Patio Prats

Sometimes after dinner the A-team has lots of energy still to burn before they go to bed.  On nights like these, we head out to the patio where a watering can provides all of the excitement one could want.

Tailgating Party

After our trip to Joppa Flats it was time for lunch.  The weather looked iffy so we decided to have an old-fashioned tailgate party in the back of our minivan.  What a versatile car this is!

Joppa Flats

We visited another Mass Audubon park, Joppa Flats.  Wasn't too much to see there, but the citizens made the most of it (as they always do).

Then we went inside and found a sand table filled with sea shells.  For the first time in a while, Adam didn't mind going inside to play.

Just a Spritz, please

Was a little warmer recently, so Ashley and Adam tried to cool down quickly:

Homeschooling, Lesson #10

Today's lesson:  farming.

I hope you're sitting in a comfortable chair.  It's a long-ish lesson, but held the citizens' attention for most of the time.

Watermelon, watermelon

Watermelon, watermelon
See how it drips, see how it drips
Up and down your elbows, up and down your elbows
Spit out the pits! Spit out the pits!

Up and down my elbows? 

Not these two.  It's more like down their shirts.  Check it out:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Couch Climbing

The A-team climbs with amazing speed!

Ice Cream!

Ashley seems to be developing a sweet tooth:

Mop Top Maven

Thank you Aunt Melanie!  Ashley prefers to wear all of your barrettes at once.  Honestly.  She keeps handing them to me, demanding I put them in her hair.

Luckily for Ashley she's got more than enough hair to hold them all at once.

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day!  This morning MLD diapered and dressed the babies while I prepared a bagels and lox breakfast.  MLD cleaned up and then helped get the kids ready for a grocery shopping trip.  Actually, he offered to take the babies and the list and go without me, but since it was raining outside I thought he was verging on craziness for even thinking of pulling it off;  so off we went.

By the time we got home and the babies went down for a nap, MLD set to work on his real Mother's Day gift to me.  You see, our strawberries are lookin' mighty fine:

And we'd like to eat them.  Not feed the squirrels, birds and other random wildlife.  So while some mothers may be treated to a day at the spa, a fancy dinner, a new washing machine or flowers and chocolates, I was treated to a custom-made wildlife cage (which is not as racy as it sounds, I promise).

Apparently it was a breeze to assemble:

And then we dropped it into place:

Can't wait to see if this actually works.  If it does, we'll have more strawberries than we know what to do with!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Homeschooling, Lesson #9

For today's lesson we learned a little bit about Chinese culture.  Adam and Ashley bravely accompanied us to a local restaurant to try dim sum.  Wasn't exactly a culinary success, but they did both show an aptitude for learning new skills:

Home Improvement trip

The citizens recently offered to help out around the house so we thought it prudent to introduce them to our local home improvement warehouse.  They seemed to enjoy the trip.

Coffee Klatch

It's never too early to introduce Adam and Ashley to the finer points of a coffee klatch.  To keep their interest in munching MLM gave them trail mix:  cheerios, raisins, peanuts, and.... a few chocolate chips.  Certainly kept Ashley occupied:

Then we taught the citizens how to toast:

New Shoes?

Hahaha!  Look at Ashley!

These shoes are not as cute as mine.  Sigh.

Portsmouth, N.H.

We went to Portsmouth, N.H. this weekend with Karla.  We also visited Prescott Park where these photos were taken.  Beautiful weather, beautiful day.

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

We visited another Mass Audubon sanctuary this week -- spot a trend?  They were having a membership drive so we decided to join.  One of these days we'll take photos of Drumlin Farm too...  but I digress.  Packed up another picnic lunch and headed for this lovely spot in Natick.  We didn't see too many birds, but we did spot lots of turtles.  First we hiked with the kids in our packs:

This time Ashley and Adam did some hiking of their own:

It's more fun to watch the hiking videos:

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

To celebrate the start of spring, Karla and I packed up the kids and went to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, run by Mass Audubon.  First we went on a Great Stone Hunt: 

Do you see any cool stones Ashley?  To really get our hands dirty? -- Adam

Let me look over here to see if there's something better. -- Ashley

I found one!

Seeing fruit in their lunchboxes, Adam and Ashley took some time to eat.

We finished off the afternoon with a little bit of rock climbing.