Neighbor Kids

 Pretty little line-up of the neighborhood preschool crowd.

We had an impromptu meet up at the park this late afternoon. 

After all, it was only 84 degrees!  

Baking with MOMS

A bunch of my lovely mommy friends came over this morning and we set out baking some whole wheat bread. It was such a deep pleasure to have so many wonderful women around the hearth (so to speak).  

This is only a portion of our loaves!

Hooray for fresh bread! 

Camila's First Ballet Lesson

Guess who is excited about Teeny Tiny Tots Ballet Lessons 

(ugh, the whole thing is ridiculous - she's TWO!) But. well. there it is. sigh.

she's two and trying!! 

um. no. 

better.

keep trying!! 

we were all smiling the whole time. that's gotta count for something! 

Meet Bucky...

3 guesses - what I was doing...

the pink gives it away, right? 

I was making friends with Bucky!

A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do! 

Olivia's First Ballet Lesson

We've enrolled Olivia in Tiny Tots Ballet (and Camila in Teeny Tiny Tots)

She's been very excited about starting dance lessons. And we were so incredibly fortunate to have generous friends who gave us some adorable toddler dance clothes in time for the first day of class! (Thank you, Shiloh and Angie.)

Liv admitted to me as we finished putting her hair back that she was a little afraid! 

I assured her that being nervous is NORMAL and that I would stay for the first class. She agreed to give it a  try. and got over her fear by the time she changed into her ballet shoes. :)

She was an attentive student, 

a supportive classmate, 

and a pretty cute little dancer.

She was bitterly disappointed to learn that dance class is only once a week. 

We had tears on the way home over that... 

Field Trip to Wanakena

We didn't make it into the village of Wanakena on yesterday's adventure. So we headed back today to check out the historic suspension footbridge (and the exceptionally charming hamlet of Wanakena)

the girls had a great time running up and down the bridge and colliding hugs in the middle

We found and enjoyed a play park

 

We stopped into the general store for a look around and some juice - we found lots of interesting treasures and the proprietor gave each of the girls a lollipop!

 We played in the town center gazebo with the resident gnome!

Wonderful Wilderness

 In our final days we had a calm cool day after the big wind storm. 

So Emily and Grandpa did some dock and boat repairs, Grammy went exploring and playing with the girls, and then we all went for a nice cruise adventure around the lake! 

With a stop at the Pinecone in Wanakena. 

Where we had some lunch, climbed on rocks, chased ducks, picked flowers, and generrally had a lovely time. 

Olivia finished her lunch and ordered a brownie sundae for dessert. 

WOWZA!

Mimi snoozed a bit after lunch as we cruised around and woke shortly after we beached at Janacks Landing in time to poke around in the forest. 

Playing in the Lean-To

Exploring the forest. Berries from Jack-In-The-Pulpit, a giant tree that blew down in the storm, trees that had blown down in the big "blow-down" in 1995. All kinds of interesting fungus. 

Including those cool shelf-like fungus that you can draw on with an etching tool.

Liv created an image of a Loon for Grammy. Including spotted back, white collar around its neck, webbed feet under the surface of the water. 

Windy, Windy Day!

Letting the float run loose on its anchors.