Peach Picking

Finally, a little normalcy.  Like I've said before, the summer was a little over-full.  Too much lice.  Too many friends with sick parents.  Too much travelling.  It was hard to get a rhythm.  Some of our normal activities went completely forgotten.  But we did manage to slip in a peach festival at Carlson Orchard in Harvard, MA.  We picked peaches and then took the girls on a hay ride.

We wrapped up the visit with some peach ice cream.

Ice cream with big chunks of peach in it doesn't appeal to me in the abstract, but the reality was delicious.

I took our peaches home and made peach butter and peach bbq sauce.  It was so very grounding and lovely.

Day Two of Cinnamon Rolls

Really, so many cinnamon rolls.

I figure they're homemade - no preservatives or "natural flavors" added in; iron from the brown sugar; heart-healthy goodness from the cinnamon - so the dietary police won't arrest me for non-stop white flour and sugar?

If it weren't for those pesky kids

I swore I would never make cinnamon rolls.  They seemed like such a pain.  The packaged kind are so good.  Why bother?  Frances didn't get the memo.  However, Frances did get a kids' cookbook from the library by the beloved Mollie Katzen, of  Moosewood fame.  It included a recipe for cinnamon rolls.  Frances wanted to try them.  I couldn't exactly say "no" after all the goofy recipes I try (eg. homemade bagels).

So, we gave it a whirl and they weren't difficult at all.  Here are the girls with Batch #1.

They were so not difficult, that we made at least four batches, one of them sourdough.  Mark swears he never saw a crumb of the alleged cinnamon rolls.  I think that says more about his observational skills than our baking efforts.  The cinnamon rolls were Everywhere for about a week.  Poor Mark.

Thank you, Auntie Jocelyn

The girls' Aunt Jocelyn sent a crate of hand-me-downs.  The girls were thrilled.  I mean, look at those red boots.  Who wouldn't be thrilled?

They adore each other...

...at least some of the time.

Broadmoor

In many ways, this summer felt over-full - too much vacation, but also too many friends with sick parents - but I did manage to squeeze in some normality, like a trip to Broadmoor.

The girls also had ice cream, lots and lots of ice cream.  I tried to document all the ice cream in photos.  I failed, that's how much ice cream there was.

Forty-Two Months of Preschooler Chandler

Forty-Two Months Fun Fact

• Independence:  Chandler is such an interesting creature.  She seems so young to me, and I worry about her, but the truth is she didn't blink an eye when Mark and I left her with Mimi for the week.  Really, as long as she's got Frances, she's fine.  Frances doesn't even have to be directly with her, as long as she's in the vicinity.  When they are together, they will probably be squabbling, but they'll be enjoying squabbling together, endlessly.  

Ninety-Three Months of Rising Second Grader Frances

Mark brought the girls notebooks from Europe, so I took the girls to Broadmoor to fill them up.

Ninety-Three Months Fun Fact

• Maturation:  I think I've said this before, but Frances is having these bursts of maturity that are just such a relief to be around.  She's never been a difficult child, it's not that.  But lately, she's been downright thoughtful.  She'll do things after only being asked once!  Occasionally, she'll even observe the passing scene and set herself useful tasks based on her observations.  I mean, there's still a mountain of laundry on the couch waiting to be folded, but she will fold towels with a minimum of whining when asked.  I have such hope for the future!

Artistic Geniuses, I Tell You!

While Mark and I were abroad, Frances and Chandler both went to an art day camp.  Frances went last year, but this was Chandler's first all-day-without-mom experience.  Thank all things holy, it was a success!

I was home in time for the closing art show.  Frances made these first pieces with the rest of her group.

And Chandler made this her own self:

Guess how many pompons are now all over my house.

Even More Fun

My mom stayed with the girls while Mark and I were out of town.  When we got home, I thought it would be fun to show the girls the house Mimi grew up in with Mimi in tow.  To put it simply, I was the only one who thought it would be fun, but off we went regardless.

The children currently living in the house were very interested in the strangers posing on their front lawn.  The girls themselves were less interested.  Oh, well.  The morning was saved with some pastry.  When in doubt, add sugar.  A1 parenting.

Getting out of town

Then the girls got lice, so Mark and I fled town.  (There may also have been a tenth anniversary involved.)

We went to the Czech Republic...

...and Austria to ride bikes.

It rained almost as much as it didn't, the hills were no joke, and we were in absolute heaven.

All we had to do was bike, eat and not manage smallish children for the first time in almost eight years.  Absolute Heaven, no matter how much it rained.

If we can still manage it on our twentieth anniversary, I will consider myself a blessed woman.

Home Again, Home Again

Just a bit tired from her two weeks in Maine...

Still in her clothes, lights on, surrounded by stuffties, legs crossed, asleep.  Vacationing done right.  Wear them into the ground, that's what I always say.

Ah, yes, swimming in Maine in July

That's Frances in the white and Chandler in the blue.

And just so we're clear, that's a lake behind them, not the ocean.

Also, I didn't get in at all.

Looong Day

After reading and hiking all day long, the kids treated themselves to some homemade ice cream sandwiches, made with homemade ice cream and homemade chocolate cookies.  (It may have been my suggestion, but Jocelyn made it happen.)

And then the kids collapsed, in their clothes with the lights on.

Just a wee bit tired.

Best Playground Ever

We decided to give Beech a rest.  We got super creative and went to Ships.  (I really need to make a goal of one new trail per year.)  Frances was her speedy self with the cousins, so Chandler and I had the rocks to ourselves.

Chandler was so happy.

Tide pools are just the best.

Seaweed's not bad either.

Oh, to have this in our backyard.

Chandler Gets In On The Act

Chandler's latest puzzling behavior is "reading."  Just like her big cousins and her big sister, Chandler has taken to staring at pages with words, no pictures.    That's the back of her head, below.  What an...interesting child.

Clockwise from Chandler, we have Clare, Katie, James, Frances and Nora.  See the sunlight streaming in?  See everyone ignoring it?  I considered reminding them of the cold, dark, long winter ahead, but they were being quiet, so who cares, really?

The Good Life, To Some

I added a little filter to this one, but I believe the cloudiness of the day is still apparent. I had a little giggle with myself.  Waiting around for good swimming weather is not in these kids' natures.  Thank goodness, since they all hail from the frozen north.

I like these cousins

Yes, there's an extra.  Jocelyn didn't think driving halfway across the country with three kids and a dog was enough fun, so she roped in a Cowen-side cousin.  Katie fit right in.

It wasn't long before Frances was following suit.  The poor Most Photographed Tree wasn't getting much love that night.

The Little Person and I

Our third and final trip down Beech, Chewie and I had the trail to ourselves.  She wanted her picture taken as much as I wanted to take it.

By the second half of the trail, we'd been transformed into the aforementioned matching glittery Pegasus/unicorns.

Naturally.

The Next Phase

I've seen our future, and it looks like this:

Yes, we've entered Harry Potter land, thanks to the Cowen cousins. I'm not complaining.  Frances has now read the first book on her own.  She seemed a little fuzzy on the details, however, kept calling Hagrid "Harold."  We're going to listen to the audiobook before proceeding to the second book, just to illuminate any lingering mysteries.

My next project is talking Frances into being Hermione for Halloween, instead of Mal from Descendants.  There's no comparison really, but Frances is distracted from this truth by Mal's purple wig.  I've got over eight weeks to work on her.  No problem.

A Whole New Ball Park

The girls' Cowen cousins showed up for our second week in Maine.  Before I could bat an eye, this happened:

And then this:

And then this:

Yep, Frances joined the cousins for a swim from the dock to the shore at high tide.

It is difficult to express in words how cold that water is.  I did this swim with Frances a couple years ago without a life jacket.  About half way through the swim, I wasn't sure I was going to make it.  It was not at all clear to me that my body wouldn't seize up in protest.

And then there's Frances.  I do not know how she does it.  It's not like she's got body fat to insulate her.  And yet, there she is, doing it.  She is definitely rising to the high bar set by the cousins.  And I'm so very proud of her for keeping up.  But the pride is all but overwhelmed by stupefaction.

Ninety-Two Months of Frances, The Rising Second Grader

Ninety-Two Months Fun Fact

• Mobility:  This biking thing is a revelation.  When we were kids, biking on the carriage roads in Maine was frowned upon by certain patriarchs in our family.  It was considered too fast to allow proper appreciation of the scenery.  But here's the thing:  biking is fun.  When kids are having fun, they don't whine.  When kids aren't whining, adults are happy.  Thus, all hail the bike!  It's true, Frances's first ride on the carriage roads was not a smashing success.  She thought it was too bumpy.  But we will persevere, and I am sure Frances's endurance will improve.  We might even make it all the way around Eagle Lake sometime soon.  And if she bikes, her legs will get stronger.  If her legs get stronger, she'll have more fun hiking.  If she's having fun hiking, she won't whine.  Parents of young children, that light at the end of the tunnel is not an on-coming train!

Fifty-Three Months of Preschooler Chandler

This kid is a humdinger.

Fifty-Three Months Fun Fact:

• Biking:  She's got the balance bike down pat.  We're moving into pedals.  Here's hoping.
• Books:  Chandler loves Hansel and Gretel.  We've probably read over five versions of it.  The copy we have at home has been read many, many atime.  And I'm still not sure what appeals to her in particular.  The story often has wonderful details, like Hansel using a chicken bone to fool the witch about his weight, but our version doesn't include that detail, much to my dismay.  Maybe if I can entice her to draw a picture from the story I'll understand the fascination better?  Perhaps.  Surely it has nothing to do with burning the stepmother/witch (those characters are clearly muddled in some versions).  Surely...

Beech and Beech and Beech

We climbed Beech three times this summer.

It never disappoints, but this year was especially exciting for a couple reasons.  The fire tower was open on the weekends.  I don't remember it ever being open in my life.  It was such fun to get up in it.  A forest ranger explained a bit about mapping and reporting fires.

And we gave the long way down a try with the girls for the first time.  Usually, we use the short, gradual trail up and down.  I love the long way down, but it is long and I've never felt the girls were up to it.  This year, they did it twice, under their own steam.  One of the times, Frances was with her older cousins and Chandler and I were hiking alone.  Chandler chatted the entire time, all this pretend stuff with us as matching, glitter-covered Pegasus/unicorn beings.  Talked and talked and talked, and hiked!  It was a miracle.  And it meant we got to see all the beauty of the long way down.

Nicely done girls!  Next stop, hiking in Wales, or Iceland, or Machu Picchu or...

Just Another Day

Ice cream.

Library.

Playground.

Throw in a hike, sail or picnic, and you've got perfection.  Still, ice cream, the library and the playground aren't half bad.