Kickoff to Summer

Summertime has arrived. It's like a breath of fresh air - but don't breathe too deep. You'll choke on the fog of pollen. Memorial Day Weekend as as festive and low-key as it's meant to be. We went to the Cape (surprise, surprise) and joined Grandma, Pep, Auntie Kris and the puppies. Talk about a full house.

I found a church festival on Saturday that was advertised as free. You'd think that they'd at least ask for a donation - but nope. Everything was competely free. Maybe I'll convert.

Half a dozen bounce houses, hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, cotton candy, raffles, face painting, obstacle courses...all free. How awesome is that? A photo of Sadie's first foray into cotton candy. Deliciously sticky. She said it tasted like pink marshmallows.

Sunday we spent the afternoon making our way to Harwich so that Alex could have Sadie live the dream of the Cape trampolines. Ten minutes of pure delight for five bucks. Sadie heavily studied the older kids and their moves. She couldn't quite do the land on your butt and bounce back to your feet - but she loved giving it a try. Afterward, we meandered down 28 to Chatham to walk the beach and see the lighthouse (or as Sadie kept calling it - the lightmoon).

Monday was a perfect day for a walk in the woods. Over the winter, also when Kristin was visiting, we took the dogs to Lowell Holly Reservation on the Sandwich/Mashpee line. It's an awesome place with cool trails and large ponds for either people swimming (in marked off areas) and dog swimming. We explored different trails this time around, found a new pond and let the kid and dogs run wild.

I love having Kristin spend time with Sadie so that they get to know each other. They cozied up on the deck for a reading of 'Walter the Farting Dog' - Rooster really wanted to know how the story panned out too.

Curriculum

Somehow on our trip to Florida I lost the cord to charge the battery in the camera. I swear that it never left my suitcase pocket, but alas, it's mysteriously missing....and the camera has been dead for a month. I've been wanting to buy a new camera, so this is my chance. It's my mission for after work today, so I can capture the wonderful Memorial Day memories we have on tap.

Instead, I received the monthly newsletter from Sadie's preschool 1 class. Here's some insight on what the kiddos are learning about:

The children have been very involved in learning about insects!  We have been busy learning about the life cycle of butterflies and identifying various insects on the playground.  We have dressed up as butterflies and ladybugs, and we have learned some songs about butterflies and bumblebees.  We are wrapping up our unit on insects Friday with a special snack of “dirt and worms”.

Many of our children have expressed an interest in the construction at town hall, and have demonstrated this interest through play in the classroom.   Based on this interest, we are beginning a new unit on Construction after the long weekend.  We will explore various tools and experiment building with assorted materials.

The Sunshine State

Alex and Sadie met up with me on the tail end of a work event in Marco Island - a beautiful spot just south of Naples, Florida. Not only was I able to use my United points for their flights but the very expensive resort was discounted to our staff rate from the event. Talk about a bargain, how could we pass it up? Finally, my non-stop travel was paying off!

Sadie had been gearing up for weeks, deadset on seeing a shark while we were there. Alex and I actually saw dolphins a few times off the coast. Sadie didn't see them, but claimed to have seen a whale's tail to keep up with the joneses.

The duo rolled in on Tuesday afternoon, and hit up the pool immediately, while I still had work stuff going on. Then we had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday devoted to family time.

We were on island time. The big decision was beach or pool. And if in the pool - which one. All day long we bopped back and forth. By the end of day one I was completely sunburned (oops for falling asleep on the beach and not reapplying sunscreen). My boss Deb stayed for a few days too, so we camped under a rented chickee hut on the beach. I always thought those were lame, I mean what's the point of staying in the shade - but it was a life saver for two days.

Sadie napped in the hammock. Collected seashells - some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Shared virgin pina coladas. The highlight of the trip was the waterslide at the kids pool. Sadie was just at the "tall enough" line and marched her way up the stairs. From that point on it was non-stop. And she was the tiniest one by a good foot to go for it.

She was so proud to be tall enough, she'd show anyone who'd pay attention. And she was quite the saleslady - trying to convince the other kids how cool the slide was. She's so much like Alex in that way. I like to mind my own business when it comes to strangers. Those two will strike up a conversation with a cardboard box. 

 

Evenings were amazing. A warm breeze, nice dinner and a walk on the beach. Two nights in a row there was a corporate function below our room with live music. Sadie loved to have pajama dance parties on the patio before we all cuddled in the king sized bed and drifted off to sleep.