Hot times, summer in the country…

Quick, make up a rhyme for that!

Summer vacation has started here and, of course, things did not slow down. Silly me for expecting that. They will next week though, I’m sure! (actually this is a down week now, between two busy weeks)

Lex had soccer camp last week. Every day from 9am-10:30am he played soccer while Eve and I entertained ourselves on the playground. It wasn’t quite enough time to leave and go anywhere (life in the country) and Lex didn’t want us to leave him anyway. I had the foresight to call a few off her pre-k friends though, so she had friends to play with every day. That was a huge help for me!

soccer boy

Lex goes in for the ball!

drink break

Drink break! (I don’t even know that other boy, but they seem to be friendly.)

eve and co

Eve and her friends ended most mornings in the sandbox on the playground.

walking

Walking back to the car, Lex takes the challenging path.

The weather was hot and sunny every day, except Tuesday when it rained on us. Wednesday was sunny and beautiful, but not too hot, so we decided to go strawberry picking in the afternoon. We went to Wellwood Orchard, our usual apple picking place. This is this first year I found out they had PYO strawberries. The picking was great! We had a really nice afternoon together.

strawberry picking p1

Just getting started. The picking was so easy!

eve picking

Eve

lex picking

Lex. I love when he wears his hat. :)

lex holding a strawberry

Look at this one, mom!

strawberry picking p2

The rows were wide enough that we could put the big box down (they each had small boxes as well) and wide enough so they kids could sit. That made a big difference in their enjoyment!

strawberry picking p3

This was the nicest PYO strawberries place I’ve found in this area. We will definitely be going back next year!

snack time

I had a hard time stopping when they were done. The strawberries were just calling to be picked! The kids had a small snack while I picked a bunch more real quick. :)

rock

The fields were at the top of a big hill and this huge rock provided for an amazing view!

eve with goats

We can’t visit Wellwood without stopping by the petting zoo. These goats are so well trained, they know exactly what comes out of that machine!

lex with goats

Lex managed to get some in his hands before the goats gobbled the food right up.

eve with bunny

Eve made fast friends with an albino rabbit. She sat in the shade for quite awhile, petting the bunny.

lex with kids

There were a bunch of these little white kids (goat babies) running around. We found out they were just three days old!! Lex and Eve kept trying to feed them, but they showed no interest. I’m guessing at three days old they are still on a milk diet. They were super cute though.

On Thursday we went to the lake after camp. I packed a lunch, we brought one of Eve’s friends, and we all had a great time! This is the lake that was closed last year due to Hurricane Irene and I’m sooo glad it’s open again this summer. It is just the right size for us. Big enough that there is plenty of room and plenty to do and generally other kids around, but small enough so that I can see my kids and don’t worry about losing them. We usually see people there we know and we always have fun.

lunch

First things first – lunch!

together

They turned to enjoy the view while finishing their lunch.

eve snorkeling

They were super excited to get out the snorkels again! They spent most of their time in the water checking out the fish with the snorkels. Those things were money well spent. :)

in the water

Three fishes in the water, looking for fishes.

eve in the sand

The water was very chilly and Eve’s preferred way to warm up is to roll around in the sand, a trick she discovered at a beach on the Atlantic last summer.

mermaid

We half buried Eve and turned her into a sand mermaid. Next time we’ll bring the spray bottles of water/glue mixture and do it up right like the professionals. :)

at work

It was a team effort to get her buried. Even she had to work hard at not wiggling her toes!

ice cream

We got home, showered, and settled in for ice cream sundaes! Or, as my literal children called them, frozen yogurt thursdays. :)

And now… to make up for lost time… here are a few other miscellaneous photos from my camera. (btw, I spelled miscellaneous correctly on the first try. go me!)

jumping jacks

Doing jumping jacks (or whatever that is Lex is doing!) in the parking lot after consuming massive quantities of food at a Father’s Day brunch. Lex discovered that eating a huge muffin and a huge bagel made him feel very sleepy.

trains

This is a pretty awesome train set the kids built earlier in the week. They added their own islands and boats (cardboard boxes) and a train cafe and much more. This photo was taken about half way. I didn’t get a shot of the completed setup. It kept them entertained for days.

science

Summer science! We broke out the science kit I got Eve for her birthday. It was fun to do, but the results were a bit disappointing. A good lesson in experiments and all.

Ok, that should tide hold you all for another nine days or so. :) I spent the past few days desperately trying to get a photo book done on Snapfish of our February vacation to Florida. They are kind of pricey and I had a 50% coupon code that expired at 11:59pm last night. I was eager to take advantage of it, so much of my free time the past few days went into that. It ended being 62 pages! I had Alan and Lex proof-read it for me last night. Laying in bed with Lex later I asked if he liked it and if he would read it again. “Oh yes,” was his answer to both. I asked if it was too long and he said, “Well, it was a very long vacation.” :) Good answer, little boy, good answer.

Tomorrow we have an exciting trip to the grocery store where Lex is eager to spend his allowance on some Hot Wheels cars. Thursday might be pool day if we aren’t hit with afternoon storms again.

Have I mentioned yet that I love summer vacation? :)

PS. Aarrgg! I just got an email from Snapfish, as I was typing that last sentence, saying they are extending the 50% off sale. Grrr… Deep breath.. Ahhh…

2 thoughts on “Hot times, summer in the country…

  1. the baby goats made lex look so big….and snapfish may extend the sale, but you, my dear, are DONE! good job!
    XXXOOO

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