Goodbye to the Goats

This summer we spent alot of time at the park not far from our house that has goats. We'd pack a bag of corn and ride bikes or walk over for a visit. But summer is over and the goats are headed for their cozy barn on the farm.

Cecelia used to stick her arm through the fence to feed the goats. I was afraid the goats were going to break it off in their feeding frenzy. We managed to modify her technique before she lost a limb.

This gate helps too.

We are looking forward to seeing them back next summer.

First Day of School

It was a little wet at first but it was still a great first day of school.

Lydia is in second grade this year. She was greeted at the door to her classroom with cheers of "Lydia's Here!" How great was that?

Claire is in kindergarten.

Don't blink. Just like that......

A year flies by and they change so much!

Class of 2023

Marshmallows as Big as Your Head

Have you seen the jumbo marshmallows?

The girls give them a thumbs up.

Annual Canoe Trip

We went canoeing with Scott's cousins again this year. We always look forward to it. This year, Cecelia got to go along too. It started out a little rocky when she decided that there was no way she was going to wear a life preserver. She was pretty unhappy when I wrestled her into it but once we were on the water she was fantastic.

First stop at a sand bar about 5 minutes after starting. We need to check out the snacks and get wet. I didn't realize how few family pictures we have until I had to find one for day care and kindergarten. It's usually just the kids.

It looks like a bit of a drop off there. The river is actually pretty shallow. We had to get out and walk a couple of times.

Lydia was disappointed that we weren't greeted by newly hatched snapping turtles like last year. In her opinion, floating along in the canoe was ok. Stopping at sandbars was the best part. They could run and play in the water and sand with all of the other kids.

Cecelia looks like she is lost on a deserted island. She didn't follow the other kids into the water but she was pretty happy to walk around in the sand.

The sand was the perfect place to warm up after being in the water. This is our cousin Callie.

Cecelia got her toes wet and threw some wet sand around when we stopped for lunch.

There was 8 adults and 11 kids this year. Here's 10 of the kids in the closest thing to a group shot I have.

Dominic's turn to be buried. He didn't want to be the only boy on the trip so he brought a friend. Lots of girls in this family tree.

Clams anyone?

Happy girl.

Cecelia had such a great day.

Claire, Callie, Sammy, and Lydia in the hole the kids dug. The picture doesn't do justice to how deep it was.

Cecelia fell asleep 30 seconds before the landing. After all that fresh air, we were ready to join her. We can't wait until next year!

Frog Cupcakes

I had a Martha Stewart moment. With the help of some excellent assistants, I made frog cupcakes for my department's family picnic. I thought the eyeballs would fall off on the drive there but they made it.

Doesn't Cecelia look proud? She helped too by sitting in her high chair for about an hour while we assembled them.

Guess what the girls want for their birthday treats next time?

Summer School

Lydia and Claire both went to summer school this year. Claire went to the Camp Kindergarten progam which introduces incoming kinderbeaners to the layout of the school and the school routine with a bunch of fun activities and art projects.


A preview of what the first day of school is going to look like.

Cecelia though it looked like an interesting place and she wanted to stay too.

Our neighbor, Audrey, was in her class. They have been inseperable this summer. It turned out that Audrey and Claire are in the same Kindergarten class too. It certainly made them both feel more comfortable.

Lydia signed up for Girls Read, a girls book club. It was her favorite class which is no surprise, she is a bookworm. Her next class was my favorite. It was Build a Bridge. It talked about different types of bridges, introduced vocabulary like arch bridge, pier, abuttments, technology, engineer, etc. and they designed and stress tested paper bridges with coins to see which bridge type is the strongest. Lydia liked it and I can tell she has retained alot from the comments she makes when we go over bridges. Scott introduced her to the idea that bridges are used in buildings like in doorways and the beams in the basement. That really got her thinking. Her last class was an art class.

Busy July

July is the best month! We start with the 4th of July, Lydia's birthday, the small town fair, the county fair, our town festival. So much fun. Unfortunately, very few pictures. We managed to misplace the camera for awhile.


Our secret to the small town fair is to go early. We can see all the animals, quilts, 4-H projects and it isn't hot or crowded.

Mooo!

Cecelia still loves the backpack carrier so she was quite comfortable and in no danger of stepping in poo. No flip flops allowed - family rule.


The next weekend was the county fair. The secret to that one is to go late. The crowds have been lured to the midway by the glitzy lights. We arrived around 7pm and checked out all of the llamas, sheep, goats, cows, horses, rabbits, chickens, etc. We skip the pigs - too stinky. The 4-H kids are so happy to show off their animals and let us touch them. We learn alot.

Then comes our favorite part, we go in the expo hall. It's air conditioned - ahhh - and has a kids section that is cleared out by about 8:30. It is open until 10. We spent a solid 2 hours with the place to ourselves holding baby ducks, chicks, and bunnies to our hearts content. We love that place. I took pictures on my phone but I have no idea how to get them off.


The next weekend is our town festival.

Friday night is fireworks.

Saturday morning bright and early, we water the runners. Both the 3 mile and 10 mile race go right by our house and we make it an event. We've got the music on and the neighbor kids dancing on the front steps (wish I had my camera). We ran out of cups in the first race (320 cups gone in about 10 minutes, we were scrambling to keep up!) and had to improvise. When the second race came by about 10 minutes later, Lydia held the hose with a sprinkler nozzle for them to run through while the rest of the kids cheered and gave high fives. The runners were really excited about the sprinkler and acted like it was a 2 second piece of heaven. Next year we are going to have about 800 cups AND the sprinkler. I can see this becoming pretty elaborate as the years go on.

Sunday is the parade giving us a solid candy supply until Halloween.

I actually took the kids to the carnival this year. They were so good about not riding the rides at the other fairs it was time for a reward. We waited until Cecelia was down for a nap and left her with Dad. Lydia, Claire and I rode our bikes over to the carnival. They had a great time. Claire really liked the kid roller coaster that looks like a dragon. Lydia loved the Scrambler.