Pre-School Camp

Enough about big kid camp, alright? Time to focus on Tate's summer exploits.  Every day they have something new planned to keep them entertained (and educated).

No surprise that Tate has been sleeping extremely well lately. 

daily water play

out for a drive

Pretend pony ride

Tumblebus balance beam

Tumblebus group photo

Gone Fishin'

One of the A-team's favorite camp activities is fishing.  Here are our two fishing champs in action.  Check out Adam's second catch!!!  You'll see why he needed help holding it for the photo.  It's half of his size!

Minutemen Bicyclists

The kids love going for a ride with Daddy. They hop on the Minuteman bike trail and head to the Alewife T station.  From there, it's a quick subway ride to Davis Sq... and ice cream!

Here are some photos at the pickup location:

Nimble Nipmucs

Ashley is a member of the Nipmuc tribe this year.  This was a new tribe name to me, so I looked it up.  To save you time, here's some information about the Nipmuc tribe.  They're locals!

Here they are, the nimble Nipmucs smiling for photos Weeks 1 - 3.  Ashley is sorta hiding in the first one.  Oh well!

Mohawks on the Move

This year Adam is a member of the Mohawk tribe.  He briefly wanted to shave his hair into a mohawk, but lately he seems to have backed off of the request.  Mostly because it involves a trip to the barbershop, which is pretty low on his list of favorite things to do.

Maybe he'll settle for this mohawk-related memory?

Meanwhile, here are the Mighty Mohawk, week by week:

Fireworks!

This year A+A were old enough to go with Daddy to see the fireworks in Needham.  It rained as they were walking from the car to the park... but the rain stopped in time for the fireworks to begin.

Daddy's Feet

By now you've noticed a trend.  When Tate needs a moment of Zen, he finds something soft to touch and then starts sucking his two fingers.  Most of the time he likes Bluey (a stuffed animal), Mommy's pajamas, Daddy's hat or Mommy's blue winter jacket.

This time however, he surprised all of us.  Seems like the combination of skin and a cold floor was what he really needed:

First Car

Did you know that in 1991, it outsold Honda Accord (399,000 vehicles) and Ford Taurus (299,000)?  Yup.  There were 500,000 Cozy Coupes sold that year. 

OK, OK, the price point is somewhat different, I'll admit that.

But our kids love 'em, including the more recent models:

The crazy sales figures remind me of the Sophie the Giraffe phenomenon in France (and now the US). Did you know that in 2010 there were 796,000 babies born in France... and there were 816,000 Sophies sold that year?

Sandy greetings

Greetings from the sandbox.  Funny thing about kids:  it's so hard to get all of them to look at the camera the same time.

On the Banks of Spy Pond

Laura took Tate on a trip to Spy Pond.  They had so much fun... and they met a surprise visitor!  Our cousin!

The Farmer at One Oak

The Farmer at One Oak has been busy this summer.

Mint and sage are growing out of control (mostly because no one eats them).  It's sort of hard to tell, but they're about chest height.

And this was the haul a few days ago:  currants, cucumbers, a zucchini, tomatoes and raspberries!  I'd like to say that with these skills we'll never go hungry, but it's really more accurate to say that the squirrels and bunnies will never go hungry.  They eat most of it!

Visiting Cousin

We love it when our cousin Brian comes to visit us.  He's so much fun to play with!

Pre-camp Day

We're invited to check out camp the day before it begins to meet our counselors and drop off our gear.

The roving photographer caught Ashley playing basketball: her favorite!

They caught her on the second day of camp too:

Fells Foursome

While Ashley was hanging out at a friend's birthday party at the Fells, we took a short hike on another path.  Alert hikers Adam and Tate spotted an abandoned fountain.  And yes, neither we nor the party-goers were deterred by the on/off rain!

 

Father's Day

Want to have a fun Father's Day?  Visit our NY cousins.  They show everyone a good time!

Moment of Zen

When Tate wants a moment of zen, he finds something soft and snuggly and then plugs in his fingers.  It's so sweet to watch:

More S'mores, please

Happiness is discovering you can make a s'more in the microwave: