Visit with Stacey and Tara and families

Last Sunday we met our friend Stacey and her family and our friend Tara and her family at Gillie Lake. Stacey was visiting from San Francisco but used to work with me and Tara at Legal Aid. We had perfect weather and ended up staying six hours at the beach. The boys were a little pink by the end but we had an awesome time catching up and watching the kids play in the sand and in the water.

Paint Nite

Last week Jeff and I did a paint night, where a company provides an artist instructor and supplies, and you try to recreate the modeled painting. It turns out that Jeff is a perfectionist and really liked trying to get all the details right. I enjoyed learning some painting techniques and mixing the paint but wasn't so concerned about the outcome. Mostly I was hungry and wanted to eat dinner. We had a good time and our final products are lovely!

This is Grandma Joanie playing the newly acquired game "I Heard Your Feelings," in which the players take turns describing the cartoon of two animals' interaction and how each animal felt and what the other animal understood about the other's feelings. This about sums up my childhood. Fortunately for Grandma Joanie, she had two willing and skilled players in Beckett and Theo (at least for a short period of time).

We squeezed in a Sciencenter trip and a Kiddstuff play on our brief Ithaca trip. Highlights included the yucky body fluids exhibit (boogers, urine, and farts were the biggest hits) and the coin funnel.

Sunday we went to a Syracuse Skychiefs game with free food for kids (lots and lots of free food) and then a running of the bases afterward.

Chiefs game

A couple weeks ago we went to a Syracuse Skychiefs game with some friends. We ate our way through the game--popcorn, soda, hot dogs, and ice cream--and at the end of the game, the kids got to run the bases.

Training wheels off!

Wednesday we took the boys to Santaro Park to take the training wheels off their bikes. Jeff and I had both thought the process might be long and hard, and that we would be running around holding their seats for a good long time. Auntie Alexis and baby Mary Kate were here visiting so they got to see the whole huge ordeal. Which was, Jeff took off Beckett's training wheels. He ran with Beckett, hand on seat, for about a minute. I took over from Jeff so Jeff could take off Theo's training wheels. Before Theo's training wheels were off, I was standing still and Beckett was off by himself. It took Theo a little longer to get the hang of it but within about three minutes he too was off on his own. They are THRILLED to be biking on their own.

Gillie Lake

A week ago Friday we hit up Gillie Lake, a scenic and quiet spot just west of Syracuse. Because the lifeguards don't open the beach until 11am, but no one stops you from being there before they get there, we arrived around 10 and had the beach and lake to ourselves until the lifeguards came. We played on the playground for a few minutes while the lifeguards set up, and then returned. The boys had a great time playing with some other kids on the beach but mostly enjoyed swimming and building dams in the sand.

Reed at Gillie Lake

A few weeks ago Reed and I went to Gillie Lake by ourselves. We had a great time digging in the sand and swimming. He loved that he could walk by himself in the water along the buoy line. He also met some very sweet kids, a pair of 9 year old twins and their older sister, who were very friendly with him. They taught him how to catch minnows with their pail, and then showed him how to hold them while they wiggled in his hands.