A Cape Cod Day

Today started off rainy so J snuggled up in bed while the boys went out on the porch to play cards. I finished up Plainsong (I hate it when a good book ends!) and then we all got ready to go to the Brewster Store. J and B got to pick out some penny candy-a hard choice!

Then we drove along route 6A to Sandwich. Our first stop was pizza and then on to the Thornton W. Burgess Museum. We learned a bit about his life growing up in Sandwich and I purchased his first book of bedtime stories which he wrote for his son.

Next we visited a trout hatchery also in Sandwich. I've never been to a fish hatchery so that was pretty interesting. These trout are being raised here and then being released into the wild.

A quick detour to Hyannis to tour the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. The kids were happy to receive free potato chips at the end of the tour. This helped a little with B's mood (he really had just wanted to stay back at the cabin and play cards. It can be so hard to meet every one's needs!)

As the sun was coming out, we headed back to the cabin. Jeff and the kids went swimming in the lake while I rested my back. When they returned Jeff and B decided to play some soccer and cards while J and I headed to the bay.

Aaahhhhh!

J entertained herself for quite a while playing with what she called "goo pods" (seaweed) while I took in all this beauty.

We went back and got B and Jeff and headed to Cobies for dinner.

Waiting for dinner.

Then off to the bay for a little walk.

I learned while I was here that barnacles attach their heads to rocks and kick in their food. They are open when they are in water and then close up when out in the sun to protect themselves. They are attached to the rocks with limestone that they produce using ocean water (correct me if I'm wrong!) They stay like this for the whole of their adult lives.

Good night Brewster!

Summer vacation

I've been away on vacation since last Thursday and haven't wanted to spend much time on the computer but I thought I'd share a little of what we've been doing. First of all, we're staying in a little cabin in Brewster, MA (Cape Cod). This is my second year staying at this cabin and I'm enjoying every minute of it! The day we arrived was a beautiful, sunny day (they haven't seen many of these at the Cape recently) so we first headed to the lake at Nickerson State Park. My sister and her three kids were able to join us for a few days. They are staying with my parents in MA for the summer (they live in China). Here are Brianna and Christopher checking out their rock treasures.

The lake was full of tadpoles. The kids were able to just catch them with their hands (they released them after a few minutes).

We then headed to Brewster bay. This is one of my favorite spots. At low tide, the tide goes out maybe a mile or two(I'm terrible at estimating distances) and becomes a wonderful spot to explore and study marine life. One little boy found this turtle in the ocean. Isn't it cute!

The next morning when we woke up J made us all some pancakes. She's quite skilled with that spatula!

Then it was back to the bay for some kite flying(this here's Robo-man, he came with my sister from China).

Elliot is showing us that he knows his letters and sounds.

Some digging in the sand. . .

A magical scene. . .

Some card playing before bedtime. B is teaching his cousins some of his favorite games.



This morning brought more cards (today it was spoons). . .

And then my sister and her kids left to go back to my parents' house. :( Jeff took J and B biking on the rail trail (a wonderful bike trail that goes through maybe 6 towns-a total of about 25 miles) while I read Plainsong by Kent Haruf back at the cabin. I'm thoroughly enjoying this book!


This evening we drove to Wellfleet to go here:

This was the one place Jeff really wanted to go to while at the Cape. And here is the dish he wanted to have-Portuguese stew. Delicious!

On the way home from dinner I had Jeff snap a picture of my favorite store around here as we drove by. They have everything you could ever need while on vacation. The penny candy section is always a hit!

Hope you're all enjoying your summer as well. I'll catch up on my blog reading when I return home!

A toad-aly fun day

The strawberry festival!

Today we went here for a strawberry festival. We all had a good time. There was the eating of strawberry shortcake,

and the climbing on tires,

the feeding of the animals,

a kiss for B,

climbing at the playground

and the Bouncy House!

Stuff we made today

Freezer paper stencilled t-shirts and a tie dyed t-shirt(J made the tie dye at a friend's house).

A ring made from a dollar bill.This is the book with the ring in it. There are so many fun, creative ideas in here!Gross food. Dinner! Actually, while I was making this for the kids they were invited to a friend's house for dinner so Jeff had to eat it for dinner. Yum, yum! ;)

A conversation overheard

The other day I was out in the garden pulling weeds when I overheard a little conversation going on between J, B and two of their neighborhood friends. The kids were doing some inventing using things such as sticks and pine cones. One child invented an electric toothbrush. "That's already been invented" said J, "and it's really popular". "No, this is an electric toothbrush hand. You sit in front of it and the hand brushes your teeth" said the 6 year old girl. I giggled to myself (this child strikes me as one who doesn't like to do much work). How fitting. Next, I overheard their 10 year old boy friend say that he was inventing a virtual reality video game. Also fitting-this child is very technology savvy. I wonder what J and B are inventing? Well, it didn't take long before I found out. They pointed a stick at me and said, "this is a mind control remote control. Now, run around the house". Again, very fitting. Let's hope these two never run for office! Oh, and watch out if you see J and B coming with a stick!

Here we go again!

Stilts, golf, camp fires, Joe

This was a very dreary week. And, although I hate to complain about weather, those stratus clouds really get me down. Fortunately, the forecast for this weekend was promising (which means not a complete wash out) so I thought, let's pack up and head out of town. Our first stop was the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, VT. They were celebrating their 90th anniversary by having a dairy festival. For me, this is absolute bliss. I love all dairy products and I especially love small festivals in out-of-the-way towns. There was free Green Mountain coffee (yeah) and free Ben and Jerry's ice cream (double yeah). Music, children's games and a walking cow named Daisy. We also saw our Governor (he's everywhere) and got to say hello to our favorite Senator (Bernie Sanders). What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, there was cheese galore (but you knew that). Here is J trying out stilts for the first time. She progressed to the next level up. Next, on to Danville. Danville is a sleepy little town a few towns over from Cabot. We were camping here for the night. B's trying out the mini golf at the camp site. He got two holes in one!

J got a hole in one too.

After heading into St. Johnsbury for dinner at a diner, we went back to the camp site to toast some marshmallows. The kids like to burn theirs while I like to brown mine to perfection.

In the morning we headed into Danville for breakfast at Joe's Pond Cafe. I loved it! When you walk in, there is the store to the left and then on the right side was a counter with three local men hanging out and having breakfast. We pulled up our stools and ate alongside them. Pancakes, french toast and eggs. Yum! There was only one guy behind the counter and he did a great job. If you're ever in Danville, you should stop by! That's about all there is in Danville.

Well, there's also Joe's Pond. We hung out for a while and watched the ducks.

Then back home for a nap on the hammock. Ahhhhh.