Started the day with Dunkin Donuts. It gives me an excuse to get iced coffee, plus they love it.
Then we went to Bruce Park playground. Funny today because Kate saw a preschool friend, leaving Jack feeling left out. I say funny because it is almost always the other way, with Kate forlornly chasing jack and some friend around. Jack, however, was a good sport, at one point pushing both girls on swings. He is a great big brother.
Both of them climbed things I didn't know they could climb. Kate climbed a rope tower thing that I was impressed when jack climbed. At 6. She then yelled for her friend to see her. "Look how high I am! Look, Georgia!"
Lunch, library (where Jack took out eight books), playing in the yard. Kate also did her summer workbook and asked if she could take the trophy stickers "because I did so well." I said sure.
I also saw her read a sentence she hadn't seen before (so I knew it wasn't something she had memorized). She is getting there.
Near the end of the day she played with her dollies, "because it was on my list of summer things to do."
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Summer vacation, day 1
Summer is here, and the living is easy. Except for the kids being home all the time and this being the one week where we had no definite camp or travel plans. Emily was home yesterday, but we were still recovering from camping and basically moved in slow motion. Today Emily went back to work and summer began.
Decided to open with the Aquarium. It was on the list (yup, I had them make summer activity lists) and I had heard there was a new tank where you could touch a shark, so I dragged them along.
We had been there a few times before (we were actually members one year), but I'd don't think it had ever been this good. An albino alligator! That actually moved and swam and walked along the bottom of the tank, with his head resting on the surface of the water and his eyes blinking at us. He had really cool teeth, all craggy and jagged. And apparently they don't live long in the wild because of their color, due to both predators and sunburn! Really! Oh, the kids enjoyed it too.
Then we touched sharks and rays. Jack did, too, making him 36 years younger when he first touched a shark than I was. Kate didn't much want to and also couldn't reach unless I held her by her legs over the tank, which I feel would have been frowned upon.
Then we went to another touch tank, with starfish and horseshoe crabs and hermit crabs. We were lucky on the timing; the guy actually got to talk to us at length. He talked about how hermit crabs change their shells when they outgrow them, how horseshoe crabs use their tails to flip over (don't pick them up that way, their tails break). Jack told the guy he once scared birds away from a helpless crab; I am not entirely certain if it is true or not. Plus Kate touched a crab!
Then we saw the seal show. I don't think I had ever actually seen the whole thing (and didn't this time either because Kate got hungry and started whining about a snack), but it was pretty cool. Then we went to the play area and realized how long it had been since we had been there, because it was only for 5 and under and Jack couldn't go in. Kate played for 2 minutes and we left.
The day wrapped up with lunch, quiet time, workbook activities, baseball in the back yard, chasing balls over the fence into the neighbors' yards, frisbee, and helping them on the monkey bars. Jack made it to the fourth monkey bar, so just one away from the end. Kate did well as long as I held her legs from start to finish. We're working on it.
Funny Kate: she likes to draw pictures but (like me to Emily when I am writing a blog) she puts her hands over her work and says "don't look! You can't see!" then when it's finished she brings it out and says "close your eyes" before proudly displaying it. It's cute.
Oh yeah Jack also wrote a journal entry on camping, probably better than my blog, and concluded it by writing in bold and capital letters, I LOVE CAMPING. So we are going again in a few weeks.
Decided to open with the Aquarium. It was on the list (yup, I had them make summer activity lists) and I had heard there was a new tank where you could touch a shark, so I dragged them along.
We had been there a few times before (we were actually members one year), but I'd don't think it had ever been this good. An albino alligator! That actually moved and swam and walked along the bottom of the tank, with his head resting on the surface of the water and his eyes blinking at us. He had really cool teeth, all craggy and jagged. And apparently they don't live long in the wild because of their color, due to both predators and sunburn! Really! Oh, the kids enjoyed it too.
Then we touched sharks and rays. Jack did, too, making him 36 years younger when he first touched a shark than I was. Kate didn't much want to and also couldn't reach unless I held her by her legs over the tank, which I feel would have been frowned upon.
Then we went to another touch tank, with starfish and horseshoe crabs and hermit crabs. We were lucky on the timing; the guy actually got to talk to us at length. He talked about how hermit crabs change their shells when they outgrow them, how horseshoe crabs use their tails to flip over (don't pick them up that way, their tails break). Jack told the guy he once scared birds away from a helpless crab; I am not entirely certain if it is true or not. Plus Kate touched a crab!
Then we saw the seal show. I don't think I had ever actually seen the whole thing (and didn't this time either because Kate got hungry and started whining about a snack), but it was pretty cool. Then we went to the play area and realized how long it had been since we had been there, because it was only for 5 and under and Jack couldn't go in. Kate played for 2 minutes and we left.
The day wrapped up with lunch, quiet time, workbook activities, baseball in the back yard, chasing balls over the fence into the neighbors' yards, frisbee, and helping them on the monkey bars. Jack made it to the fourth monkey bar, so just one away from the end. Kate did well as long as I held her legs from start to finish. We're working on it.
Funny Kate: she likes to draw pictures but (like me to Emily when I am writing a blog) she puts her hands over her work and says "don't look! You can't see!" then when it's finished she brings it out and says "close your eyes" before proudly displaying it. It's cute.
Oh yeah Jack also wrote a journal entry on camping, probably better than my blog, and concluded it by writing in bold and capital letters, I LOVE CAMPING. So we are going again in a few weeks.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Camping
Took the kids camping for the first time this past week. Time really does move slower at a campsite; we were there barely 24 hours but it seemed like a week's worth of stuff happened. Best to do the blog fairly stream of consciousness I think.
- On our drive to the campground, we stopped one of those upstate New York delis that appear every mile or so for sandwiches. First deli sandwiches for the kids. They ate them!
- Beautiful drive, perfect day. We arrived at the campground and as we were checking in the attendant mentioned the high winds. That would be an omen because literally just as we were parking the car in the lot near our campsite, we felt a drop of rain. I said to Emily, uh, that wasn't actually a drop of rain, was it? I was just starting to set up the tent when we heard thunder. To play it safe, we put everything back in the car. Good thing, because the skies opened up and it was a torrential downpour for almost the next hour. Some discussion about going to a hotel. Another hour of rain, or less, and we would have.
Sitting in the car in the parking lot, starting at the tree-filled woods, buckets of rain coming down, Emily and I shook our heads in disbelief and kind of laughed. I thought of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin in a canoe with his father while sheets of rain came down. Dad: "It isn't very buggy, is it?" Calvin: "You're really reaching, Dad." We decided to play "I Spy," with Kate going first. Kate: "I spy with my little eye something....green." We all laughed, since we're looking at the forest. Jack gamely tried to answer. "Ooh! Those leaves?" Laughter. "THOSE leaves? What about THAT leaf? These leaves?...."
More rain. Emily: Jack, are you reading? Jack: "How else should we pass the time until we can camp?"
The rain mercifully stopped and we set up the tent. Walked around a little bit, decided which campsite we'd get next time (one directly on the water, where we'd later see fish swimming about).
As the sun was sinking in the sky, Jack said, "Can we go see the water? The sun looks really cool over it." We did.
Kate walked around the campsite singing and having conversations with herself. She and Jack were totally comfortable playing around the site as we set it up. I thought about Scott and me playing with Fisher-Price adventure people while Dad and Mom set up the campsite, way way back when.
Started fire, started camp stove, made hotdogs and beans. Jack: "This is the best hotdog ever. Outdoor food is best." Kate also ate well.
Made smores. I made the first one, roasting marshmallow on stick. Kate ate the marshmallow, strangely uninterested in the chocolate and the graham crackers. Jack wanted to try roasting a marshmallow, and did. He also set his on fire. A brief look of stunned disappointment. I showed him how it was really tasty anyway. He ended up enjoying his smores. I am sure we also set marshmallows on fire as kids, I assured him.
We told ghost stories, me telling a revised one of Bill Murray's from "Meatballs," Jack telling one about "a ghost scaring Kate and she said I'm not scared....and then the ghost ate a smores." For Jack's story, he held a flashlight under his chin for a scary glowing effect.
Emily read Ladybug girl stories to both kids in the tent, and then we left. Most nights (including our practice camping night) they're awake for a while, saying they're cold, or warm, or thirsty, or can't sleep). This night, we didn't hear a peep -- both were asleep almost before we'd zipped the tent closed.
During the night I woke up at one point and heard Jack or Emily whispering. I felt for Jack, who was sleeping next to me, and couldn't find them. Apparently we were sleeping on enough of an angle that Kate was somewhere down around Emily's knees and Jack was basically on top of her, all three of them in the opposite corner of the tent from me.
Heard an owl around 4:30 a.m. Thought of Twin Peaks.
Morning, I woke and saw Jack sleeping, his stuffed monkey sitting against him, seemingly protecting him, smiling happily. (He always smiles, he's stuffed.)
Jack crawled into my sleeping bag at some point and we snuggled. His fuzzy crewcut kind of itched me.
In the morning Emily and Jack walked down to the water again. Jack came running back, excited. He'd seen a fish. He named it "Dorsal."
Breakfast was coffee, eggs, toast, bacon. Kate ate all of her eggs, which never happens at home.
We went for a brief hike, Kate singing happily in the same way she does sometimes when riding her bike. About nothing in particular to no one in particular.
Emily took Kate to a little playground near the beach, while I took Jack fishing. We had borrowed rods and tackle gear. I showed him how to cast and I was stunned to see him pick it up immediately; I expected the first hook to catch either me or him in the head. Nope. I fished too, at one point seeing a fish actually put the lure in its mouth, then let it go. I was either too stunned to jerk on it or didn't want to deal with trying to remove the hook without hurting him. But, it was pretty cool.
We fished for almost an hour without catching a thing and not only was Jack NOT bored or disappointed, he wanted to fish more. Pretty amazing.
We went to the beach and rented a rowboat. After some incompetent circling, I got the hang of it and we went over near our campsite. Then Emily rowed. Then JACK rowed, and did a credible job; he was so thrilled. He had his back to me but Emily said he had that proud look he gets when he does something new; the "I DID it" look. He rowed for a while and wanted to keep on doing it. A natural fisherman, natural boater, natural camper? Mebbe. Or I'm just a proud father, whichever.
Kate also wanted to row and we let her try. The end of the paddle caught her in the lip and she cried. Sorry, Kate. But she rallied anyway and sat on my lap while I rowed, her hands on my wrists. Happy again.
The boating was the best, because it was just the family, out on the water on a beautiful day, like there was nothing else in the world. It felt like we could do it forever.
We played on the beach, Kate and Jack completely unfazed by muddy pond/lake water, just like us as kids. They rolled around in the sand, jumped in the water, rolled around some more.
Time to leave, drive home, eat dinner at a diner, and stumble into our own beds exhausted. I put Jack to bed and as I said goodnight I said, Jack, I had a great weekend, I'll remember it always.
Jack: "Me too. I'll remember it at least until I'm 70."
- On our drive to the campground, we stopped one of those upstate New York delis that appear every mile or so for sandwiches. First deli sandwiches for the kids. They ate them!
- Beautiful drive, perfect day. We arrived at the campground and as we were checking in the attendant mentioned the high winds. That would be an omen because literally just as we were parking the car in the lot near our campsite, we felt a drop of rain. I said to Emily, uh, that wasn't actually a drop of rain, was it? I was just starting to set up the tent when we heard thunder. To play it safe, we put everything back in the car. Good thing, because the skies opened up and it was a torrential downpour for almost the next hour. Some discussion about going to a hotel. Another hour of rain, or less, and we would have.
Sitting in the car in the parking lot, starting at the tree-filled woods, buckets of rain coming down, Emily and I shook our heads in disbelief and kind of laughed. I thought of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin in a canoe with his father while sheets of rain came down. Dad: "It isn't very buggy, is it?" Calvin: "You're really reaching, Dad." We decided to play "I Spy," with Kate going first. Kate: "I spy with my little eye something....green." We all laughed, since we're looking at the forest. Jack gamely tried to answer. "Ooh! Those leaves?" Laughter. "THOSE leaves? What about THAT leaf? These leaves?...."
More rain. Emily: Jack, are you reading? Jack: "How else should we pass the time until we can camp?"
The rain mercifully stopped and we set up the tent. Walked around a little bit, decided which campsite we'd get next time (one directly on the water, where we'd later see fish swimming about).
As the sun was sinking in the sky, Jack said, "Can we go see the water? The sun looks really cool over it." We did.
Kate walked around the campsite singing and having conversations with herself. She and Jack were totally comfortable playing around the site as we set it up. I thought about Scott and me playing with Fisher-Price adventure people while Dad and Mom set up the campsite, way way back when.
Started fire, started camp stove, made hotdogs and beans. Jack: "This is the best hotdog ever. Outdoor food is best." Kate also ate well.
We told ghost stories, me telling a revised one of Bill Murray's from "Meatballs," Jack telling one about "a ghost scaring Kate and she said I'm not scared....and then the ghost ate a smores." For Jack's story, he held a flashlight under his chin for a scary glowing effect.
Emily read Ladybug girl stories to both kids in the tent, and then we left. Most nights (including our practice camping night) they're awake for a while, saying they're cold, or warm, or thirsty, or can't sleep). This night, we didn't hear a peep -- both were asleep almost before we'd zipped the tent closed.
During the night I woke up at one point and heard Jack or Emily whispering. I felt for Jack, who was sleeping next to me, and couldn't find them. Apparently we were sleeping on enough of an angle that Kate was somewhere down around Emily's knees and Jack was basically on top of her, all three of them in the opposite corner of the tent from me.
Heard an owl around 4:30 a.m. Thought of Twin Peaks.
Morning, I woke and saw Jack sleeping, his stuffed monkey sitting against him, seemingly protecting him, smiling happily. (He always smiles, he's stuffed.)
Jack crawled into my sleeping bag at some point and we snuggled. His fuzzy crewcut kind of itched me.
In the morning Emily and Jack walked down to the water again. Jack came running back, excited. He'd seen a fish. He named it "Dorsal."
Breakfast was coffee, eggs, toast, bacon. Kate ate all of her eggs, which never happens at home.
We went for a brief hike, Kate singing happily in the same way she does sometimes when riding her bike. About nothing in particular to no one in particular.
Emily took Kate to a little playground near the beach, while I took Jack fishing. We had borrowed rods and tackle gear. I showed him how to cast and I was stunned to see him pick it up immediately; I expected the first hook to catch either me or him in the head. Nope. I fished too, at one point seeing a fish actually put the lure in its mouth, then let it go. I was either too stunned to jerk on it or didn't want to deal with trying to remove the hook without hurting him. But, it was pretty cool.
We fished for almost an hour without catching a thing and not only was Jack NOT bored or disappointed, he wanted to fish more. Pretty amazing.
We went to the beach and rented a rowboat. After some incompetent circling, I got the hang of it and we went over near our campsite. Then Emily rowed. Then JACK rowed, and did a credible job; he was so thrilled. He had his back to me but Emily said he had that proud look he gets when he does something new; the "I DID it" look. He rowed for a while and wanted to keep on doing it. A natural fisherman, natural boater, natural camper? Mebbe. Or I'm just a proud father, whichever.
Kate also wanted to row and we let her try. The end of the paddle caught her in the lip and she cried. Sorry, Kate. But she rallied anyway and sat on my lap while I rowed, her hands on my wrists. Happy again.
The boating was the best, because it was just the family, out on the water on a beautiful day, like there was nothing else in the world. It felt like we could do it forever.
We played on the beach, Kate and Jack completely unfazed by muddy pond/lake water, just like us as kids. They rolled around in the sand, jumped in the water, rolled around some more.
Time to leave, drive home, eat dinner at a diner, and stumble into our own beds exhausted. I put Jack to bed and as I said goodnight I said, Jack, I had a great weekend, I'll remember it always.
Jack: "Me too. I'll remember it at least until I'm 70."
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Graduation
Kate graduated from preschool yesterday; she'll start kindergarten in the fall. For 7 years we've been dropping a child off at daycare in the morning and picking him or her up in the afternoon; now they'll both be in school.
The teachers there have been part of first Jack's and then Kate's life for most of their lives; it's crazy to think we won't see them anymore.
We sent Kate off to school in the morning in a beautifully colorful dress. Took some pictures on our front lawn; she looked tall and confident.
Showed up that afternoon, with cameras and flowers. Took our seats for the ceremony, and the graduates marched in. I think a year ago she would have run over and clung to us or something, but today she just smiled proudly and took her seat. They sang songs they'd been practicing (she's been singing them around the house -- skinaramink, Mr. Sun, Gonna build me a house, etc.), did all the hand motions for the sun going up and Mr. Spider going down and all that.
When they called Kate's name to get her diploma she got a big smile on her face, stood up, and took it from Mr. Brendan. Held it up to show us, then ran over, hugged us, and looked beyond us for one of her friends. "Georgia! Look!!!"
We had cake and said goodbye to her teachers, goodbye to the Greenwich Y childcare center. I am excited and happy for Kate, and I already miss the little girl who went to daycare.
The teachers there have been part of first Jack's and then Kate's life for most of their lives; it's crazy to think we won't see them anymore.
We sent Kate off to school in the morning in a beautifully colorful dress. Took some pictures on our front lawn; she looked tall and confident.
Showed up that afternoon, with cameras and flowers. Took our seats for the ceremony, and the graduates marched in. I think a year ago she would have run over and clung to us or something, but today she just smiled proudly and took her seat. They sang songs they'd been practicing (she's been singing them around the house -- skinaramink, Mr. Sun, Gonna build me a house, etc.), did all the hand motions for the sun going up and Mr. Spider going down and all that.
When they called Kate's name to get her diploma she got a big smile on her face, stood up, and took it from Mr. Brendan. Held it up to show us, then ran over, hugged us, and looked beyond us for one of her friends. "Georgia! Look!!!"
We had cake and said goodbye to her teachers, goodbye to the Greenwich Y childcare center. I am excited and happy for Kate, and I already miss the little girl who went to daycare.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Father's Day
I slept until about 615, maybe 630, which was ok. The kids knew to let me sleep in, which meant I was awakened by theatrical whispering ("Is Daddy still sleeping?") rather than talking. They disappeared, then came in a few minutes later to determine that I was awake or asleep.
Once I was clearly awake, they jumped up onto the bed with cards and gifts. Jack had seen a card in a store he liked, which he also decorated with pirate stickers, pictures of superheroes, and word balloon conversations between them all. Typical 7 year old boy stuff I expect. "Arr! I will shoot you!" "No! aaaaaaahhhhhh!" He and Kate drew me a card together...I think Jack did the lettering. I also got a picture of me Jack made at school, and a note saying he wanted to have another outdoor athletics day. Kate gave me a laminated paper tie which I will need to try to wear at some point. Maybe.
Jack thought it very important that I not do anything. "mommy should do it...it's father's day."
Kate wished me a Happy father's day about eight times. She also danced around the living room in her new clothes making up songs and band names.
Jack and I played catch. We got lunch out and went to the L.L. Bean store to prep for next week's camping trip. We played "Plants vs. Zombies" on my new iPad.
I talked on the phone with, and then got a nice email from, my own Dad.
Good day.
Once I was clearly awake, they jumped up onto the bed with cards and gifts. Jack had seen a card in a store he liked, which he also decorated with pirate stickers, pictures of superheroes, and word balloon conversations between them all. Typical 7 year old boy stuff I expect. "Arr! I will shoot you!" "No! aaaaaaahhhhhh!" He and Kate drew me a card together...I think Jack did the lettering. I also got a picture of me Jack made at school, and a note saying he wanted to have another outdoor athletics day. Kate gave me a laminated paper tie which I will need to try to wear at some point. Maybe.
Jack thought it very important that I not do anything. "mommy should do it...it's father's day."
Kate wished me a Happy father's day about eight times. She also danced around the living room in her new clothes making up songs and band names.
Jack and I played catch. We got lunch out and went to the L.L. Bean store to prep for next week's camping trip. We played "Plants vs. Zombies" on my new iPad.
I talked on the phone with, and then got a nice email from, my own Dad.
Good day.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
We toured a zoo
Volunteered to chaperone Jack's class trip to the Bronx Zoo today. In the first place I wanted to help out on some class trip, and in the second place, I love animals. So I loaded up the backpack with water and snacks and sunblock, and hopped on the bus with the kids.
I was in charge of three kids: Jack, Kevin, Peter. Both were his friends, he'd mentioned them before. I shared a seat with Peter and Jack on the way there. Five minutes into the trip, Peter said to me, "Did you see the movie 'Speed'?" Uh...yes. Did you?
Jack was pretty happy that his Dad was one of the chaperones. A decent amount of parents went (1 for every 3 or 4 kids, plus some teachers, so I guess about 15ish parents), but a lot of those parents go on most class outings. So it was a big deal to him that I was there, and that was pretty cool. Everyone was pretty happy on the bus on the way down, the kids around us singing goofy songs like, uh, Wheels on the Bus.
One of the guidelines we were given was to stay with another group, so there'd be multiple adults if there was a problem. At the front gate, though, was sheer chaos of different class groups from schools and what have you across the New York Metropolitan area, I imagine, and we'd been standing around for 10 minutes when Mrs. Huhne (Jack's teacher) indicated we could go if we got in. Minutes later we'd ditched the rest of the class and were gazing at lemurs and lizards.
Kids like to run, so we did a lot of zipping about from exhibit to exhibit. What was funny to me was when they'd be fascinated by one of the information boards or signs, while a huge grizzly bear or giraffe was just across the way. Hey guys, look! A tiger! "Look Dad, if I stand next to this cardboard tiger we can see how big it is compared to us...."
We saw lots of animals...sleeping...because it was the middle of the day and it was hot. But the polar bear played with a big beach ball thingy while swimming around his watery home, that was cool. And the grizzly bears apparently fought a little bit, according to somebody else, but we only saw them walking around. The Lions lifted their heads and gazed at us as if to say, What are YOU looking at? The baboons put their faces up against the glass. Somebody said, "Rafiki!" which is the name of the baboon in Lion King I guess.
I doled out water and raisin snacks, then we met up with the other groups for lunch. I don't know if I've ever seen kids have so much fun eating lunch. I think they were just having a blast being at the zoo and out and about with their friends.
We saw more animals, blew some money at the gift shop, and I bought them ice cream. We took the bus home all intact and together, and then Jack and I came home, me to the work I'd been away from, and him to write a journal entry (""Me, daddy, and my class went on a field trip to the Bronx Zoo. Here is the story. I was in a group with Kevin and Peter. Here is our favorite places. Madagascar. Bears. World of Reptiles. Mouse House. Baboon Reserve." He also drew a picture of a baboon.)
Just before we went to pick up Kate today, Jack came over and hugged me. He said, "I can't tell you how much fun I had with you."
I'm not sure it gets much better than that.
I was in charge of three kids: Jack, Kevin, Peter. Both were his friends, he'd mentioned them before. I shared a seat with Peter and Jack on the way there. Five minutes into the trip, Peter said to me, "Did you see the movie 'Speed'?" Uh...yes. Did you?
Jack was pretty happy that his Dad was one of the chaperones. A decent amount of parents went (1 for every 3 or 4 kids, plus some teachers, so I guess about 15ish parents), but a lot of those parents go on most class outings. So it was a big deal to him that I was there, and that was pretty cool. Everyone was pretty happy on the bus on the way down, the kids around us singing goofy songs like, uh, Wheels on the Bus.
One of the guidelines we were given was to stay with another group, so there'd be multiple adults if there was a problem. At the front gate, though, was sheer chaos of different class groups from schools and what have you across the New York Metropolitan area, I imagine, and we'd been standing around for 10 minutes when Mrs. Huhne (Jack's teacher) indicated we could go if we got in. Minutes later we'd ditched the rest of the class and were gazing at lemurs and lizards.
Kids like to run, so we did a lot of zipping about from exhibit to exhibit. What was funny to me was when they'd be fascinated by one of the information boards or signs, while a huge grizzly bear or giraffe was just across the way. Hey guys, look! A tiger! "Look Dad, if I stand next to this cardboard tiger we can see how big it is compared to us...."
We saw lots of animals...sleeping...because it was the middle of the day and it was hot. But the polar bear played with a big beach ball thingy while swimming around his watery home, that was cool. And the grizzly bears apparently fought a little bit, according to somebody else, but we only saw them walking around. The Lions lifted their heads and gazed at us as if to say, What are YOU looking at? The baboons put their faces up against the glass. Somebody said, "Rafiki!" which is the name of the baboon in Lion King I guess.
I doled out water and raisin snacks, then we met up with the other groups for lunch. I don't know if I've ever seen kids have so much fun eating lunch. I think they were just having a blast being at the zoo and out and about with their friends.
We saw more animals, blew some money at the gift shop, and I bought them ice cream. We took the bus home all intact and together, and then Jack and I came home, me to the work I'd been away from, and him to write a journal entry (""Me, daddy, and my class went on a field trip to the Bronx Zoo. Here is the story. I was in a group with Kevin and Peter. Here is our favorite places. Madagascar. Bears. World of Reptiles. Mouse House. Baboon Reserve." He also drew a picture of a baboon.)
Just before we went to pick up Kate today, Jack came over and hugged me. He said, "I can't tell you how much fun I had with you."
I'm not sure it gets much better than that.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Backyard camping
We got a tent and will be going camping for the first time this year. I did it a lot growing up, and then a little more as an adult, and want to do it with the kids too.
They're hearteningly game; the sleeping bags came from L.L. Bean and they immediately stretched them out in the living room and climbed in with their sleeping toys and books. They asked if they could sleep in them right away, and have sleepovers in each other's rooms, and so forth.
Yesterday, after the previous several days of rain had finally stopped, we set the thing up in the backyard. They spent the next several hours going in and out through the various entrances, bringing in toys and books and play food and the like. And of course their sleeping bags and camp chairs.
We said we could all sleep there at night, thinking naturally they'd give up after about an hour and we'd all end up sleeping in our beds.
We were wrong. Right after dinner they raced upstairs, washed themselves up and brushed teeth, and got into their pajamas. They climbed into their sleeping bags, Emily read them stories, and we prepared for the hour or so of fooling around followed by going inside and sleeping in beds.
But after the fooling around and talking and saying they weren't tired and whatnot, they fell asleep. Emily and I, seeing as the ground is really hard and the kids immediately traded out their camping pillows for our actual pillows, did not. Emily ended up stumbling inside around 2 or so. I remained, sleeping for half an hour here and there, waking up, sleeping some more, waking up.
The moon was really cool to see in the middle of the night. It got really cold at around 4 a.m. I heard birds by 4:30.
Jack had encroached on my area and I needed to slide him over. At the time he was sleeping on his back. He gave a little start, his eyes fluttering and his hands going up in the air, as I moved him over. It was like when he was a baby.
Jack woke up around 4. Snuggled against me, held my hand. Gave me a little smile and wave, then fell back asleep.
Kate woke up around 5. Sat up, asked where Mommy was. Lay back down, and went back to sleep. Neither asked to go in.
I woke up for good around 6, 'cause it was getting kind of light out there. They woke up around 7, and we all came inside. I made a lot of coffee, and gave the kids high-fives for their first campout.
Am already preparing for the questions to come:
"Can we sleep in the tent tonight?"
They're hearteningly game; the sleeping bags came from L.L. Bean and they immediately stretched them out in the living room and climbed in with their sleeping toys and books. They asked if they could sleep in them right away, and have sleepovers in each other's rooms, and so forth.
Yesterday, after the previous several days of rain had finally stopped, we set the thing up in the backyard. They spent the next several hours going in and out through the various entrances, bringing in toys and books and play food and the like. And of course their sleeping bags and camp chairs.
We said we could all sleep there at night, thinking naturally they'd give up after about an hour and we'd all end up sleeping in our beds.
We were wrong. Right after dinner they raced upstairs, washed themselves up and brushed teeth, and got into their pajamas. They climbed into their sleeping bags, Emily read them stories, and we prepared for the hour or so of fooling around followed by going inside and sleeping in beds.
But after the fooling around and talking and saying they weren't tired and whatnot, they fell asleep. Emily and I, seeing as the ground is really hard and the kids immediately traded out their camping pillows for our actual pillows, did not. Emily ended up stumbling inside around 2 or so. I remained, sleeping for half an hour here and there, waking up, sleeping some more, waking up.
The moon was really cool to see in the middle of the night. It got really cold at around 4 a.m. I heard birds by 4:30.
Jack had encroached on my area and I needed to slide him over. At the time he was sleeping on his back. He gave a little start, his eyes fluttering and his hands going up in the air, as I moved him over. It was like when he was a baby.
Jack woke up around 4. Snuggled against me, held my hand. Gave me a little smile and wave, then fell back asleep.
Kate woke up around 5. Sat up, asked where Mommy was. Lay back down, and went back to sleep. Neither asked to go in.
I woke up for good around 6, 'cause it was getting kind of light out there. They woke up around 7, and we all came inside. I made a lot of coffee, and gave the kids high-fives for their first campout.
Am already preparing for the questions to come:
"Can we sleep in the tent tonight?"
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