movie (Cars) at the Y for "boys night".

Friday: The final day at camp, and the Tumbleweed was begging to go another week (however this was the last week it was offered). She really gained a lot of confidence in the pool by being able to play in the 2 foot depth, and even the 3 foot depth by the end of the week. I will definitely sign her up again next year! After camp, we went peach picking with friends which the kids really enjoyed, even the Dandelion was able to reach the peaches. We picked some more raspberries & played on the playground before heading home --- both kids fell asleep in the car! And if that wasn't enough, the Tumbleweed had her first soccer clinic for the fall season.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 8

Week of August 8, 2009

Theme of the Week: A glimpse of our future? This week week we had a sampling of what life is like when sports take over dinner time. The kids each got to do some new "big kid" things this week, and I was reminded frequently how much they are always growing & changing.

Saturday: Finally a weekend at home. The Eagle & I did lots of projects around the house. He spent a lot of time with the Tumbleweed hanging a climbing rope and setting up the tent. The two of them slept in the backyard for the Tumbleweed's first time "camping". She was so proud to be "a big girl".


Sunday: Another day of work around the house. In the evening we took the kids to "Apple House" (aka Applebee's) for dinner - the Dandelion has been asking to go there for months. After dinner we did some errands, one of which was getting the Dandelion his first pillow. He was so excited to sleep on his McQueen pillow like a "big boy"

Monday: A relatively slow start to the week, with gymnastics in the morning and the afternoon at home visiting with the Eagle before his trip. In the evening we had the first night of soccer camp #2 - the Tumbleweed loved it & even played with the 5-6 year olds, while the Dandelion & I battled the heat and the bugs on the sidelines until after his bedtime.

Tuesday: The Tumbleweed went to her "new school" for camp, giving the Dandelion & I time to run some errands. I was surprised how much he seemed to miss her. She really enjoyed the camp and came home begging for school to start. Due to a poorly timed nap, the Dandelion was a bit of a disaster for CSA pick-up and not much better for his second late night watching soccer camp.


Wednesday: We had a great morning at the playground with the MOMS Club, with both kids climbing high & testing their limits. Unfortunately, the second half of the day did not go very smoothly. I attempted a "two parent kid shuffle" alone, and was irritated (to say the least) when made the trip from dance to karate only to find out karate was canceled, again. Needless to say I was a teensy bit annoyed by the time we made it to soccer camp.

Thursday: All good things must come to an end and today was the last day of summer gymnastics and soccer camp. The Tumbleweed made me so proud by climbing to the blue line on the rope at gymnastics, something she had not even been close to before. She thoroughly enjoyed both activities and will start fall practice for both in about a week.


Friday: Hot & humid, it was the perfect day to head to Wallum Lake to go swimming. The kids enjoyed the water & sand behaved quite well. I had been a little doubtful about taking both of them by myself, but they are definitely getting better at handling such activities. In the afternoon, we "strolled" to two scrapbook stores, meeting a friend there so the kids could play while we shopped. And to top off the day, I headed out to a midnight crop & got 4 pages done!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 7

Week of August 1, 2009

Theme of the Week: In the Swing of Things. We finally seem to be finding our summer rhythm - the weather was nice and we had a good amount of activities, but not too many. It is sad that we only have one more week of "summer schedule" left and we'll be back to "winging it" until school starts.

Saturday: We headed down to the cape first thing in the morning. We spent the morning with friends before heading to Nana's & Papa's to celebrate the Eagle's birthday. At the end of the evening, I headed home alone to get some things done around the house.


Sunday: Me time! I spent the morning working on scrapbooking kits for one of my classes, then I headed to the scrapbook store for a crop and book club. A much needed break.

Monday: We have finally gotten into a pretty good rhythm getting to gymnastics, although I am still struggling to keep the Dandelion occupied/contained. In the afternoon we went to the Y for their Monster Crafts class. It is the one special Monday seminar that includes 2 year olds, and I thought it would be fun for the Dandelion. I was glad that he tried some of the art project, but he lost interest pretty quickly. I really hope he grows out his short attention span!


Tuesday: First Little Readers Book Club, then a little shopping. I went to Goretti's to stock up on chicken - $1.98/lb every Tuesday. Our last stop was the farm for our veggies.

Wednesday: I finally made it to walking group - yay! Then we were off to make Origami Cranes at a playgroup. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed origami as a kid. The Tumbleweed had dance in the afternoon and the Dandelion was actually tolerable during class. Unfortunately, his karate class was canceled - he might have been a better mood this week.


Thursday: After gymnastics we headed to the Millbury Library picnic - lots of fun, friends & free food. My only regret is that I didn't take the time to let the Dandelion go on the fire truck (or "red bus" as he called it --- I was so thrilled that he got the color right, we have been working on learning colors). Next time.

Friday: A busy morning. We headed out early for walking group, then up to Kohl's & Target for back-to-school clothes shopping and we finished up at the playground with the MOMS Club. It was great to find a new playground - and the kids had a blast. In the evening the Eagle took the kids out to dinner while I stayed home and scrapbooked. I am finally feeling creative again.

Outside Kohl's

At Treasure Land

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 6

Week of July 25, 2009

Theme of the Week: Thinking Local. This week we have been trying to experience things in our town and the neighboring towns --- both while visiting my parents and back at home --- along the way we had lots of fun with family and friends.

Saturday: Day Two of our visit to Grandma & Grandpa's. The kids went with Grandpa and I to Lowe's for a free "Built & Grow" Workshop where we built "hodotoders" [helicopters]. In the afternoon we went to see Great Grandma Mickie at the lake, where the kids had an awesome time playing in the water, throwing rocks, and watching the ducks.

Sunday: On the road again. We spent the morning at Grandma & Grandpa's, playing in the yard. The Tumbleweed enjoyed brushing the cats and picking vegetables, while the Dandelion loved climbing on the tractor and running around the yard. We got on our way around 1:00, but took a detour through the new Wegman's before leaving town.

Monday: Back to "normal", if there really is a normal during the summer. The Tumbleweed had gymnastics in the morning and we headed to a MOMS Club pool party in the afternoon. The kids had a great time in the water and even I didn't mind going in because it was a HOT day.

Tuesday: A day with no plan. Hard to believe, isn't it?!? What did we end up doing? We went to Walmart... not exactly fun, but I did get started on my back-to-school shopping and was motivated to finally organize the kids drawers when I got home. After naptime we went to the farm to pick up our veggies --- and then home to cook some for dinner. Yum.

Wednesday: A "here, there & everywhere" kind of day. We started by heading to the Dandelion's first karate class - only to find out that it was canceled due to lack of enrollment. I wasn't pleased, but they were able to place him in another session later that day. We killed some time by heading blueberry picking and stopping at the scrapbook store. Then it was off to picnic at the park with our MOMS Club friends. We left the park sweaty and covered in sunscreen & sand and still had to head to dance and back for the other karate class. Phew - I think that was a little too much for one day.












Thursday: We headed to gymnastics and then stopped at one of the local farms to pick up veggies for dinner on our way to a friend's house for a playdate. The kids had an absolute blast, eating cupcakes and putting on a talent show. A really fun afternoon. We did some more experimenting with veggie recipes at dinner and I headed to bed at 8:30... boy, I was tired.

Friday: The rain returned just in time for us to head to the town concert series, and while it was great to have a rain location, we were totally drenched going in and coming out. I'll be lucky if my shoes dry by Monday! But the music was great :)

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 5

Week of July 18, 2009

Theme of the week: Back to Basics. This week we spent a lot of time around the house doing projects & playing outside.

Saturday: Project day. I had high hopes for the day, but in the end I started more things than I finished. The kids had lots of fun outside playing in the sprinkler pool & water table. We had an awesome grilled dinner (from the recent Rachael Ray magazine) out on the deck.

Sunday: Another day of projects --- cleaning out my car, weeding the garden, laundry... The Eagle occupied the kids much of the day so I could get things done - the Tumbleweed got to ride her bike at the track while the Dandelion napped. Later they returned the pop bottles to the grocery store and then got to play in the bouncy house to tire them out before bed.

Monday:
A haircut for the Tumbleweed before gymnastics, then grocery shopping. In the afternoon we went to one of the special summer events at the Y --- Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. It was very cute! The Dandelion was back to his old tricks, not wanting to stay in child watch. Looks like we have to start over with that now that he is in the 2 year old room.

Tuesday: Rain. We headed to Pump It Up for their open play - boy is it crowded in the summer! Both kids also got to work on their new summer workbooks, which are a favorite rainy day activity. The Tumbleweed particularly enjoys workbook time and the Dandelion doesn't want to be left out, so I got him one too!

Wednesday: Movie Time, Take #2. We did much better this time, but it still wasn't easy. Dance class also went better. That is, the Dandelion did much better in the waiting room. I finally got a good picture!

Thursday: Crazy beyond crazy day! We went to an open house at a new place that the Dandelion could go to "school" at in the fall (they have a toddler drop off program to help bridge to preschool). Then gymnastics & home for lunch & packing, then off to the Farmer's Market with the MOMS Club. Then we hit the road for a trip to Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Friday: Around Honeoye Falls. I took the kids to some of the places I went as a kid - the Mendon Public Library & Dipper Dan's (we attempted the playground, but it started to pour). We also went to visit both Grandma & Grandpa's work.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 4

Week of July 11, 2009

Theme of the Week: Now we're cookin'! This week the weather was finally drier and there were lots of fun activities with friends.

Saturday: It was a beautiful day at Story Land - the sun was shining & the temperatures were warm enough to get wet but not unbearable if you didn't. The Dandelion was able to enjoy the park a lot more this year and loved riding the rides, especially driving the tractors. The Tumbleweed rode all of the "big kid" rides and gave all but the Twirling Turtles a thumbs up.


Sunday: Another gorgeous day for our final day in New Hampshire. We spent the day at Attitash. The Eagle took the Tumbleweed on the Alpine Slide and the "Sidewinder" Tube Waterslide, and she could have bounced forever on the Euro-Bungy trampolines! Both kids played in Buddy Bear's Playpool absolutely loving the slide. It was tough to leave!

Monday: It is always tough to return to reality after vacation, but we were up and at it for a playground playdate & gymnastics.

Tuesday: The Tumbleweed was really looking forward to today's "Fancy Nancy's Frilly Fun Playgroup". The girls had a great time & I had fun preparing themed food & activities.

Wednesday: Another morning at the playground with friends. The kids are getting better at knowing their boundaries at the playground, and today was slightly less stressful than usual. The afternoon was interesting as I attempted to get the Dandelion to nap during dance class, but failed & he fell asleep on the way home.

Thursday: 3D Sidewalk Chalk & riding scooters were a fun way to spend the morning at home, before heading out for gymnastics & grocery shopping to pick up some ingredients for some new recipes to use up our CSA share.

Friday: Blueberry Picking - finally! We had been rescheduling our first trip to Tougas for blueberries due to delayed berries and both kids were eager to go picking as they both love blueberries. I was surprised that neither of them ate very many blueberries in the field --- in the end we picked 10lb of berries for eating, baking, freezing & making jam.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 3

Week of July 4, 2009

Theme of the week: Back on track! After two "unscheduled" weeks, we are finally back to having scheduled activities - something the kids and I are both more comfortable with.

Saturday: The 4th of July. We had a great holiday - with a road race for the whole family in the morning, and an afternoon at Nana & Papa's house. The kids had lots of fun playing outside at Nana & Papa's since the weather was finally decent!


Sunday: The Tour de France was underway, and we enjoyed a quiet morning getting chores done and watching stage 2. The kids and I did a little strawberry picking on the final day of the season at Silvermine. And for dinner we headed to a friend's house for a BBQ.

Monday: The start of a busy week!!!! The first day of soccer camp meant that we were up & out of the house at 8:30. The Tumbleweed took a little time to get into the spirit of things, but once she did, she was tearing up the field. Afterward, the Tumbleweed had her first day of summer gymnastics. I was concerned that she might be too tired to do both (we already had soccer camp on the schedule when we got the gymnastics schedule), but she actually handled it quite well. The Dandelion was not a fan, though that wasn't really a surprise.

Tuesday: Safari Day at soccer camp... The Tumbleweed was totally into the it, wearing my new Tilley hat most of the morning. The Dandelion handled watching a little better today, fortunately today he didn't have to sit through 2 activities. The afternoon left us without power for a little while while a storm rolled through - the Tumbleweed and I spent the afternoon doing puzzles and getting all the pieces back into the right boxes.

Wednesday: My Terrible-Horrible-No-Good-Very-Bad Day. While we got a late start, I thought I had recovered getting everyone to soccer on time. The Eagle came to watch, which the Tumbleweed loved, and so did the Dandelion because Daddy let get out of the stroller a play. We headed straight from soccer to the free movie - Madagascar 2 - at the theater. Things went downhill from there... "Mommy I want more food", hiding behind the seats because it is too scary and at the end the Dandelion had been sitting in wet squishey gummy snacks. We headed home. No need for details, but the rest of the day wasn't much better. I went to be early.

Thursday: The last day of soccer camp, followed by gymnastics, the a trip to the grocery store. The kids did pretty well at the grocery store --- and they were even handing out samples of hot dogs - Free lunch! When we got home, the Eagle had found an awesome special surprise for Friday and we were excited to get packing for our trip. After dinner, I headed to MOMS Night Out for some fancy s'mores and conversations by the lake.

Friday: We packed up and hit the road early to arrive in North Conway for the special surprise... A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine. The kids got a huge kick out of the whole experience. The it was off to the hotel to get some rest for the rest of the big weekend!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 2

Week of June 27, 2009

Theme of the week: Do as much as you can on the sunny days, because you never know when you'll have another one!

Saturday: We celebrated the Dandelion's birthday with a little family party & a homemade Cars cake.


Sunday: The kids & I marched in the Millbury Independence Day Parade with the MOMS Club. Then I went off to my scrapbook club, while the kids helped Grandpa with a "project".


Monday: Grandma & Grandpa said goodbye and headed for home, while I spent my day doing my final reports as MOMS Club president. We ended up staying home all day --- and lived to tell!

Tuesday: The kids had dentist appointments first thing, then we met the MOMS Club at Davis Farmland. It was our first trip to Davis. I entered the park with no map & no plan, and it all worked out OK! LOL...this was vary stressful for me at first, but we managed just fine. The kids had a blast & we stayed until 3:30.

The kids & I on the hayride

The Tumbleweed earned a pony ride

The Dandelion loved "dwiving" the "Twakter"

Wednesday: The rain returned and we ad no official plans for the day, but the kids & I made do. We went to a local nursery where they have a special green house with butterflies. The Tumbleweed & I were able to find butterflies, as well as chrysalis and caterpillars.


Thursday: More rain - and we were stuck at home all morning while the my cracked windshield was replaced. We spent the afternoon at the scrapbook store planning my next two classes :)

Friday: The sun was out! We headed out to walking group and then the playground. From the playground we took a detour to pick cherries at a local farm, since it was probably the only day they were going to let people pick this season. One the way home we stopped and had ice cream (for lunch). And since it was my birthday, we went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and had cookie cake when we got home (my favorite!) A crazy & fun day!


--

Next week we are finally on more of a schedule with several of the kids' activities starting, but there is still a lot of unplanned time as well.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 1

And so it begins.... we are now officially on Summer Vacation. I am going to attempt to keep track of the things we did this summer with a weekly update post. Here is the first one...


Week of June 20, 2009

Theme of the Week: Surviving a rainy week without school & our "regularly scheduled activities"!

Saturday: Mike raced in the Patriot Half-Iron Triathlon and finished in under 5 hours! The kids & were able to watch a little from the bike course and then find seats for the finish.


Sunday: We spent Father's Day visiting with Papa who had just returned from his trip to Kuwait.

Monday: Little Reader's "Harold & the Purple Crayon" Playgroup


Tuesday: I changed my name. Yes, it took 5 years for me to actually make it to the SSA office and make my married name official. oops. Now I can renew my driver's license. Phew.

Wednesday: In honor of the Dandelion turning 2, we had a Pancake Picnic with our MOMS Club friends.

Thursday: After 4 days of rain, the weather was finally decent, so it was off to meet friends at the park. Later we opened up the water table for the first time this year.


Friday: Grandma & Grandpa were in town & took the Tumbleweed for a day at Mystic Seaport. The Dandelion and I went to storytime at Purgatory Chasm, and then did the grocery shopping. Later in the day, the Eagle returned from is business trip and my sister arrived for the weekend.


... bring on the weekend!