Summer weekends and visitors

We spent two weekends in New York to enjoy the dacha on Summit Lake

The Keatings joined us for the first weekend. As promised, everyone who wanted to catch a fish did catch one.

Picking blueberries from the boat

Charlie shows off his catch

The next weekend Katy, Lyla, & little Charlie came up. Erin was initially terrified of the boat (a hangover from her Titanic phobia) but we convinced her to go out.

We found this guy nibbling on a milkweed plant by the shore. We took him back to Boston and let him pupate in Caroline's classroom. More on that later.

Erin & Charlie

Grandma Joan's latest confectionery delight: Baked Alaska

Two weeks later and look what happened. Apparently the monarch hatched during naptime in Caroline's class and all the kids got to run over and watch it emerge.

Aunt Tracy, Uncle Joe, and Jenna came up to visit. We had a great time. Jenna was a superstar entertainer of the girls. They loved her. She even slept in the top bunk of their bedroom.

 

We walked to Wilson Farm and met Belle the llama, who minds the henhouse.

Jenna driving the duckboat. This was to be an opportunity for Erin to conquer her fear of the water. We talked up the trip and she said she would go, but when the time came to board the truck she freaked out and we spared the rest of the passengers from her screaming.

Can you tell that we just got out of the candy shoppe?

Watching the Olympics inspired the girls to tumble in the front yard. Caroline's favorite gymnast was Gabby "Gutless", as she called her.

 Erin hugging her teammate

This night was a highlight of the girl's year. At their daycare, for a fundraiser we bid and won dinner cooked by Afi, the center's director. The girls were so thrilled to have Afi and Nancy (the asst. director) at our house. And the food was delicious!

The Ehmann-Jones clan visited us on their way to the Cape. We spent one afternoon solving clues for the Lexington Scavenger hunt. For one clue we visited the police station...

... and for another we had to find a colonial re-enactor on the Battle Green.

We had to use high-speed film to catch an image of this fellow. 15-month-old Rowan is a bundle of energy and would not stop running around the house.

For a treat we celebrated Caroline's half-birthday with ice cream cake. In two weeks she'll be heading to kindergarten!