Saturday, August 11, 2012

Chestnut Ridge Park and the Life of an Eighteen Month Old

 Somebody insisted on carrying a fishing pole and a tackle box to the lake all by himself.
First test of the water.
 Getting a little braver.
3 year old enjoyment of the water.  :)
 5 year old working on new tricks and abilities.
7 year old running, splashing towards Elijah.
 Elijah's delighted smile as Calvin runs towards him.
9 year old swimming in the deeper end of the swimming area. 

Taking a break to eat a peach.
 But rapidly returning to the water.  :)
He is saying, "Splash! Splash!" and hitting the water with his hands.
 13 year old enjoyment of the water means mostly fishing. 
Certainly his idea of a good time.
 11 year old's idea of a good time.  He and Sam both got in the water briefly, but stayed busy doing other things most of the time.  Will's default activity is always reading.
We spent a few minutes on the swings.
 These are all "new" delights for him.  It's always so much fun to watch.  Everything is so exciting and delightful when you are 1 1/2 years old.
Afternoon finished off by a Taco Salad picnic dinner.  A very nice family time.  

Now that I told you about how much school we've been doing, I can tell you about the break from school we've been taking the last three weeks.  We have been enjoying a very refreshing hiatus from all school work and have been able to spend our time other ways, including coming out to Chestnut Ridge Park.  We've been doing projects around the house and some cleaning.  We've gone on a couple of outings and watched some fun movies.  SO NICE!  We'll probably keep this up for a bit longer and then ease back into school for the fall.  So that's what's new with us....

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sam's Birthday Celebration

With his chosen birthday dinner of roast, mashed potatoes and cheese biscuits.
New lures from Benjamin and Calvin.
A flashlight from William.
A couple of fishing magazines.
Jerky from Millie and Cecily.
And a card from our home's best card-maker. 
Sam wanted to take a picture of his new fishing lures.  He was very happy about them.
Brownie ice cream sundaes for dessert.
A very happy birthday boy.  :)  Sam also got a scale to weigh his fish, a nice sketchpad for his drawings, and his main gift from my parents and Peter and I:  an airline ticket to fly on his own to Oregon to visit Grammy and Papa.  He gets to go at the end of August and stay over Labor Day.  It will be so strange to have him gone, but we know it will be a great opportunity for him in so many ways.   Growing up!