My kiddos, particularly Baylor, are all about music these days. While we play Raffi on a pretty consistent rotation at our house, I like to throw in a bit of non-kid music now and then to try to round out their musical education.
As previously mentioned, Baylor loves my parents' juke box, so I often try to encourage the songs he has fallen in love with there, however "boozy" they may be. Case in point, the little man loves "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow, most of which is about drinking in the morning. Another favorite is Billy Joel's "Piano Man". We sang that one at the dinner table last night, and I was instantly reminded of how much that song focuses on alcohol and people down on their luck. I can just imagine him singing along to that one in kindergarten and having people look at me with concerned glances. That said, it's an awesome song, classic really, and he'll at least be ahead of the curve when it comes time for college. Right?
It's not all rock and roll around here, though. A lot of the songs I know come from Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, so I tend to sing those quite frequently as well. I learned the words to the beginning of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" (from the musical Oklahoma) while watching When Harry Met Sally, so I have been singing that to the kids every so often. The other day we went on YouTube and found the video of it from the original movie, and the kiddos finally got to hear the whole song, twangs and all.
And then there is The Sound of Music ... ah, The Sound of Music. I love that movie, and I can't wait until the kids are old enough to watch it and appreciate it. Until then, I have been performing this little number for them.
Typically I try to do it without the subtitles (sorry, it was the best version I could find on YouTube). And, at Baylor's insistence, I skip over Kurt's part; I guess the little man doesn't like my voice at its highest.
Of course, I have picked up a bunch of other offbeat tunes in my twenty-nine years and occasionally they come up when I'm caring for the kids. When Baylor was a baby, I started singing part of Abba's "Take a Chance on Me" because I'd heard Andy sing it to Angela on The Office.
Since then, that has become one of my signature routines. *sigh*
And once, in lieu of singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider one more time, I sang "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" for the little man and he was instantly in love with it. So I, in my infinite wisdom, borrowed an oldies CD from my parents and played it for him so he could hear the whole thing. As it turns out, he got into the whole CD and for a while it was in heavy rotation in our minivan ... until he decided one day to put coins in my CD player. I haven't figured out if there are any in there (or if they were just stuck in the opening) and if any lodged in there would damage a CD, but I'm not taking any chances with the little man's favorite tunes. They'll have to wait for now.
Amazingly, I never sang before they were born; I don't think my husband had ever heard my voice until I started singing for Baylor. And no, my voice isn't gorgeous by any stretch of the imagination. But the kids seem to like it, and that's all that matters to me.
Oh, the things we do for our kids, you know?
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sound of music. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sound of music. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Kids These Days: 14.5 Months-Old and 2.75 Years-Old
Ah, the kids these days. How rapidly they change! Let's start with Mollie this time ...
Our little girl is developing quite the personality. She knows what she wants and is tireless in her attempts to get what she desires. However, she often thinks she wants something only to get it and then change her mind. She is silly; for example, in the last few days has taken to toddling up to family members and tickling them, but she also tries to tickle inanimate objects like the floor. And she grins with mischievous glee when she's tickling, which is partly how I figure out she is trying to tickle me in the first place since her skills aren't quite honed yet.
Amalia could possibly be called a picky eater in that she does not like to try a lot of new foods, but what she lacks in adventuresomeness she makes up for in the sheer size of her appetite. The girl can eat ... my, oh, my can she eat! When she is feeling well, look out - she will eat you out of house and home. Some days I feel like all I do is feed her. Lately she has been allowed to walk around with a snack trap of goldfish crackers or Cheerios, which helps keep her hunger at bay, but she has also gained the new nickname of "Gretel" because she leaves a trail of food wherever she goes.
She likes to spin in circles when she is tired or feeling funny (or if she sees her brother doing it). It makes her belly laugh and smile wide, so I encourage it when I can.
Mollie doesn't talk nearly as much as Baylor did at her age, but we can tell that she understands us quite a bit. She does say a few words, though: "ease" for please and cheese (each clearly defined by the appropriate sign language), "ga" for Daddy (actually, just today it turned more to "dada"), "uh oh", "ah dun" for all done (accompanied by the correct sign language), "ee-yah" for ear (while tugging at her ears), "hi", and "a-yah" for yes. In addition, she has become very good at shaking her head no. *sigh*
She loves her brother and follows him around most of the time. She is more at ease when he's around and seems to have fewer tantrums when he's nearby. Mollie loves kissing him, hugging him, and now tickling him, and basically wants whatever he has. This often causes conflict, though most of the time it dissipates quickly.
Oh, and have I mentioned that she is absolutely fearless? Climbing, bouncing, swinging, and everything in between, she has an appetite for activity that is quite different from her brother. If I am laying on the ground, she loves to come over to me, straddle my midsection, and bounce up and down on my stomach. All day long, our little girl loves to move.
Of course, all that activity means that when she is tired, she falls hard. With Baylor we still have a naptime routine of reading books and snuggling, and then he still doesn't fall asleep for a while, talking in his crib sometimes for over an hour. Mollie, on the other hand, requires almost nothing before her nap; I usually just give her her binky, turn on her sound machine, put her in bed, give her Dolly and Sleep Sheep, and cover her up if need be. And usually, she's out like a light.
Now on to Baylor. Our little man is certainly turning into just that, a little man. He talks nonstop and has little patience for when others are conversing without him. His terrible twos have been, so far, not too bad. Yes, he has days where he is, as I put it, "being extra two", but for the most part he is just awesome.
As he develops his speech and has a wider range of words to choose from, I can hear him quoting things he's heard in books. Lately he's been saying, "No, no, that's not right!", which he heard from his Who Will Tuck Me In Tonight? book, and "My stomach's feeling kind of queasy," from a book we got in a box of Cheerios called How Do You Hug a Porcupine? It's awfully cute and completely wonderful that he is so influenced by books.
When he doesn't want to do something, he lets us know quite clearly. Sometimes he cries and whines, often proclaiming, "This is NOT fun!", but it rarely lasts long. Other times he'll just give us a creative excuse for why he can't do something. For example, when recently asked if he could sing a particular song, he replied, "No, no! I can't do that. My teeth are too little." He has used that excuse a lot lately, actually, from why he can't sing to why he can't eat something.
With that said, he actually knows a lot of songs. We frequently hear him singing in his crib while he tries to fall asleep for a nap. Some of his usuals include, "Do Re Mi" and "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music, "Happy Birthday", and "The Wheels on the Bus". The little dude loves music, and I'm itching to introduce him to something new to really expand his musical repertoire.
He loves watching the Top Ten on ESPN's SportsCenter, often referring to it as "the numbers game". As it counts down the top ten best or worst plays of the day or week, he asks us what sports are being shown and will file it away in his brain for the rest of the day; heaven help you if you can't remember accurately which sport was at number six. Baylor also has chosen (well, I may have chosen it for him ...) his Tiger. For those of you not living in Michigan or who are not aware of this particular ad campaign, our state MLB team, the Detroit Tigers, encourage you to choose "Your Tiger" - basically your favorite player. Baylor can proudly tell you that his Tiger is Brandon Inge, that he plays third base, and that his number is 15. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if he is even aware of what Brandon looks like. Quite often while we watch the numbers game or other highlights of baseball, he'll proclaim proudly, "That's my Tiger! He (fill in the blank, e.g., caught the ball, jumped)!" It's quite hilarious.
Baylor's imagination is quite impressive these days. We're always jetting off to one place or another on our couch plane or putting balls into a giant imaginary machine. He cooks in his kitchen, sells us things with his cash register, and irons more than I do (which isn't saying much, but still ...).
Oh, and he usually puts his hat on like this ...
... 'cuz he's hip, you know?
Anyhow, that is what the kids are like these days. There are probably a million other little things I have forgotten to list, but you can't record everything, right? Regardless, enjoy!
Oh, and I apologize about the post formatting lately ... we have a new computer and I'm not used to how blogger functions on it yet.
Our little girl is developing quite the personality. She knows what she wants and is tireless in her attempts to get what she desires. However, she often thinks she wants something only to get it and then change her mind. She is silly; for example, in the last few days has taken to toddling up to family members and tickling them, but she also tries to tickle inanimate objects like the floor. And she grins with mischievous glee when she's tickling, which is partly how I figure out she is trying to tickle me in the first place since her skills aren't quite honed yet.
Amalia could possibly be called a picky eater in that she does not like to try a lot of new foods, but what she lacks in adventuresomeness she makes up for in the sheer size of her appetite. The girl can eat ... my, oh, my can she eat! When she is feeling well, look out - she will eat you out of house and home. Some days I feel like all I do is feed her. Lately she has been allowed to walk around with a snack trap of goldfish crackers or Cheerios, which helps keep her hunger at bay, but she has also gained the new nickname of "Gretel" because she leaves a trail of food wherever she goes.
She likes to spin in circles when she is tired or feeling funny (or if she sees her brother doing it). It makes her belly laugh and smile wide, so I encourage it when I can.
Mollie doesn't talk nearly as much as Baylor did at her age, but we can tell that she understands us quite a bit. She does say a few words, though: "ease" for please and cheese (each clearly defined by the appropriate sign language), "ga" for Daddy (actually, just today it turned more to "dada"), "uh oh", "ah dun" for all done (accompanied by the correct sign language), "ee-yah" for ear (while tugging at her ears), "hi", and "a-yah" for yes. In addition, she has become very good at shaking her head no. *sigh*
She loves her brother and follows him around most of the time. She is more at ease when he's around and seems to have fewer tantrums when he's nearby. Mollie loves kissing him, hugging him, and now tickling him, and basically wants whatever he has. This often causes conflict, though most of the time it dissipates quickly.
Oh, and have I mentioned that she is absolutely fearless? Climbing, bouncing, swinging, and everything in between, she has an appetite for activity that is quite different from her brother. If I am laying on the ground, she loves to come over to me, straddle my midsection, and bounce up and down on my stomach. All day long, our little girl loves to move.
Of course, all that activity means that when she is tired, she falls hard. With Baylor we still have a naptime routine of reading books and snuggling, and then he still doesn't fall asleep for a while, talking in his crib sometimes for over an hour. Mollie, on the other hand, requires almost nothing before her nap; I usually just give her her binky, turn on her sound machine, put her in bed, give her Dolly and Sleep Sheep, and cover her up if need be. And usually, she's out like a light.
Now on to Baylor. Our little man is certainly turning into just that, a little man. He talks nonstop and has little patience for when others are conversing without him. His terrible twos have been, so far, not too bad. Yes, he has days where he is, as I put it, "being extra two", but for the most part he is just awesome.
As he develops his speech and has a wider range of words to choose from, I can hear him quoting things he's heard in books. Lately he's been saying, "No, no, that's not right!", which he heard from his Who Will Tuck Me In Tonight? book, and "My stomach's feeling kind of queasy," from a book we got in a box of Cheerios called How Do You Hug a Porcupine? It's awfully cute and completely wonderful that he is so influenced by books.
When he doesn't want to do something, he lets us know quite clearly. Sometimes he cries and whines, often proclaiming, "This is NOT fun!", but it rarely lasts long. Other times he'll just give us a creative excuse for why he can't do something. For example, when recently asked if he could sing a particular song, he replied, "No, no! I can't do that. My teeth are too little." He has used that excuse a lot lately, actually, from why he can't sing to why he can't eat something.
With that said, he actually knows a lot of songs. We frequently hear him singing in his crib while he tries to fall asleep for a nap. Some of his usuals include, "Do Re Mi" and "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music, "Happy Birthday", and "The Wheels on the Bus". The little dude loves music, and I'm itching to introduce him to something new to really expand his musical repertoire.
He loves watching the Top Ten on ESPN's SportsCenter, often referring to it as "the numbers game". As it counts down the top ten best or worst plays of the day or week, he asks us what sports are being shown and will file it away in his brain for the rest of the day; heaven help you if you can't remember accurately which sport was at number six. Baylor also has chosen (well, I may have chosen it for him ...) his Tiger. For those of you not living in Michigan or who are not aware of this particular ad campaign, our state MLB team, the Detroit Tigers, encourage you to choose "Your Tiger" - basically your favorite player. Baylor can proudly tell you that his Tiger is Brandon Inge, that he plays third base, and that his number is 15. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if he is even aware of what Brandon looks like. Quite often while we watch the numbers game or other highlights of baseball, he'll proclaim proudly, "That's my Tiger! He (fill in the blank, e.g., caught the ball, jumped)!" It's quite hilarious.
Baylor's imagination is quite impressive these days. We're always jetting off to one place or another on our couch plane or putting balls into a giant imaginary machine. He cooks in his kitchen, sells us things with his cash register, and irons more than I do (which isn't saying much, but still ...).
Oh, and he usually puts his hat on like this ...
... 'cuz he's hip, you know?
Anyhow, that is what the kids are like these days. There are probably a million other little things I have forgotten to list, but you can't record everything, right? Regardless, enjoy!
Oh, and I apologize about the post formatting lately ... we have a new computer and I'm not used to how blogger functions on it yet.
Friday, December 21, 2012
That's What They Said: Clarification
Baylor: I had a bad dream last night.
Me: Awww, what was it about, buddy?
Baylor: A monster bit my finger. (holds up index finger) This one.
Me: Did he apologize?
(Baylor looks at me quizzically like he doesn't understand ... when I know he totally does.)
Bryson: You know? Did he say, "I'm sorry"?
Baylor: No, he was stubborn.
Amalia: I am all done with my quesadilla. I want a piece of my candy.
Me: (trying to play dumb) What candy, sweetheart?
Amalia: You know? The candy we bought yesterday ... in the dark. (said on Dec. 11th)
Baylor: You mean your Halloween candy?
Amalia: Yeah!
Me: Baylor, if you get up in your seat you can see what I made Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Fillman, and Marcia for Christmas!
Baylor: (running over to see what they were) I want to see!
Me: (grabbing him) Not so fast, mister!
Baylor: (looking at them after being plopped in his seat) Ooh, they are cool! (pauses for a minute and reads each one) Where is the one that says, "Not so fast, mister"?
(Bryson started singing "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music last night at the dinner table.)
Bryson: Baylor, do you remember loving the Sound of Music when you were little?
Baylor: (shrugs and mumbles a bit)
Me: Oh my goodness, you used to love it!
Bryson: Do you remember any of the other songs?
Baylor: Number 21 was my favorite.
Bryson: Which song was that? Was it, "I am sixteen going on seventeen ..."? (hums a little bit as those are the only words he knows)
Baylor: (shaking his head) No, that was number six.
(Bryson and I both stopped and looked at him.)
Me: Yeah, buddy? I think you're right.
(I had to check it out, so I ran downstairs and grabbed the case ... he was right. He was also right that 21 used to be a favorite of his; he loved "Edelweiss (reprise)" because it was a nice song and all the people sang together. He really likes hearing large groups of people singing together and typically will smile and remark, "All the friends are singing!" All of this was completely shocking because I don't think he's heard that CD in over a year; it was his favorite back when he was two ... TWO. It's amazing.)
Me: Awww, what was it about, buddy?
Baylor: A monster bit my finger. (holds up index finger) This one.
Me: Did he apologize?
(Baylor looks at me quizzically like he doesn't understand ... when I know he totally does.)
Bryson: You know? Did he say, "I'm sorry"?
Baylor: No, he was stubborn.
Amalia: I am all done with my quesadilla. I want a piece of my candy.
Me: (trying to play dumb) What candy, sweetheart?
Amalia: You know? The candy we bought yesterday ... in the dark. (said on Dec. 11th)
Baylor: You mean your Halloween candy?
Amalia: Yeah!
Me: Baylor, if you get up in your seat you can see what I made Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Fillman, and Marcia for Christmas!
Baylor: (running over to see what they were) I want to see!
Me: (grabbing him) Not so fast, mister!
Baylor: (looking at them after being plopped in his seat) Ooh, they are cool! (pauses for a minute and reads each one) Where is the one that says, "Not so fast, mister"?
(Bryson started singing "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music last night at the dinner table.)
Bryson: Baylor, do you remember loving the Sound of Music when you were little?
Baylor: (shrugs and mumbles a bit)
Me: Oh my goodness, you used to love it!
Bryson: Do you remember any of the other songs?
Baylor: Number 21 was my favorite.
Bryson: Which song was that? Was it, "I am sixteen going on seventeen ..."? (hums a little bit as those are the only words he knows)
Baylor: (shaking his head) No, that was number six.
(Bryson and I both stopped and looked at him.)
Me: Yeah, buddy? I think you're right.
(I had to check it out, so I ran downstairs and grabbed the case ... he was right. He was also right that 21 used to be a favorite of his; he loved "Edelweiss (reprise)" because it was a nice song and all the people sang together. He really likes hearing large groups of people singing together and typically will smile and remark, "All the friends are singing!" All of this was completely shocking because I don't think he's heard that CD in over a year; it was his favorite back when he was two ... TWO. It's amazing.)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Self-Improvement: Zumba and The Art of Letting Go
As I mentioned previously, I was very much in my head during my first Zumba class. It was all so new to me, both the steps, some of the music, and all but one of the people. Yes, I have taken a decent number of dance/aerobics classes before, but none as an adult (out of college) and none as a mother. I was nervous, and perhaps that nervousness created in me a need to over-analyze everything around me. Look at everything, Nicole, take it all in. If you don't, you might miss something.
And I did miss something. I missed the letting-go of it all.
In trying to be the best, though it was only my first class and I had NO idea what I was doing, in trying to observe and file everything I saw, I missed just letting go and moving. Moving for the sake of moving. Moving so I could let go of my stress, my worries, my bottled-up emotions.
The people around me were letting go, and I could see that even if I couldn't do it myself. Our instructor Allie made a few mistakes, but she kept on smiling and moving - I could never do that. There were two ladies in attendance who were probably in their late 60's or early 70's; neither were in excellent shape but both stuck with it, sat when they needed to, and unabashedly followed the steps they could and ignored the rest. While I agonized over missing a step here and there, these ladies took their time, realized their limits, and enjoyed themselves. Catching glimpses of them as we'd turn and dance around, I wondered if this is a personality flaw inherent in me - always needing to be perfect and precise - or if letting go is just something that comes with time and age.
Or maybe the art of letting go is really honed when you have kids; I know I am at my most uninhibited when I am around my children. Case in point, my husband had never heard me sing until we had kids. All of a sudden, I was singing all the live long day, whether I liked it or not. Baylor and Mollie love it when I sing, so I do it because it makes them happy. Am I a great singer? Most definitely not. Yikes ... no. But they don't care ... so I don't care (much). I've rapped to Murray Has a Little Lamb, belted out the Twelve Days of Christmas, verbally drummed the song Wipe Out, and most nights I perform my own (slightly sad) version of So Long, Farewell from the Sound of Music. And they smile so it is worth every embarrassing second.
Whatever the case, my mission for each and every Zumba class from now on is to let go - enjoy the moment and don't worry about how the steps fall. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to practice the art of letting go elsewhere in my life as a result.
Wouldn't that be grand?
And I did miss something. I missed the letting-go of it all.
In trying to be the best, though it was only my first class and I had NO idea what I was doing, in trying to observe and file everything I saw, I missed just letting go and moving. Moving for the sake of moving. Moving so I could let go of my stress, my worries, my bottled-up emotions.
The people around me were letting go, and I could see that even if I couldn't do it myself. Our instructor Allie made a few mistakes, but she kept on smiling and moving - I could never do that. There were two ladies in attendance who were probably in their late 60's or early 70's; neither were in excellent shape but both stuck with it, sat when they needed to, and unabashedly followed the steps they could and ignored the rest. While I agonized over missing a step here and there, these ladies took their time, realized their limits, and enjoyed themselves. Catching glimpses of them as we'd turn and dance around, I wondered if this is a personality flaw inherent in me - always needing to be perfect and precise - or if letting go is just something that comes with time and age.
Or maybe the art of letting go is really honed when you have kids; I know I am at my most uninhibited when I am around my children. Case in point, my husband had never heard me sing until we had kids. All of a sudden, I was singing all the live long day, whether I liked it or not. Baylor and Mollie love it when I sing, so I do it because it makes them happy. Am I a great singer? Most definitely not. Yikes ... no. But they don't care ... so I don't care (much). I've rapped to Murray Has a Little Lamb, belted out the Twelve Days of Christmas, verbally drummed the song Wipe Out, and most nights I perform my own (slightly sad) version of So Long, Farewell from the Sound of Music. And they smile so it is worth every embarrassing second.
Whatever the case, my mission for each and every Zumba class from now on is to let go - enjoy the moment and don't worry about how the steps fall. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to practice the art of letting go elsewhere in my life as a result.
Wouldn't that be grand?
Friday, July 13, 2018
Flashback Friday: Summer Road Trip 2017 Part One!
I had hoped to write about this road trip all in one blog post, but after getting the photos from the first few stops on here I realized I am going to have to do this in segments.
We left after Mollie swam in last year's swim team finals (she did two relays - one as the butterfly leg of a medley relay and one as the third leg of a freestyle relay), all sweaty and sticky from having stood outside for the better part of the morning. We were happy to do it, though, and were really proud of her for having given her all for her team.
The kids got reading as soon as we got in the car.
We left after Mollie swam in last year's swim team finals (she did two relays - one as the butterfly leg of a medley relay and one as the third leg of a freestyle relay), all sweaty and sticky from having stood outside for the better part of the morning. We were happy to do it, though, and were really proud of her for having given her all for her team.
The kids got reading as soon as we got in the car.
Bryson drove for the entire trip.
We issued the edict that the kids needed to tell us AS SOON AS they had to use the restroom, and they really took that to heart; we ended up stopping about three times in the first hour because they wanted to be sure.
We rented a car for our trip - mine is a bit older and we weren't sure how it would do on the long drive - and since we got a crossover it had a lot less room than we were used to. I ended up spending a lot of our drive time with a ton of stuff by my feet, both for ease of access and because we just didn't have a lot of room to spare.
We decided to go through Canada, so the kids got their first taste of a "foreign" country.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much to look at besides windmill farms.
We finally reached Niagara Falls, our first official stop of the trip, around dinner time.
As it turns out, Niagara Falls is a bit tricky to navigate when you're hungry and just looking for a place to eat around dinner time, so we ended up taking the kids to their first Hard Rock Cafe. For Baylor, it was love at first bite; he has been wanting to go back ever since.
We took a look at the falls a little bit before we settled in for the night.
The next morning, after a good breakfast, we headed back out to take a closer look at the Canadian side of the falls.
They were quite beautiful, though rather difficult to photograph in their entirety. The sound was awesome, though, and I think it was a cool experience for the kiddos.
We hopped back in the car and started out on the next leg of our trip, which also happened to be one of the longest clocking in at just over nine hours. The kids did great, though, and were wonderfully surprised when we revealed we had purchased a DVD player so they could watch movies along the way. This made the time pass quickly for them which, in turn, helped us a bunch.
We finally got to our destination, my uncle's cottage (which Mainers call "camp") in West Gardiner, Maine. It was nighttime, so we basically had to go right to sleep after visiting for a few minutes.
The next day, though, there was much fun to be had!
We finally got to our destination, my uncle's cottage (which Mainers call "camp") in West Gardiner, Maine. It was nighttime, so we basically had to go right to sleep after visiting for a few minutes.
The next day, though, there was much fun to be had!
We did happen upon this guy who was, hands down, the biggest spider I have ever seen outside the zoo. And, since I don't want to focus on him too much because he freaks me out, let's move on.
We went out on their boat for a little fun in the sun.
First, Laura showed us her water skiing skills.
Then Delaney showed us what she could do.
And then Uncle Andy did a little hot dogging.
Laura did a great job driving for Uncle Andy!
Mollie decided she wanted to give it a try, so Laura helped her out as best she could. Mollie gave it a couple tries and nearly got up once, but getting dragged in the water a little seemed to put the kibosh on the fun for her so we moved onto other things.
Like swimming! Baylor jumped off the boat a few times, but he wasn't a fan of how dark and deep the water seemed so he decided to hang out with the guys on the boat. Mollie, though, was all about the lake and swimming with the ladies.
It was just such a beautiful day!
We got the tubes hooked up to the boat, and the kids tried tubing for the first time! Baylor went with Laura.
And Mollie went with Delaney.
While the kids and girls had a pretty tame ride (which was just fine with their mom, thank you very much), Bryson and I had a much more typical tube ride.
Including some tip-overs!
The water fun continued the next day with a picnic pontoon boat ride! Mollie enjoyed the watermelon immensely!
Baylor enjoyed snuggling in the sun.
The lake was very still. In fact, we pretty much had the whole of it to ourselves ... well, except for our little loon friend.
We had some fun on dry land, too! We watched an old favorite of the Curtins and a new favorite of my kiddos: The Sound of Music!
We had awesome food, including some sweet corn.
Laura went putt putt golfing with us at McT's.
When the kids asked us what the theme of this course was, we looked around and said, "Nature?"
As it turns out, we were right! Not only did we see a worm in one of the holes, we saw slugs and this guy on the last hole! The kids were not too keen on him, but I thought he was sweet!
Our time with Uncle Andy and the girls was wonderful, relaxing, and the perfect start to our trip. It was, of course, bittersweet because Aunt Cynthia was not there to enjoy it with us, but her style and spirit was evident all over the house and I felt closer to her in that space.
On the last morning, I woke up a little earlier than usual and took a moment to enjoy breakfast from Aunt Cynthia's seat. It's no wonder she loved that spot so much; the view was beautiful, from the shadows cast on the outstretched table to the sunlight shining through the leaves. To be honest, it was a little difficult to leave.
Mollie snapped a couple pictures of life in the backseat.
Our next stop was Ben & Jerry's in Waterbury, Vermont. We took the free tour ...
... visited the flavor graveyard ...
... and then realized the kids were starting to get hangry and quickly got some ice cream!
With ice cream in our tummies, we headed back out onto the road and made our way to Burlington, Vermont. We took a narrated boat tour, got the kids a little more food, ...
... and saw some beautiful sights. The rock formations were probably the most fascinating part for me.
After the boat, we took a walk down one of the main shopping areas. The town really is beautiful.
Someone had written lovely messages on the sidewalks in chalk.
On the way back to the car we walked out closer to the water and saw some of the old battlements from back when this area served more military purposes.
It was such a nice walk.
And there was some unusual artwork along the way ... so it was a win-win!
We finally made our way to the hotel and gave the kids the biggest gift we could: pizza in bed while watching Shark Week! I don't think they could quite believe their luck.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and got back on the road. A little over five hours later, we arrived in West Orange, New Jersey. When we told people all the stops on our trip, nearly everyone was perplexed why this was on our list of must-see places. We figured this was a good enough reason to visit.
Since we got there a little later in the day, we had to get going and see as much as we possibly could. If you ever visit any of the locales that are part of the National Park system with your kids, I highly recommend trying out the Junior Ranger program. It is free, they give you the workbook and usually a pencil to use, and at the end they make you official Junior Rangers, complete with a badge and an oath. It is a lot of fun and helps make these huge, sometimes overwhelming places more manageable, particularly with kids.
We started by checking out one of the first movies ever made.
Then we saw Thomas Edison's library and office.
This is the bed he would use to steal naps.
They had a cubic foot of copper that had been given to Mr. Edison.
We then toured the workshop.
It was quite amazing and so well-preserved.
While the first floor had more of the larger, rough cutting machines, the second floor housed the precision cutting machines, ...
... the lab, one of a couple of them on the property, ...
... and the drafting room.
Thomas Edison's inventions were all over the place, to the point that it was difficult to remember what each one was.
In this room, I believe, they worked on recording music for the phonograph.
This room was full of cones of every shape and size, each one serving a different purpose.
We went to a ranger-led talk about the phonograph in this barn.
We finally went to see this lab, certainly one of the most interesting places in the park. A ranger happened upon us in there and gave us a ton of fascinating information about what went on in this room. The lab has been largely untouched, with some chemicals even having been left in their jars from when Edison worked there.
In the picture above you may notice pipes running here and there around the room, each painted a particular color, and the key to the colors was posted on the wall.
The ranger showed the kids Edison's version of a record, which they then dropped on the cement floor. Luckily, the thing was nearly indestructible and didn't even have a scratch on it.
As we were leaving, the ranger did a little more narrating and pointed out that the cream-colored pot in this picture is encased in asbestos. I shuttered to think of the working conditions in this lab, from the heat, to the dangerous chemicals, to the asbestos; It was amazing, and kind of sad, to think of what those people had to endure in the name of scientific advancement.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Thomas Edison's lab complex!
Since this was the closest we were going to get to New York City on this particular trip, Bryson asked at the gift shop where we could possibly see NYC from West Orange, New Jersey. She instructed us to head up a hill to a lookout area.
Sadly, because of the hazy weather, it was almost impossible to see much of the city.
Coincidentally, though, we were actually at a 9/11 memorial site. We showed the kids around a bit and told them a little of what happened that horrible day.
They even had a piece of the steel girders that used to hold up one of the buildings.
It was a wonderful tribute to those from New Jersey who lost their lives that day, and I am glad we could open a conversation with the kids about it.
Having started something by enjoying dinner in bed by the light of the television, we kept with the trend and ordered in pasta and watched more Shark Week.
To answer your question, yes, we did end up getting a little, tiny bit of pasta sauce on the bedding. I am sure you are not surprised by this in the least.
The kids even got to snuggle under their blankets with Bryson before bedtime.
Our first few days of vacation were wonderful, and we made so many fantastic memories and learned so many cool things along the way! Stay tuned for the rest!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)