When Daddy is Away...

Lots of snow days back in January and February seemed like a good idea five months ago, but the sad reality was that those days had to be made up--not by the students, but by the teachers. We found ourselves alone on Memorial Day while Brent went to Professional Development. I'm not sure why it felt any different than any other work day for me. I supposed it was the knowledge that most other people had the day off and were heading for cookouts and other fun activities. I called up my good friend Rachel, whose husband was also working, and we decided on a picnic and a bike ride on a newly constructed bike trail in the area. Never mind that it was the first truly hot day of the summer. We set off, undaunted...The kids did great at first, Audrey, Tristan and Bennett in strollers, Avery and Maura on bikes. We hadn't gone far before we encountered a creek and had to disembark for a little peek and some rock throwing. There was much rock throwing.

Bennett didn't seem to mind the hot weather. It probably felt good to him after weeks and weeks of cold gloom. Maura caught a dragonfly to further amuse him. My little naturalist. Does anything scare her?

Apparently not, because she was mesmerized by this snake we found in the creek!! We started off strong as a group, but soon became a group of stragglers as the kids tired out in the intense heat and we had some mutiny among the bike riders. We realized along the way that we weren't actually ON the bike path that we had intended to travel. Oh well, maybe another day. We partook of a delicious picnic lunch with the kids complaining the whole time about being hot. They do look a bit warm. Perhaps we should be more selective weather-wise when we plan our next picnic!

Later that week, Bennett enjoyed some spaghetti and ended up looking like an Oompa Loompa. Love those sweet cheeks!

Below: I want to remember our Summer To Do list. The kids and I sat down at the beginning of the summer and talked about all the things we wanted to accomplish before the summer's end. We had lots and lots of fun things on that list and most of them are now crossed off. It has been a great summer already!