Summer: Fri., 6/29 - Sat., 6/30
New Hampshire! It's our annual Fourth of July stay. We left Friday morning and had a traffic-y but uneventful drive. L&G watched Just Add Magic and listened to Bill Harley stories. When we arrived in NH, we stopped at the grocery store to stock up and then drove to the house. Andrew did a pass through the house before the rest of us went in (he found one dead mouse to dispose of) and then we unpacked. L&G began playing with the old books, their favorite thing to do, and we ate dinner outside (pesto with grilled chicken).
Today was a perfect NH day. We went strawberry picking this morning. Though L&G were less enthusiastic about the picking than in previous years (mostly because it was already 90 degrees when we got there), they were way more enamored with the strawberries themselves. We all had huge bowls of berries with Cool Whip when we got home, and called it lunch. (I threw a few slices of salami on their plates too, because protein.)
Next, we inflated our many inflatables and headed to the pond. Andrew put up our rope--like last year, we stretched it all the way across the pond, tying the ends to the dock and a tree. We hung out in the pond for two and a half hours. Andrew pulled out the long strands of algae, and he and William used a tractor to pull out a dead tree. The girls and I just floated around on our floats, pulling ourselves along the rope. L&G got off their floats and swam around too (I don't go that far). We're still having them wear life jackets this year. It just has to be that way if we want to give them the freedom to tool around the entire pond more or less unsupervised. There's no "shallow" part of the pond, save the very edge, and there are just too many variables--the algae strands that tangle around legs, fish that like to nibble on your legs, the snapping turtle that may or may not still be living in the pond. They don't mind the life jackets at all and had a screaming good time playing and swimming.
It was so very very hot today, but being in the pond helped. We had ice pops back at the house, and then made dinner: our favorite "mock steak frites" recipe from the NY Times. L&G had worked up a good country appetite and devoured the entire meal: steak, potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, and a little leftover pesto.
They were wiped out by bedtime. Andrew's doing a little prep work on a wall he's going to paint, and then we'll go out to sit around the fire pit. Summer! Ten days of country bliss ahead.
Today was a perfect NH day. We went strawberry picking this morning. Though L&G were less enthusiastic about the picking than in previous years (mostly because it was already 90 degrees when we got there), they were way more enamored with the strawberries themselves. We all had huge bowls of berries with Cool Whip when we got home, and called it lunch. (I threw a few slices of salami on their plates too, because protein.)
Next, we inflated our many inflatables and headed to the pond. Andrew put up our rope--like last year, we stretched it all the way across the pond, tying the ends to the dock and a tree. We hung out in the pond for two and a half hours. Andrew pulled out the long strands of algae, and he and William used a tractor to pull out a dead tree. The girls and I just floated around on our floats, pulling ourselves along the rope. L&G got off their floats and swam around too (I don't go that far). We're still having them wear life jackets this year. It just has to be that way if we want to give them the freedom to tool around the entire pond more or less unsupervised. There's no "shallow" part of the pond, save the very edge, and there are just too many variables--the algae strands that tangle around legs, fish that like to nibble on your legs, the snapping turtle that may or may not still be living in the pond. They don't mind the life jackets at all and had a screaming good time playing and swimming.
It was so very very hot today, but being in the pond helped. We had ice pops back at the house, and then made dinner: our favorite "mock steak frites" recipe from the NY Times. L&G had worked up a good country appetite and devoured the entire meal: steak, potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, and a little leftover pesto.
They were wiped out by bedtime. Andrew's doing a little prep work on a wall he's going to paint, and then we'll go out to sit around the fire pit. Summer! Ten days of country bliss ahead.
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