Hollerholleroo

Shore and Country

We packed an awful lot into July this year. Most of the kids' camp weeks took place in July. We were trying to get them to CBI as often as we could. And you can't press pause on the berry season no matter how much it would fit better into the schedule some other time! Around all of that, we simply had to find some time to be at the beach because we'd felt as though our normal pre-season enjoyment had been taken by weather and travel. Plus, we knew the greenheads were coming so we wanted to get out and enjoy the surf before they moved onto the beach in droves.

We enjoy the beach more when we're not packed in like sardines AND when we don't have to pay an arm and a leg to park. A couple of years ago we devised our perfect beach plan, which is to arrive just after the parking fee drops by half. Sometimes we pack a picnic and sometimes we just swing by and pick up a pizza on the way. Either way we have the place mostly to ourselves within an hour or two of arrival and after we enjoy ourselves for 4 or 5 hours, we have just enough time to stop for an ice cream before we head home. It works out perfectly every single time!

I love every picture I take at the beach, always. You just can't lose, especially as the sun is setting. My kids look so happy, so beautiful, so relaxed. There's no better way to remind oneself to be thankful than to go to the beach (except, maybe, to hike your way to a mountaintop--that works too, but it's more work) even if you do have to trudge back to the car with all of that... stuff. I worked out a good trick this time. 'But I have to take pictures!! How could I possible carry any of that while I'm snapping pics??' And they are some of my very favorite shots of the day.

Another one of my favorite photogenic spots is, of course, OSV. As if the landscape isn't gorgeous enough, the kids are so darn cute in their costumes. I usually take about 300 shots and then agonize over whittling them down to a manageable number. This year things were a little bit different because Franny is in the Junior Intern program. It was a more difficult to get really gorgeous shots of her. I felt sheepish about showing up at her station and snapping photos and unlike when she was a camper, she didn't move around that much or eat lunch outdoors. I did manage to score that one shot of the two of them together before she left for lunch in the staff room. Neither kid was being terribly cooperative, so I had to be happy with what I got. I was a little sad because it was such a strong reminder that my kids are growing up. I might not have many more years of getting these kinds of photos of them. They are starting to head in different directions--from me and from each other. I'd best remember to enjoy it while it lasts.

Luckily, my boy was just as willing as ever to pose for more than his fair share of shots. He did start to lose patience with me on the last day when I was really feeling the pangs of how different the whole week had been. Normally, lunch on the last day of camp was when I would get the money shots of the two kids together but Franny just wasn't there and I think that was strange for Theo, too. I don't think he cared too much for being under the spotlight all by himself. I think he missed her. I was so glad to see that he didn't affect that older kid embarrasment about the dance, though. He didn't seem at all wary of dancing with the boy who wanted to partner with him, but I guess the days of picking a girl partner are behind us for a while!

Ecosystem and Habitat Dioramas

meerkat den

 

gorilla habitat

african plains

african water hole

northeastern seashore

midwestern prarie

firemen at work

 

We cleaned out one of the toy drawers last week and the kids were inspired by some of the things we found. They took the safari animals and the silks outside and created these dioramas by combining them with found materials from the backyard. They were happily at work for over two hours and then called us out to see their finished product. I decided to snap a few photos to help me remember some of the joys homeschooling brings. (It's easy enough to remember the struggles without pictures!) I was happy that they felt inspired, but even happier that they found something to do together without the neighbors being around! Lately it has become difficult to get them to go outside unless they have friends here. That is such a big difference from when they were younger and would spend hours outside playing together, just the two of them. It was so nice to see that happen again!

A Week in Williamsburg

It would be nice if these pictures could tell the whole story of our trip to Williamsburg over April vacation. There are so many of them, it took me hours to go through and choose the ones that reflected the way we spent our time, the fun we had, the history we immersed ourselves in. When I look at them now I think ‘How did we do so much in one week?’ Because these pictures don’t even show the hours in the pool, the great meals, or much of our last day which we spent in Yorktown. And to think that we thought we might be able to stop in DC on the way home for a National Museum quickie. HA!

Although I normally try to post the photos in chronological order (mostly for my own benefit—to remember the way the trip went) these aren’t exactly right. We actually started our trip at Busch Gardens because at this time of the year they are only open on weekends. We arrived first thing on Sunday morning and stayed until the place was closing. I’m quite sure we eked out every penny of our money’s worth and it turned out to be just a perfect amount of time. Franny was a roller coaster demon and Theo was up for skin-drenching water ride after water ride. It’s funny the way their different personalities shined though at the park, and I have to say I wouldn’t have predicted that they’d like such different things. It worked out just fine though, because Franny was old enough to do any of the rides by herself and Dave was willing to get soaked with Theo over and over again.

The next day we were off to Jamestown. We’d read that it helps to do the triangle in correct historical order, so that’s just what we did. We started at the National Park where the kids planned to earn Junior Ranger badges. We had a fascinating tour of the dig they have going there and we spent some time at the Archaearium, which was equally interesting. We easily could have spent more time there, but we headed to Historic Jamestowne so as to try to stay on our rather tight schedule.

I was less interested at our second stop. They do have interpreters and hands-on things for the kids, but we didn’t have time for a guided tour and I didn’t feel as though the outdoor exhibits were as engaging as some living history museums we’ve been to. The kids didn’t notice and were happy as clams immersing themselves in the native village, the seaport, and the settlement. We’d done a lot of reading to prepare for the trip, so they knew what they were looking at and they jumped right into their imaginative play.

While the outdoor part of the museum may have been a bit of a disappointment to me, the indoor section was not. It seemed to go on and on and had many different films to sit and watch. It was not as interesting to the kids, but I thought it was a perfect ending to our day. 

By Tuesday we were ready to hit Colonial Williamsburg. The kids couldn’t wait! On our last trip we had splurged on new costumes for both kids. This time we made do with what we had and I’d say that worked out just fine. The photos aren’t quite as precious, but the kids still felt as though they were playing a part, and they got plenty of attention from the interpreters and docents for being in costume. We started strong because the weather was most temperate on Tuesday (it became more hot as the week progressed) and we still had lots of energy. Unfortunately for us, Tuesday was pretty crowded at CW and we didn’t know it would lighten up towards the end of the week. We dutifully waited in lines with school kids and senior citizens to get in to houses we would’ve been able to skate through two days later. Lesson learned! The kids didn’t seem to notice, especially by the time the trip was done since we’d had the chance to see everything we wanted to see and revisit those of most interest. Franny especially enjoyed the milliner’s shop, the wig maker’s shop, and Mary Dickinson shop, where we purchased the hat as an early birthday present. Theo soaked up everything the silversmith had to say and couldn’t get enough of the wheelwright, especially now that he is considering that as a future career! We all enjoyed our two visits to Charleton’s Coffee House for the delicious hot chocolate and also watching some of the performances in Revolutionary City. A lot has changed since we visited CW the last time, not least of which our kids. I was glad to see that they still enjoyed themselves, but I will say that our Christmas visit when they were 7 and 3 was pure magic and could not be topped by this recent trip.

After a couple of days at Colonial Williamsburg we had a planned break from all the history immersion. We headed to Go Ape!, a treetop adventure/ropes course. It was just the right speed for our kids, though I was surprised by how differently they approached this, too. Franny whizzed right through after getting her bearings on the first go-round, Theo, who was raring to go until he actually got up there, continued to get more and more stressed out as he approached each new challenge. He hung in there and really pushed though, but you can see on his face that he was disappointed he wasn’t having more fun. Looking back on this and a few rides he attempted at Busch Gardens, I think his trepidation might be a consequence of the 9-year change, as Kristen often points out to me. I think he understands the risks better now than he would have a couple of years ago and simply doesn’t feel comfortable with it. Before he heads in, it all looks great. But once he gets going, he can‘t enjoy himself because he’s thinking about how scary it is. Last summer he’d caught a glimpse of a ropes course in Maine and he’d been begging me to take him ever since. I don’t know. Maybe I missed the ideal developmental window for him. We’ll try again and see how it goes!

We spent so many extra days at Colonial Williamsburg, we only had the morning of our last day to spend in Yorktown. I think it worked out just fine because by that time our brains were a little fried. We watched the film, had a great tour of the battlefield, and visited the museum. The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges and we took a walk out to downtown Yorktown, which was nice to see even if it was totally deserted. On our way back we spotted this reptile and snapped a photo so we could try to identify it when we got home. We’ll have to get out the books this afternoon and see if we can find it.

On our drive home, (I’ll spare you my thoughts on I-95 traffic in Northern VA, but let’s just say I did not think it was possible to beat rush hour in Metro Boston. I was wrong!) we stopped to pick up lunch boxes at Sally Ann’s in Richmond. What a find!! I’m not a fan of potato salad, but the little container they included with my ham sandwich was just perfect and totally hit the spot. The whole thing was like a trip back in a time machine. It really made the rest of the drive bearable knowing that we had a couple leftover cupcakes for when the going got rough.

It was quite a trip and even though there were some hairy moments (particularly trying to get the kids to go. to. sleep. in the same bed. I think those golden days are over.) I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It just takes a little bit of time and perspective to really appreciate these trips we take but I never, ever regret them. Sometimes it can feel like a White Mountain slog to get going on the planning and executing, and I’m the first one to complain about all the work I’ll have to do to be everyone’s Julie, but I’m going to just have to try to remember that we wouldn’t be us without these trips. I like who we are, so I guess I’ll have to stick with it!

March Madness

In like a lion, out like a lamb! I guess that is sort of how it happened, but with a lot of ups and downs along the way. We started the month off with pretty cold weather and snow cover and then got hit with a rather large storm. Then, by mid-month that snow was gone--not a trace of it left. Two days later--another storm. Just to keep things interesting, I guess. As we near the end of the month, we are experiencing true spring-like weather, just in time for a crazy early Easter.

We've had a potpourri of experiences this month to go along with the variety of weather. When we first returned home from New York, the kids were spending every day singing and acting out The Lion King. These puppets (made out of kitchen stools) were some of the props they used for their own staging of the show.

Then they had a chance to dress up a snow-woman after the big storm. She didn't last long, but they had fun building her! She was their first and only snowman of the season.

We had to give Pi day its due. Dave, Franny and Theo each wanted to make their own pie! We had chocolate cream, lemon custard, and cherry. All three were delicious! No celebration of Pi day is complete without pie!

After Franny's week at Hulbert, our final event of the month was Revels Spring Sing starring none other than Franny and Theo. They started off the show as Teaser and 'Obby 'Oss and then took up roles in the Pace-Egging play as Old Bet and Lord Nelson. Along with the other adorable kids in the show, they did a great job singing and dancing and pace-egging for our enjoyment. It was a very nice way to bring in the spring, which did finally arrive shortly thereafter.

Tomorrow we may have a visit from a certain bunny. There may be eggs to find. We will most certainly be enjoying the traditional hot cross buns for breakfast. It's been quite a month, packed full of much to see and do. I can't wait to see what April has in store for us.

February in NYC

We’ve been trying to get back to NYC since… well, since the last time we were there! I thought it might be a bit risky going in February, but that’s when we had the free time, so we went for it! We had been wanting to bring Theo to see The Lion King for many years. We brought Franny to see it when she was 2.5, so we also thought this would be a good refresher for her. We had tickets for a Saturday matinee and the plan was to leave NY right after the show. In a sense, the show was the finale to our trip and it did. not. disappoint. The kids LOVED it and we have not heard any other music out of their mouths since then. They spent the next week acting out the show, singing the songs, building their own puppets out of kitchen chairs, pillows, blankets and masks. They plan to stage a full-scale production but, as usual, their plans are bigger than any of their budgets will allow.

We spent the days leading up to the big show enjoying the museums uptown and the neighborhood around our hotel. We spent a great, long day at AMNH and took in the Global Kitchen exhibit, which we enjoyed very much. We made sure to hit the gems and minerals, the dinosaurs, and the dioramas before each kid chose his/her own exhibit to see with Dave and me. We ended our loooooooong day with a convenient stop at Shake Shack (the first of two) before we stumbled just two more blocks to our hotel, crashing for the night. 

Next day, we ambled our way downtown to the main library building to take a look at Christopher Robin’s friends on exhibit in the Children’s Room. While the kids were very happy to see Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Kanga, they were even more happy to be surrounded by books and comfy chairs in which to curl up and rest. After the library, we headed over to the market at Grand Central to pick up provisions for lunch. We decided to walk back to the library benches to eat and came across Library Way, a series of markers on the sidewalk with quotes from beloved authors about reading and books. We spent a good, long time stopping and taking turns reading each one aloud. It was one of those moments when you just know you have to slow down and not worry about which site might be closing, or how cold you are, or when you might be able to finally sit down and eat for the first time in hours. I have no regrets!

Other highlights include a walk across the park to The Met for a quick visit on Saturday morning, a late night (for us) trip to the NY Historical Society Museum, where the kids had a great time enjoying the children’s exhibits, and a couple of great meals on the UWS. We loved our hotel and managed to get around solely on foot and subway. The weather held out for the most part (I’ll just work hard remember it that way!) and we managed to fit in almost everything we planned to do! Who can ask for more than that?

Stop-Motion Cinderella

 

We'd wanted to introduce the kids to stop-motion movie making for a while. We'd thought they'd get into doing it with Legos, as they have plenty of them lying around. But when Dave explained the idea to them, they immediately thought of this magnetic puppet theater that we purchased in Prague last year. They love playing with it, but it does get a bit stale after one or two runs through. This was a perfect foray into movie making and they had a lot of fun with it! As the basis for the story, they used an old Golden Book Cinderella that I had from my childhood. They had to edit it down quite a bit because they didn't have enough film to match the book completely. I thought that made for a wonderful exercise in editing, which, had it been in writing, they would have agonized over.

With Dave they created the title page and they added music from the Julie Andrews version of Cinderella. They created the film in iMovie. When they were done, they had so many ideas for another film. All of their ideas were very ambitious and I was worried we would not have time to leave the house for the next three months! As a compromise, they started a smaller project around a mushroom growing kit that we broke out of the package last week. Every morning they alternate turns taking a picture of the growing mushroom. Later we'll put it together and see how fast they grew!

A Medieval Halloween

 

Franny and Theo were inspired by our recent medieval studies (inspired in turn by our spring trip to Europe)) when choosing their Halloween costumes this year. Franny is Eleanor of Aquitaine and Theo is a gallant knight. We’d read many stories about knight training but our favorite was definitely A Door in the Wall, so I thought of him as young Robin, even though he didn’t specify. Our kids are used to people not knowing who they are trying to depict at Halloween and it’s become a bit of a game to them, I think. This year, people were so stumped they didn’t even try to guess! When Franny mentioned her choice to friends (homeschoolers, no less!) nobody knew who she was talking about.  Oh well. We don’t know who those kids with the Target purchased costumes are trying to be either!

We had another pretty mild night this year but it was very quiet in our neighborhood. That suited me just fine. The candy was all given away and we were in by 8:00 pm. I really couldn’t have asked for a better night with my family. Now if we could just find a good way of getting rid of all of this candy it would be truly perfect!

Celebrating Our Patriots

We are lucky to live so close to so many important historical places. When I was young, every April I took part in the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington Green at 5:45 in the morning on Patriot's Day. It was a wonderful experience and it sparked a love of American history. I feel so lucky to be able to experience these same historical moments with my kids in such a life-like and immediate way.

We have gone to the North Bridge and watched the reenactment there. We watched an amazing reenactment along the Battle Road, including the gruesome scene at the Bloody Angle. This year we were in the mood for something different--still exciting, but less violent. We were almost finished reading aloud one of my favorite books from childhood, Johnny Tremain, and since Paul Revere plays an important role in that book, we decided to retrace his famous ride and learn more about what happened the night before the infamous 'shot heard round the world.'

We started where Revere started--in the North End. There were some short speeches followed by a Revere interpreter from the Lancers mounting his horse. Without delay, he took off towards Charlestown to warn the people of Boston the the British would be heading off towards Lexington by sea. We caught up with him in Somerville, where he kindly posed for a quick picture! 

We then decided to hear a little more about that lesser known rider who followed a different route and met up with Revere in Menotomy (Arlington). William Dawes would be making a stop on Cambridge Common and we arrived just in time to hear him speak and see him take off again down Mass Ave. In Arlington we had the pleasure of hearing both Revere and Dawes speak. Dawes recited a poem about his name being virtually unknown in the history books and soon enough they were both off, headed to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the regulars would be coming to arrest them.

We knew Lexington would be crowded because, in addition to all the historical events, there is a big Patriot's Day Parade. So we found a parking space close to the bike path and hopped on our bikes. We rode over to the Hancock-Clarke house and had a tour. We saw the very room where Hancock and Adams were sitting when Revere arrived to warn them!

We ended our day by finding a spot in the shade to watch the parade and enjoy a slushie. It was a beautiful day--like summer--and I felt so lucky to have the freedom to make the choices that we have made in our lives. I don't think you can beat seeing history unfold before your eyes the way we did. It's like having a front row seat to the birth of our nation. It's much better than a textbook or some underprepared teacher trying to get his point across to a room full of disinterested students. It might be hard work, but at the end of the day, I'm always glad I did it.

A Perfect Day!

We had a stretch of unusually warm, summer-like weather a couple of weeks back. It was the kind of weather that is just so beautiful, you can't spend too much time worrying about why it's so warm and you just have to enjoy it. We had a rare free day, so we seized it and went to the beach. We thought we'd be alone there, but we were wrong. Turns out all kinds of people can manage to find time for the beach on a sunny 80 degree day in mid-March. Who knew?

We were a little more prepared than we usually are. We managed to remember the kites and the frisbee along with our usual sand toys. The wind was just right for easy kite lift-off and the kids spent hours digging in the sand and playing at the water's edge. At one point they took a looooooooong walk down the beach until they were so tiny I couldn't even see them anymore. There they imagined the beach was their house and they found a place that would be their bath and their bedroom and everything else they would need to live there in the style of The Boxcar Children. Sounds pretty good to me!

It was such a beautiful day, I didn't want it to end. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to live near the ocean; to have a lifestyle that affords us the flexibilty to pick up and go. I don't ever want to take that for granted. 

Reveling

I'm not sure if I can express just how much the Revels experience has meant to us. To say that we all loved every minute of it would be an understatement. The kids inhaled every bit of it. They lived on Revels fumes for the whole month of December. We all soaked up the magic and talent and energy of every one involved. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I made sure I reminded myself of that over and over. I tried to appreciate every little moment, even when the schedule became a little hectic. It was easy to remember how lucky we were to be there.

We knew there would be a bit of a let down after the close of the show. Here we are two days in and I'd say we're doing just fine. I think a long relaxing drive out to our favorite country bakery for pain chocolat and a big, steaming mocha latte had a lot to do with it. The chance to walk at a new to us Trustees property was the perfect way to decompress slowly and easily. We're all enjoying the chance to find our own groove while the memories of such an amazing season are still fresh in our minds.

There was a fair bit of talk about when kids might be able to audition again for what has become their favorite show ever. I'm not sure I could muster up the fortitude to do it again next year. I know each of them will find a way to stay active with Revels. They've been bitten by the bug! I hear many songs in my future.