Welcome August!

Ah... What a nice breather!  So far, I love August and have made a mental note not to schedule so much stuff next summer!  What was I thinking?  I just want to play outside and have cook-outs and picnics and fires in the firepit!!

Last weekend in August we started our lazy August with a BBQ at an expecting friend's house.  MiniM.E. was the entertainment, and apparently a side dish:

Bob's brother visited us Sunday and Monday:

We spent some time at Congress Park after watching the horses warm up at the track on Sunday:

And we had a fantastic play date at West Side Rec on Monday.  We were there the whole morning and were almost the only ones at the park, so our girls had plenty of space to play!

Bring it on, Lazy Weeks of Summer.  We're ready!

A Weekend With Meamaw and Grandpa

Last weekend Meamaw and Grandpa came to visit all the way from North Carolina!  It's been a while since we've seen them, I think since before MiniM.E. could walk, so we were pretty excited they were going to get to see her again!

Of course, while they were here, we had to do the typically Saratoga-y things that MiniM.E. loves like ride the carousel:

seriously, she looks miserable here, but the "sleigh" is her new favorite thing

 feed the ducks

Sit on the steps at the History Museum (?)

with Meamaw

 And throw gravel in the fountain

Bob and his parents also made it to the track, but I was home nap-sitting, so no photos :(

Meamaw and Grandpa also brought MiniM.E. a piggy bank which she lovingly carried everywhere, cuddled in blankets, fed milk to, dropped lots of change in, and called "a cow" or something "kind of like a goat".

playing with Grandpa

Friday morning while Meamaw and Grandpa caught up with their friends, we played in the yard and went to a playground.

Then Friday night we all went to the Saratoga Winery, which, if you live around here and haven't been to, is awesome.  Definitely child-friendly with a great deck and patio and live music and food on Fridays.

playing while waiting for dinner

dancing

 Saturday we spent the morning at Lake Moreau, our favorite swimming spot for the sand and warm water.

And Sunday we made it to brunch at the Iron Roost for brunch.  Despite a 45 minute wait for a table, MiniM.E. was well behaved and we all got to have some great food.

The rest of the day was rainy, so we took a quick trip over to Meamaw and Grandpa's hotel to swim in the pool.  MiniM.E. had a blast and we kept busy until dinner.  They must have worn her out because she went to bed early and we said goodbye until Thanksgiving.  

Thanks for coming Meamaw and Grandpa!

A Week with C & H

Now to our week with C & H.  Last week was the second time C & H visited us.  (Remember the first time?)  They were about a month earlier than last year, so no carousel or baby ducks... but lots of playgrounds and running around!

I wasn't sure how having two toddlers in the house was going to go, but both kids (and moms) were excited to have company and were really well behaved.

Naps and bedtime were a little tricky:

What? We're supposed to be sleeping??

But baths were WAY more fun with two!

We started out the week by taking the wagon to the playground by our house.  H. loved it!  MiniM.E. was pretty excited too (she's always up for a trip to the playground!) but I have a ton of photos of her there.

such a boy- vaulting over that springy thing!

Monday morning we ventured to the library while it was still too chilly to play outside.  H. dove right in and had a great time playing- MiniM.E. didn't even need to show him the ropes!

Then we walked over to Congress Park past Ben & Jerry's (too early to be open for ice cream) where the kids got their photo taken in the B&J's billboard.

Next we fed just looked at and chased the ducks. (There are lots of DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS signs...)

In the afternoon (after a couple micro-naps) we took a walk on the trails at SPAC with J. & A.  The end goal was the playground in the park... 

Wow! One slippery slide!

The best part of the playground for H. was the new construction (for a new playground coming soon). He just wanted to play on the digger!

We wore the kids out and they went to bed early.  We took advantage of the early bedtime and hit the sack early too!!

Tuesday we started our day at the mall playground after a few quick shopping stops.  (Still too cold to play outside in the morning!)  

making wishes at the fountain

finally on top of the flowers!

In the afternoon we met up with my normal playgroup, T. & H. and J. & A. at Kelley Park.  

and he's off!

water break.  too bad it's not our water.

A. was jealous and wanted to try too.  But MiniM.E. and H. were done...

The three girls

Wednesday morning we went to Kindermusik! C. & H. had a blast.  We drove over to Gavin Park afterwards to wear the kids out.

But again, micro naps...

Thursday we did brunch and just hung around.

Here is a series of photos so adorable I might have to frame them...

We squeezed so much into three days we were all tired out!

The kids might have been getting a little tired of each other. (or MiniM.E. might have been done sharing her toys...)

playing nicely

H. goes in for the hug

MiniM.E. pushes him away and launches herself onto the floor.

It was really nice to have company for a week and to see C. and H.  We had a great time and hope they can come again soon.  MiniM.E. still asks for H. in the bath and points to things he played with and says, "MiniM.E. shared ______ with H.!"  Too cute!