Weekend

This week was full of much smaller activities than last, but full of sweet memories, nonetheless...

Indigo heading in to visit the baby chicks at the Natick Community Organic Farm

Walking the paths at the farm in search of the Forest Gnomes preschool

Indigo dancing with her best buddy, Jack at a concert on the town common.

Long days spent at the town beach, enjoying the sunshine and the setting.

The girls and I have been busily working on their "new" room.  We will show the before and after when we are done!

The girls and the front garden.  The coneflowers are putting on a great show this year!

Warm evening walks with Daddy

Rockport, Ma

Another beautiful day at the ocean.  We drove through Rockport, on the tip of Cape Ann and, finding it crowded, drove on a few minutes to Halibut Point State Park.  Here the shoreline was rocky and windswept-- something I expect to see in Maine when we hit the beaches there next month.  The girls missed swimming in the ocean but enjoyed peering into tidepools...

So many beautiful trees here

The trees were not only beautiful but also great for climbing!

Looking in to the quarry.  The ocean is just on the other side of the trees.

Goofing with the large boulders

We are back!

Sorry for the lack of updates here this summer!  We spent two and a half weeks in Oregon and have spent the last week battling jet lag and kitchen renovations (almost done!).  I am hoping to get back into a groove here, though, because we have lots of fun ahead during the last month of summer.

Yesterday we had plans to attend the Gathering of the Vibes-- a weekend long jam band festival in Southern Connecticut.  Temps over 100 degrees changed our plans, though. We haven't yet been to Connecticut, so we decided to head to Ocean Beach, in New London, in hopes that the ocean breezes would make the day more tolerable.  In two hours we were there and were pleasantly surprised.  This private beach includes a small amusement park, water slides, an Olympic size swimming pool, playground, splash park, and big, beautiful  white sand beach.  The water was perfect for swimming and the waves were kiddie sized.  What a perfect way to spend a hot day!

There were many people at the beach but it somehow never felt crowded

Two little mermaids

Loving the ocean

Verrill Farm

Today Jay and I took the girls to the Strawberry Festival at Verrill Farm, in Concord, Mass.  The farm was packed, so we skipped the strawberry picking and went straight to the music tent to listen to one of our favorite bands- Ben Rudnick and Friends!  They are a bluegrass/jam band for kids.  The band members are excellent musicians-- especially the mandolin player (how is such a big guy able to so quickly and delicately pluck the strings on the tiny instrument??),  and the songs are great.  It doesn't hurt that they played at least 4 Grateful Dead songs, either....

Watching the band play

There was also a cool marionette show!

Pretty day in a beautiful part of the country!

Summer Rains

A few days ago, this was the scene:

Swimming at Lake Cochituate

But today we enjoyed summer rain.  We took advantage of the warm summer storm by going for a wet walk and creating rain art.  Our "paintings" were created by using washable markers to draw on stiff Bristol paper, and then allowing the rain to soak the art, causing the colors to run and giving the girls a chance to really see how colors combine to create new colors.  Plus, it is always fun to get wet and messy :-)

Rain art

Summer Solstice

Happy Solstice!!

The weather here was just what you would hope for the longest day of the year and the first day of summer-- 80 degrees and blue skies.  We marked the day with classic summer fun:

Barefoot tree climbing

Banana-peach (coconut) cream smoothies with crushed homemade graham crackers

Happy sun in fingerpaint

Bike riding through the neighborhood (gotta love the black rain boots on this hot day!)

Summer concert series on the town common (OK, this was actually last night...)

The Peace Abbey and Rocky Narrows

We are gearing up for a fun adventure in the sun tomorrow, but last weekend we ventured out during a break between rainstorms to visit a favorite place-- the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, a town adjacent to ours.  The Peace Abbey is part nondenominational spiritual retreat, part vegan information clearinghouse, part animal sanctuary, part pacifist museum and memorial, and a great to connect with like minded peaceful souls.  We were lucky enough to come on a day that some kind of vegetarian convention was taking place, because a vegan ice cream truck was parked at the abbey when we arrived.  For the first time ever, Indigo was able to order an ice cream like a "normal" kid!  It was way exciting and she was as pleased as can be.  After, we walked around and visited the animals for a bit.  The Peace Abbey takes in rescued farm animals, like the famous Emily-- a cow who escaped a local slaughterhouse and evaded capture for days, cheered on by locals, until she was found and allowed to live out her days at the Peace Abbey until her natural death.  It is so touching reading each animal's story and then visiting with them.  You can't help leaving the Abbey feeling a little more optimistic and peaceful.

Afterward, we went for a little hike in Rocky Narrows, a greenspace administered by the Trustees of the Reservations. Thee are supposed to be amazing views of the Charles River from a rocky overlook but we became disoriented in the maze of trails (and discouraged by hungry, whining children) so we missed them.  It was nice to be in the woods on a wet day, though.  It SO reminded me of home!

Grave of Emily, the sacred cow.

The Pacifist Memorial on Conscientious Objectors Hill

Indigo enjoying her allergy safe ice cream.

A beautiful monument lined by plaques memorializing great figures in the peace movement (Ghandi is at the center).  

Hiking in Rocky Narrows