The End of August

It seems like every year the end of summer becomes a little more hectic.  Maybe it's the feeling that summer is fleeting and we have to squeeze every last ounce of sunshine and swimming into a few short weeks.  Usually that is when we have company.  For the past two years there is the knowledge that school (even though it is just preschool) is just around the corner.

As we try to see our friends, enjoy the "carefree" days and lack of schedule, fit in just a few more trips to the pool and the beach, and host our guests, as much as I love summer and crave it as May rolls around each year, by the end of August I am ready for schedule and routine. 

After Meamaw and Grandpa left we spent the day modeling MiniM.E.'s and BittyBaby's new outfits:

And had a playdate with friends:

Gram came that evening because we were borrowing their van and they needed it back because Auntie Jen is moving to Virginia next week.  Gram brought us some nice maple trees that we planted Tuesday evening:

And Wednesday, because we wanted to do something fun, we went BACK to Animal Land. Definitely our favorite destination this summer.

MiniM.E. ALMOST fed the monkey

the capybaras were a LITTLE hungry this time

more kangaroo cuddles

and petting

 

Of course the highlight of the visit were the deer.  What a great 4th birthday present that would be!?!? Her very own deer!!

The biggest change this time around was the giraffe-love.  MiniM.E. fed the giraffe the last couple times but this time she really got into it.  We probably bought out the snack bar's daily supply of giraffe crackers.  Lucky for us, it appears that giraffes have endless capacity for crackers.

Even LittleL.G. enjoyed the giraffe and every time he bent down to munch on close to sixty crackers she reached out to pet his nose.  It was ADORABLE!

Animal Land closes next weekend so this was probably our last visit for the summer, but we can't wait to go back again next year!


Wednesday evening we watched a friend:

 And the rest of the week we played.

The Rest of the Long Weekend

Sunday we took Meamaw and Grandpa to a playground... because every grandparent loves a playground! I think any grandparent probably did a victory dance when their children reached the age that they no longer needed parental supervision on a playground. Not that pushing a child on a swing or holding them up so they can do the monkey bars or "watch this! watch this! watch this!" isn't terribly amusing for a grown up.  But Meamaw and Grandpa were good sports about it. 

 After a naptime for everyone we headed downtown for a carousel ride and the usual duck viewing

Monday morning we all woke up early to get to the track to see the horses warm up.

We did the walking tour of the back stretch which we hadn't done since MiniM.E. was LittleL.G.'s age.  It was cute- especially getting to pet Mojito- but it was a little long winded for a tired three-year-old.

In the afternoon we did some pool and some playing...

And said goodbye to Meamaw and Grandpa when they left for the airport Tuesday morning.  Thanks for coming!

Adirondack Animal Land

Yesterday we went to Adirondack Animal Land for the second time this summer.  MiniM.E. loves to see all the animals and is infatuated with the deer and LittleL.G. is happy to observe everything over my shoulder.

We were lucky to get there at the perfect time and the kangaroos were hungry and friendly! The kangaroos are my favorite animal and I was so excited to be able to get close.  I was so jealous of MiniM.E.'s tiny arms that could fit through the fence for kangaroo cuddles!

MiniM.E. likes the statues almost as well as the real animals

and the playground is a big hit too

"can we take these home?"

Meamaw feeding the giraffe

We had a great day with all the animals... except the capybaras.  If you remember this visit to Animal Land, MiniM.E. was most excited to feed the giant rodents with humongous teeth.  This time the capybaras were lazy and full and wanted nothing to do with MiniM.E.  In typical 3-year-old fashion, she was disappointed to the point of almost letting it ruin our whole trip.  She was still teary about it on the way home, but finally got over it and was happy that she at least got some kangaroo cuddles!

Meamaw and Grandpa's Visit

After a series of canceled and delayed flights, Meamaw and Grandpa finally arrived at 3am.  Poor MiniM.E. was so excited to stay up and wait for them and go to the airport to pick them up... and then we told her they weren't coming until the next day so she would go to sleep... and they came while she was sleeping.  Fortunately she didn't seem too upset about not seeing them when they got here, but she asked to wake them up about thirty times between 6am and 10.

All was forgiven when she saw the presents they brought.  A doll for LittleL.G., books for both of them, and most exciting: matching outfits for MiniM.E. and Bitty Baby. 

I tried... this WAS the best photo of them dressed up.

 After some play time, a tricycle/balance bike walk and a nap we went to the beach:

LittleL.G. played in the sand

Meamaw and MiniM.E. made a castle

And we all went swimming.  After some burgers on the grill Daddy, Meamaw and Grandpa went to a concert and the girls all went to bed.

Breakfast at the Track and Congress Park

Yesterday did some unpacking and played in the yard.

Today we went to the track to see the horses warm up.  The past few years we have gone multiple times to see the horses because MiniM.E. really seemed to love it and we were always up early anyway, but this year we haven't been at all.  I guess it takes longer to get two kids out of the house in the morning and we've been busy!

testing out the onbuhimo carrier Gram made us!

We stood and watched the horses for a while, but MiniM.E. was less excited about the horses than in the past.  I guess we have seen our fair share of horses and since she was hungry and we met our friends, breakfast and climbing stairs with a buddy were more exciting than horses warming up.

LittleL.G. was so excited to see the horses running and was really into standing at the fence watching them until....

She decided she wanted to ride one.  We are doing baby sign language with her like we did with MiniM.E. and she has a few solid (though hard to distinguish at times) signs: read, all done, more, and swing/ride/go on/do that.  The last one is used for lots of things.  She basically swings her arm back and forth, which originally, I took as "swing".  However, it quickly became the sign for "ride", "go on that", "go there" and "do that" (usually what MiniM.E. is doing).  Occasionally she also uses it for "milk".  So after the horses went around a few times LittleL.G. started swinging her arm around.  When it became clear to her that I wasn't putting her on a horse, she started fussing and when I obviously wasn't getting the picture she went rigid and refused to be held/stood on the ground/sat down.  So I had to wrap her up again to keep her calm.

After the track we went downtown for coffee and to meet up with our friend, her daughter and her new baby.  And I got the cutest tree photos ever!

The Last NH Day for the Summer

washing the van

testing out a ride on around the neighborhood

trampolining